WeVideo Andoid App

Just two months ago I wrote about WeVideo which is in essence a Google Docs of MovieMakers. It allows multiple users to create a video with pictures, sounds, words, effects, etc. The difference with MovieMaker is that it is all on the cloud and can be done collaboratively from different locations. Now thanks to Android4Schools, I just found out that you can get an Android app for your smartphone and upload it straight to the website and even edit it from your phone using this Android app.  You can also edit your Youtube videos using Wevideo.  Unfortunately I can't find it for the iPhone.

I must add that my screen just stopped working on my Andoid (and thankfully it was replaced right away by Verizon for free). But what was amazing is that using Google Play I pushed one button and all my apps were loaded up just like that.  Likewise all my contacts are done virtually since they are the ones in my g-mail contacts, which means I can move seamlessly from my phone to my laptop and the brand does not matter (ie no locked down iCloud). Having said that I am writing this from my Macbook Air!

Educational Video Search Engine

When I interview respective candidates for our department, not surprisingly I do it with my laptop a buzzing.  Last year we had the pleasure of adding Jeannine Cotner to our staff.  I must say that she was the first person who interviewed with us who gave me more sites in the interview than I could keep up with. She has continued that this year flinging the department lists of great sites every other week.  One of them is WatchKnowLearn which is an educational database and an aggregator of educational videos from other sites. For example, here is the list of ones on the US Supreme Court.  

Virtual Tour of the US Supreme Court

This is a virtual tour of the US Supreme Court.  Many of the rooms also come with a short video explanation about each one.  No, they do not show the deliberation room! 

How To Integrate Google Docs/Apps Into the Classroom

Today I am presenting at Lake Braddock High School (Burke, VA) on how to integrate Google Docs into the social studies classroom.  As part of the discussion I will start with the slideshow above.  Can you answer the questions and imagine if so much has happened so recently, how quickly your classroom will be changing in the next few years.  Then I will essentially (live, not on youtube) show how my department and I use Google Docs/Apps and finally we will use this document to have have everyone learn by doing doing for Google Docs/Apps.  

Demographics and the Republican Vote

The NYTimes has a new feature which allows you to look at each primary and quickly compare the different demographic groups and how they voted for the Republican candidates. In true dualistic format, it is set up as a head to head contest.  Demographics, in this case, includes items such as age groups, born again Christian, income, gender, can beat Obama and more. Make sure you run your cursor over each group so all the candidates appear.  Here is the delegate tracker which Romney leads over Santorum by 476 to 246. 

Running for President

CNN has many great videos out on running for president as you know from coming to this site.  The video on the bottom tells how presidential candidates raise their money.  The second one tells then how each person running spends their considerable money.  Both are succinct and excellent.  Thanks to FreeTech4Teachers for finding them. 

Search Our Blogs

We have a lot of new visitors coming to the site now so it probably is wise to mention that between the three teacher sites (US, world and US government), there are now over 2500 posts going back four years.   So go to the upper left side of the page and put in a topic and see what you get.  You can do it for both content as well as technology.  

Kahn Academy Apps

Admittedly there are few Khan Academy videos relating to history (about 20), but if one is inclined there is now an Android, and iPhone (as well as iPad).  

Landmark Cases

In a week or so my students will be working on "court cases to know," which are the cases I (and a few other teachers) believe are most likely to be covered by the AP US government exam.  One resource my students will use for it will be this landmark cases site.  

Real Clear Politics

One of my more interested government students likes to talk about Real Clear Politics on a regular basis (one of the advantages of having all students with a laptop each day).  It is an aggregate of all polls out there.  So if you are discussing tracking polls it is a great place to go.  Here is one for the Republican presidential candidates.  Run your cursor over it and you can see what the average was over different time periods. 

Flipping My Government Class

Well, perhaps after tonight it will be very fashionable to flip one's classroom what with Sal Kahn going on 60 minutes to discuss it.  I took the cue from Frank and put my mug in the picture (and next time will have to lower it).  I did it on Screencastomatic and like Frank and George have limited it to 10 minutes.  My kids will have to read half the chapter on the courts and watch this video.  When they come to class they will have a discussion on what they watched  and then will take a short quiz to see how well it worked).  After that we will do a web quest on the work of the court.  

Sal Khan on 60 Minutes (Flipping the Classroom)

Sal Khan was on 60 minutes tonight talking about his Khan Academy which discusses the philosophy of flipping the classroom which essentially espouses watching 10 minute videos at home and working on assignments in class where the teachers can help the students.  

CNN "Inside the Supreme Court"

This is a short video on the Supreme Court from two years ago. It has some great video of the actual court room, the library and shots of its previous homes.  

Copy and Paste on Your Cell Phone

Another new skill!  The two videos above tell you how to copy and paste - a necessary skill to know. 

Splicd For Showing Parts of Youtube Videos

If you want to show a portion of a Youtube video, all you need to do is to go to Splicd and enter in the url as well as the starting and ending point and you can omit the rest of the video.  For example if wanted to start the video below on the definition of social studies at :20 seconds and finish it at 1:50, this is what you would get with Splicd.