Category: Create

DragON Tape

Kelly Tenkely4 Comments on DragON Tape4336 views

What it is: DragON Tape is a web application that lets you create video “mix tapes” (mashups) of YouTube Videos.  DragoON Tape is really simple to use, just search for a video by YouTube URL or subject and drag it down to the timeline.  Add as many videos to the timeline as you want and save it.  DragON Tape makes it easy to give your students access to several videos with just one url.

How to integrate DragON Tape into your curriculum: DragON Tape is a simple way for you to create a mix of videos for your students to watch, collected under one url.  DragON Tape is very easy to use and share, you can create a video mashup in no time.  This is a great way to send video collections to students and colleagues.  If you have access to YouTube at school, students could create their own DragON Tape mixes on any subject.  Students can mix the best of the best videos on a subject to share with classmates.  This year, I had my students make video commercials advertising Free Rice that we uploaded to YouTube.  DragON Tape would be a fantastic way to collect all of the student videos in one url so that students and parents could watch the student creations in one place.  DragON Tape is easy to fast forward and rewind through making it perfect for this type of class video collection.  Want to see DragON Tape in action? Check out this phonics mix I made in under 2 min!  Another thing that I like about DragON Tape is the way that it isolates YouTube videos against a black screen when it replays them.  There are no distracting comments, advertisements, or related videos suggested.  DragON is perfect for the projector-connected computer, interactive whiteboard, or on computer lab or classroom computers as part of a guided learning activity.

Tips: DragON Tape requires an email for registration.  If students are creating mixes, consider creating and using a class email address as the login credentials or used a @tempinbox or @mailinator temporary inbox address.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using DragON Tape in your classroom!

Treasures MacMillan McGraw Hill Supplement

Kelly Tenkely15 Comments on Treasures MacMillan McGraw Hill Supplement5743 views

I am not a fan of canned curriculum.  It has some benefits and is relatively easy to teach, but there is a lack of differentiation for different learners and the activities for practice are often shallow.  Treasures has some fun stories and themes but they are really lacking in their activities to practice the essential learning.  The activities are often shallow and don’t change from first grade to fifth grade.  The same copy from the dictionary activity is suggested for learning vocabulary for every unit in every grade level.  I created the Treasures supplement as a way to help teachers provide students with multiple ways of practicing the essential learnings.  I just finished the supplement for unit 1.  This is the supplement for first through fifth grade.