Discovery Ed's SOS

Many educators use Discovery Education for their vast database of videos and teaching materials.  However, there are many other resources found in the DE system.  For example, the Spotlight on Strategies (also known as "SOS") initiative has laid out a wealth of instructional strategies that teachers from all curriculum areas and levels can utilize.

To find these effective teacher created resources, log into your Discovery Education account and search for SOS:

 You may want to click the VIEW STRATEGIES BY SKILL button:

The strategy categories will appear, such as ASSESSMENT, COMPARE AND CONTRAST, SUMMARIZING, etc.

 Click VIEW ALL from within a category area to see more strategies:

Select the preferred strategy to view a description, a short video, and a PDF explaining the strategy:

Click the  to ADD TO MY CONTENT, ASSIGN TO CLASSROOM/STUDENT, ADD TO BUILDER TOOL, or SHARE.

Watchkin, Safeshare, and More

If you've ever had something inappropriate appear on the side of your YouTube screen or have been distracted by the many YouTube suggested videos, this post is for you.  Watchkin is a site that allows users to paste a YouTube link into a simple text box and create a new link that points to an ad-friendly video format.

Simply COPY the URL from YouTube:

Next, navigate to Watchkin and PASTE into the Watchkin URL field:

TIP: Use the FULLSCREEN VIEW button in the lower, right corner of the video window:

SafeShare.tv also assists in producing a clean screen for video watchers.  Complete a similar process for SafeShare.tv.

COPY the URL from YouTube:

Now, go to SafeShare.tv and PASTE the URL into the text box:

Click the button.

Change the TITLE if you would like, add a description, select additional preferences and click SUBMIT

A video screen will appear with a new SAFESHARE link at the bottom of the screen:

Viewpure will complete the same task, however the  bookmarklet can be added to the BOOKMARKS BAR for more convenience.

Read more on the Viewpure website.

TEDEd

TED Ed is a collection of educational videos created by educators, screenwriters, and animators.  Their motto is "lessons worth sharing."  These lessons are carefully written, artistically enhanced with graphics and animations, and short and to the point.  Begin by going to ed.ted.com and clicking on LESSONS on the top bar:

In addition to viewing a short, engaging lesson, students can then quiz themselves on the content by clicking the THINK link found at the right of the video.

The DIG DEEPER link allows students to learn more by reading additional information that typically includes links to additional videos or articles.  Finally, the DISCUSS section poses a thought-provoking question for students.  They can respond in class or online with an account (for ages 13 or older with an email address).  Click here for the full tour of the website.

Discovery Education's Board Builder

Board Builder, a student and teacher tool found in Discovery Streaming, is a great way to deliver media content.  It is completely flexible and allows for creativity.  Think of presenting with a digital poster board.

Getting Started

To get started, log into your Discovery Streaming account:

Next, go to BUILDER TOOLS > BOARD BUILDER:

Select a theme:

Enter a TITLE and DESCRIPTION into the CREATE BOARD window and click CONTINUE:

Select an existing folder or use the ADD FOLDER button to add a new folder and click ADD:

Text Objects

1. Click a text object to enter text
2. Click the PENCIL button to display the EDIT TEXT toolbar:
   
   
   
3. Use the EDIT TEXT toolbar to format the text object:
   
   
   

Media Objects

Complete one of the following to insert media into a media object:

1. Click SEARCH to search the Discovery media library, click the orange +ADD button, and click the ADD SELECTED RESOURCES button
2. Click MY CONTENT to access and insert media already saved in your MY CONTENT area
3. Click UPLOAD to upload your own media
   
   
   

Adding Attachments

NOTE: The maximum file size for attachments is 100mb and the maximum amount of files is five.

PERMITTED FILE TYPES:

1. Click the UPLOAD button found in the attachment object to upload a file
2. Click the ADD FILES button
3. Navigate to the preferred file on your computer
4. Repeat steps 2-3 above to add other files NOTE: The maximum file amount is five
5. Click START UPLOAD
6. Click DONE after the upload process is complete

Working with Objects

To move an object, click the object, hover over the grey top bar and drag and drop the object with the four-headed arrow mouse appearance:

Editor Tools

Use the Editor Tools to undo an action, redo an action, change the theme of the board, add items (such as Headlines, Textboxes, Media, and Attachments), apply text styles, change the foreground colors and patterns, and change the background colors and patterns.

Save and Share

Before logging out of Discovery Streaming, be sure to click thebutton found in the top, right corner.

In order for others to see the board, click thebutton and select SCHOOL, DISTRICT, DE COMMUNITY, or NOT SHARED:

Watch this 5 minute video by Kayla Steiner on how to create and share your teacher board.

Flipped Classroom Resources

When flipping the classroom, wouldn't it be nice to have students assess what they are learning while watching a YouTube video, a teacher-created video, etc.?  Two easy-to-use tools will allow teachers to embed formative assessment INTO the video experience.

EDpuzzle offers several features: open-ended questions, multiple choice questions, and comments.  In addition, teachers may want to add video notes to introduce the video to the students or add comments along the way.  The web-based tool provides straightforward pop-up help messages and tutorial videos for the teacher to quickly learn EDpuzzle.  The teacher can control whether the student can skip ahead in a video.  Students connect to the class videos with a unique code.   A scientific text editor is included for use with math and science.  Edpuzzle Analytics provides useful information for educators, such as percent correct per question and per student, whether students watched the video, and number of times a student watched a video position.  Edpuzzle help videos can be found on their blog as well as their YouTube channel.

eduCanon also converts passive viewing of content into active viewing with embedded objects, multiple choice questions, and check all that apply questions.  Open-ended questions are available with the premium version.  Videos from YouTube, Vimeo, and TeacherTube can be used.  Embedding the interactivity is as simple as pausing the video and clicking a Build Question button.  Teachers may want to add feedback text for each correct or incorrect answer choice.  eduCanon prevents students from forwarding past content not yet viewed. A real-time grading feature is provided to monitor student progress and data.  Watch and interact with this eduCanon video to learn more about this free resource. View their Knowledge Base for other questions.

Downloading Images and Video from an iPad

Downloading Images and/or Video onto a  Windows computer

1. On the Windows computer:  From the START button, select ALL PROGRAMS, and launch ITUNES
   NOTE:  If iTunes is not an option, skip to step 6
2. Select > PREFERENCES
3. Click DEVICES
4. Place a check mark next to PREVENT IPODS, IPHONES, AND IPADS FROM SYNCING AUTOMATICALLY.
5. Click OK and EXIT iTunes
6. Connect the device to the computer using the USB cable
7. From the START button, select COMPUTER (or MY COMPUTER for Windows XP)
8. Double-click the device name
9. Continue to double-click the folder icons to navigate to the preferred files
10. Drag and drop the preferred files to the desired location (for example, the Desktop)

Downloading Images and/or Video onto a  Mac computer Using Image Capture

Image Capture can be accessed from the Applications folder and can be used to download pictures or video from an iPad camera roll, iPhone, digital camera or card reader without going through the sync process. 

1. On the mac computer:  From APPLICATIONS, launch ITUNES
   NOTE:  If iTunes is not an option, skip to step 6
2. Select ITUNES > PREFERENCES
3. Click DEVICES
4. Place a check mark next to PREVENT IPODS, IPHONES, AND IPADS FROM SYNCING AUTOMATICALLY
5. Click OK and QUIT iTunes
6. Connect the device to the computer using the USB cable
7. From APPLICATIONS, launch IMAGE CAPTURE and connect a device
8. Use the IMPORT TO drop-down menu to select the desired save location
9. If applicable, check the DELETE AFTER IMPORT box on the lower left side to remove the photos/video from the device
10. Select the photo(s)/video(s) to import using one of the following:
• Single click the preferred video
• Hold down COMMAND while clicking multiple videos
• To select multiple videos in order, click on the top video and then click the last video in the group while holding down SHIFT
11. Click the IMPORT button
    NOTE: Do not use the IMPORT ALL button unless all the pictures/videos are to be imported
12. Select IMAGE CAPTURE > QUIT IMAGE CAPTURE

Downloading Images and/or Video onto a computer Using the Simple Photo and Video Transfer App

SimpleTransfer is an easy way of transferring photos and videos to a computer or other iOS device via WiFi. Cables or extra software are not necessary.  First, install the app on the iOS device.  After launching the app, the user is prompted with directions to enter an IP address into a web browser on the computer.  Instantly, the camera roll from the iOS device appears on the screen!  From there, users may click the  button to move files from their computer to the device.  Alternately, the user may check the preferred picture or video files, and click the  button. So easy!  Note the limitations of the free version - only the FIRST 50 photos/videos of each album can be transferred and multiple file uploads from the computer to the device is limited.

App Developer's Website

Read more and download app