Video-on-Demand

Video is a powerful tool for today’s educators that can significantly enhance the student learning experience. But to truly benefit, schools need to have the right infrastructure in place to support the high bandwidth and quality of service required to deliver rich multimedia content, not just to the teacher’s classroom computer, but to all wireless devices – from Netbooks to mobile phones. Case in point—Keller ISD in Texas.

SAFARI Montage has brought me great pleasure since day one. I started looking back at the year a few days ago. It’s something I should have done at the start of the new year, but I always say it’s better late than never. That got me to really thinking about the ways in which SAFARI Montage has changed my world and improved my teaching opportunities. The following is the culmination of some of those “best” moments…

As my 92 year old grandfather says, “Guess who's comin'?” in his thick New York dialect, as young children, my brother, sister and I would cry out, “WHO, WHO?”  His response was “Mary!” We would yell back “Mary who?, Mary who?”  At the top of his lungs he would answer with a hearty “MARY CHRISTMAS....HO HO HO!”  Although we are now several hundred miles away and I now know the answer to this 38 year old question, he still asks me, “Guess who's comin'?” Not wanting to spoil years of tradition I still play along with his guessing game.

Combining the “Best Instructional Materials”¹ with the highest rated² Video-on-Demand System from SAFARI Montage is giving middle and high school math teachers an opportunity to reach their 21^st century students in a manner that speaks the students’ language.

Did you ever go to the theater and see a cartoon before the movie? Did you ever ask (OK, beg) someone to take you to see a movie only to hear “You’ll just have to wait until it comes on TV.” Then when it did finally come to TV, you made elaborate plans to make sure you would be able to watch that night? Do you remember waiting for a commercial and then making a mad dash for the bathroom, fridge or other necessity? (This may have involved deception, bargaining and skullduggery to get ahead of your siblings.)

I’m old. I’m reminded of this fact by many things, including the mirror and comments from my teasing, twenty-something children.

Want to know how old I am?

One of the great joys in my life is teaching adult English language learners two nights a week. I look forward to every new adventure that teaching a second language brings. If you have ever taught a second language, you know how important it is for students to hear and see excellent examples of the language.

This past year for the first time as a Library Media Specialist, I had the pleasure and privilege of teaching 4 different groups of students who are on the autistic spectrum. They ranged in their abilities. They also ranged in their personal preferences; likes, dislikes, expectations and routines. So far they sound like any other class but what made these groups of students unique was their ability to communicate.

Our high school was fortunate to have been selected by the Baltimore County Public School's Office of Library and Information Service to receive CreationStation. This powerful tool allows our school to post locally created content to our servers for school-wide use. This posting ability has been an exciting opportunity for not only creativity but time saving practicality, especially for our administration.