Tool 3: Videos and Images

1.  As I checked out the various sites, You Tube seemed to have the most resources connected to Guidance and Counseling.  In the past, we've used You Tube videos in advisory lessons focusing on bullying and teen dating violence.  As I searched different topics connected to my work, I was surprised to see so many different kinds of videos that would be good for additional advisory topics, as well as student and parent presentations.  When checking out Teacher Tube, I wondered if that might be a better way to distribute our morning announcements.  That way, teachers would have the flexibility to show announcements at the time that best fits in the class, rather than always at the same time each day.  Additionally, students who miss announcements might have the opportunity to watch them at a later time.

2.  Here are a couple of the videos I found that I believe would be useful to use in student and parent presentations.  This first one is a bit long, so using the tools to edit parts would be best in order to focus on the specific topic at hand. 

I also searched for videos connected to financial aid and FAFSA, something our seniors are currently working on.  I wanted to make sure the videos were produced by reputable organizations, so that eliminated a large number.  Additionally, I wanted the information to be current.  The video below is a fair description of financial aid- unfortunately, I did not find one that is super engaging, up to date, and accurate.

3.  As far as copyright and fair use policies, I've always just assumed you could not use materials that did not belong to you .  I was surprised to read the summary that within a secure posting, anything goes, so to speak.  I was not aware that there were specific guidelines for educators, and did not know that some exceptions existed for education that are not allowed for the general public.  I found the "Exceptions for Educators" tool very useful with its real life examples.

4.  I'm very excited to know about Dropbox!  For years, I have been emailing documents to me at home if I needed to work on something on the weekend or in the evening.  Dropbox will keep me from having to do that.  I not only loaded it onto my work computer, but have also loaded it onto my personal computer.  I also anticipate this being a great way to save our school recruitment presentations.  Currently, they are saved on the server.  However, if we ever have issues accessing the server, we can also have them available on the internet.  I'm also eager to work with Picasa.  I take lots of photos at work, but download them on my home computer.  Picasa will allow me to have access to the pictures at work without having to burn a disc or email them.