Marvel: My Anti-Drug

Synchronous Video

I enjoyed doing this activity. I haven't ever used synchronous video before, so it definitely was a learning experience. However, I can see how this could be useful for academics. One benefit could be for students to be able to talk with us (their teachers) in private about problems they are having in the classroom, away from other students overhearing.

Right: Screenshot of me chatting with our teacher, Ben.

What's Your Anti-Drug?

Reflection: I have never actually created a movie using a movie maker program. Hence, it took some time for me to figure out how I was going to get movie clips into a video that I'm making. But, after fiddling around a bit and looking for instructions on-line, I was able to figure it out. Now that I kind of know what I'm doing, it is really enjoyable to create these movies. I have always wanted to create my own videos for different things, but now I'm glad I get the excuse to figure it for an assignment for class. Therefore, I don't feel like I'm wasting time figuring it out. Thanks. :-)

Idea: The idea for my project is for my Health students to create their own "What's Your Anti-Drug?" commercial. This topics would obviously be used during the substance-abuse prevention part of the Health Education curriculum. I have decided to create my own commercial that would be an example of a commercial a student may make for this assignment.

Storyboard: I have used Marvel superheroes as my "Anti-Drug." Therefore, I will have multiple clips from different Marvel superhero movies (e.g. X-Men, Spider-man, Iron Man) showing the superheroes making a type of "entrance" and then a close-up on them. After all the movie clips have been shown, I will then add my part where I'm saying, "Marvel...my anti-drug" at the end.

Collaborative Tools

I would like to talk briefly about Google Sidewiki. I think that this could be a very beneficial tool in teaching/learning. I had never heard of this program before I attended class on Monday. However, I can definitely see how it could help schools, teachers, and students. Teachers could create a class website and students could make comments about certain areas, or assignments, on that site. Or, they could report a problem on the school's website that could later be fixed. Google Sidewiki could also be beneificial if students could leave feedback on certain websites throughout the internet; therefore, other students could see if certain sites will be helpful or not when they visit and see the comment of another student (e.g. research projects, current events, and/or a certain subject matter).

iSafe Certification

The iSafe certification was a very interesting training program. I enjoyed learning about all the different topics that I could teach my students about internet use. Some of the topics that I could teach my students include Personal Safety, Cyber Community Issues, Cyber Security, Intellectual Property, and Cyber Predator Identification.

The iSafe curriculum could be taught in any classroom, for any subject. Almost every subject requires students to use the internet for research or for an assignment. Also, the average student is on-line almost everyday using email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and/or Instant Messaging. Because students are on-line, they need to know about the many different safety concerns that could encounter: viruses, identify theft, stalkers, copyright issues, etc.

As teachers, we want to keep our students safe. We want our students to have the best opportunities that they can get. The iSafe curriculum effectively trains and provides materials for teachers to be able to talk about these subjects with their students. They have different programs for teachers, parents, elderly people, law enforcement, and students. I learned much more about the internet, and I would recommend this training for anyone.