Comments to Andrea Nichols

Comments to Andrea:

Playing for a change is something that my husband and I got turned onto about a year ago.  I love how inspirational it is.  It is also such an awesome opportunity for your students so that they can be exposed to different cultures and circumstances.

Andrea's Post:

Bethke Elementary School Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/bethkeelementary - p/u/3/MuSFYf5ctHg
This YouTube channel features the work of an elementary school teacher at Bethke Elementary School.I feel that the video casts that the teacher has posted would be of particular use for me. I feel that my students would benefit from viewing other student work by children the same age as they are (Grades 3-5). It is obvious that the media assets created in this teacher’s classroom is student led and is very educational and entertaining. I appreciate the way the teacher allows the students’ personalities to shine through their performances.

Playing for Change
www.playingforchange.com
Playing for Change is a non-profit organization that has traveled around the world videotaping street musicians. It is a fabulous project that has been going on for 4 years. Many types of music are represented in the project and utilizing them in the music classroom helps children broaden their view of the world and become more globally aware. I strive to teach tolerance in my music classroom and the videos provided by this website is invaluable to this process.
Here’s a few Playing for Change videos to get you started:
http://vimeo.com/16635645 This video is an overview of Playing for Changes’ seven music programs that have been established as a result of the Playing for Change foundation.
http://www.playingforchange.com/episodes/8/War_No_More_Trouble This video shows musicians from all over the world singing Bob Marley’s War (No More Trouble).
http://www.playingforchange.com/episodes/2/Stand_By_Me This is the video that started the whole Playing For Change movement. It features street musician Roger Ridley singing Stand by Me.
http://www.playingforchange.com/episodes/3/One_Love Another Bob Marley song, One Love, featuring musicians from all over the world.
There’s many more videos on the Playing for Change website but these are a few of my favorites.

Blogging in Education
My AR project is Blogging Across the Elementary Curriculum and I found a number or video resources to support my research. One of my AR goals is to provide professional development to my fellow teachers. These videos would be very useful for teachers who are unfamiliar with the concept of blogging.
Blogging a Bigger Picture http://vimeo.com/4751315
CNN Report: Blogging in Education http://youtu.be/NRyh4UeP-IY
My Blogging Playlist http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=D3B906FF4521C715
I created a YouTube playlist of all the videos I have found that focus on blogging in education. I have tried to focus in on elementary education as that is the level I teach.

PBS.org: Jazz: A Film By Ken Burns
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/
PBS has a lot of great resources for teachers, and the Ken Burns film Jazz is just one of many. Jazz is one of my favorite units in the music class. This site has lots of great videos to show the class without showing the whole movie to the class.