During this Summer, we held a unique event for us, the first Innovative Teachers Summer Camp, where we invited 10 of our innovative teachers to develop some classroom resources. Their task was to begin creating short, 3-5 minute videos, to support teachers and educators in the use of technology in the classroom.
We call these videos 'InnoVIDS' because they are videos from our Innovative teachers. (Get it?!)
Our team of teachers have produced the first 10 videos, all of which deal with features of Office 2007 and how teachers and students use Word, Excel and PowerPoint in the classroom. Kristen and I were amazed at the features teachers were using, as many were not the obvious ones we had thought of and some we had never realised existed in these applications.
To give you a little taster of what these InnoVIDS can offer, I am posting the links to the first five in this list, as our final birthday present of the month! The remainder of the videos -- and any new videos (which we'll post in the coming weeks) -- can be found in this feature on the UK Innovative teachers Network.
Video Title
Details
File size
Using 3D surface Charts in Excel
Using surface charts to create 3D models of landscapes from contour data from maps.
9Mb
Using the Math Add-in in Word
Using the Maths Add-in to solve and visualise equations.
15Mb
Using PowerPoint to make comic books
Creating comic books using the features of PowerPoint.
36Mb
Using Goal Seek in Excel
Using the Goal Seek feature to solve and model data relationships.
12Mb
Using the Research function in Word
How the research functions can be used to gather information more effectively.
34Mb
Using SmartArt in Word
How the SmartArt feature in Word can be used to support science learning
available on UK ITN
Using text features in Word
How the various text formatting features can be used to analyse a piece of text in English.
Using the Action Button features of PowerPoint
How to use the action buttons and hyperlinks to control the activity of a PowerPoint document.
Using Plex for PowerPoint
How the Plex add-in for PowerPoint can be used to support learning.
Using Excel to tell stories
How to use Excel to structure data to tell a story.
We will publishing more videos each month on the Innovative Teachers Network, so check the blog and the ITN often for new updates. If you have any suggestions for an area we should cover with an InnoVID, please let us know. You can email your suggestions to v-sball@microsoft.com
We hope you'll find these videos - and all of the other birthday gifts we've provided this month - useful. Let us know how you're using them in your teaching!