The vidcast that Alyse Starley and I prepared together is called "Order of Operations." Our vidcast goes along with the math curriculum for the 4th, 5th and 6th grades. We chose this subject for our vidcast because we think it is important for our students to understand the order of operations in a math problem. It is something they will be using during their many years of math study. We also really liked teaching the acronym of PEMDAS ("Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally") and thought it would be helpful and useful for them throughout their lives.
The potential drawbacks for using this vidcast would probably be that we could only use it once per year. Once they have seen it, they probably would not be interested in seeing it again. It would work well for a quick review of the concept and maybe refresh their memories as they move on from year to year.
I would love to use our vidcast in my future classroom. I would like to teach 5th grade which will be the second year of them learning and practicing this concept. Our vidcast could be used to help them to refresh their memories so that it will be easier for them the second time around. I remember learning the acronym for the order of operations and it has stuck with me for a very long time. Anything that we can do to trigger their memories or help them memorize something will definitely benefit the student. There are a lot of students who really struggle with math and I think that if we can make it fun and give them fun ways to remember, the students will be able to learn the information better and it will be more likely that they will actually retain it.
Alyse and I really enjoyed making the vidcast. It was a fun and easy project. We recorded it with my blackberry phone and uploaded it directly to youtube. It was a very slick and easy process. I am planning on doing as many vidcasts and I possibly can to help teach my students.
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