Next Vista Videos

Citing Sources (Writing)

I checked this one out because I had done a mini presentation on the same subject. It was interesting because this woman used a different program (Citation Machine) than I did. Unfortunately I couldn't really see what she was talking about in the voiceover. Maybe screenshots, which she was using, don't translate well to this medium. Can these Next Vista videos be shown "full screen"? It was useful information explained in good detail but the visuals were weak. A screencast might have worked better than screenshots. I did check out the site she recommended though and it looks pretty user friendly and useful.

Considering Communism (History and Culture)

This was a great video. A perfect introduction to the concept and controversy of communism. It had a great combination of stills and video. The video was a great illustration of the idea and would be understandable and memorable to a group of students. The stills were relevant and well coordinated with the narration. Can't think of anything negative to say about this presentation. I'd love to do one this good.

Pythagorean Theorem (Math)

What possessed me? For a moment I was back in Math 11 and as confused as ever. I might not be a good judge because math can get me a little crazy. It was an interesting explanation, just got a little complicated for me with lots of shifting shapes that I didn't follow too well. However (and this is big) it did lead me to a very cool site called Qlipboard which I intend to investigate further. Looks like a great free place to make screencasts and other kinds of videos that would work well for our purposes. 

I do think that this video would be good for math teachers to check out. If I were a student I'd have to watch it a few times to really get it but that's just the mathphobe speaking. The pace and tone of the narration was really good. The gentleman spoke clearly and it was perfectly synced with the video portion. Qlipboard, here I come.