Does anyone else think of music when the seasons change?  This morning, I couldn’t stop thinking about Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.  With a daily routine that relies heavily on music, I turned to Pandora radio to see if I could quickly catch a listen to “Spring.”

I was instantly successful!

In addition to an immediate desire to be outside, I also remembered a time where Vivaldi proved to be an invaluable resource in my classroom.  While teaching English abroad several years back, I often turned to my limited music collection for inspiration in my efforts to enrich the learning experience of my students.  Fortunately, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons helped bridge the language barriers between teacher and a class full of nine-year-olds.

Reflecting back on those days trying to introduce new English words to fourth graders in a remote village, I thought about how I would plan the same lesson today. 

After doing a quick YouTube search for Vivaldi, I found this great video accompaniment from a 1998 film made in Venice featuring this excerpt of “Summer”:

With a rich resource like this at my fingertips, I’m certain my students and I could have engaged in deeper discussions of instruments, sound, architecture and geography.

I welcome you to share with me stories of how you have used music and video to engage your students and enhance your lessons.  I’m always looking for your stories, so please send them along to me at BbTV@blackboard.com.

Although I’ve been a consumer of numerous blogs for years, today shamefully marks my first time ever making a contribution to the blogosphere.  As a first-time blogger, I turned to the “In Plain English” series on the Common Craft Show to see if they had any educational videos for new posters.

In the past this series of clear and simple videos has been a great reference when trying to describe new technologies such as wikis and social bookmarking, particularly to my mom.  In my exploration I also learned a bit more about Sachi and Lee LeFever, founders of the Seattle-based company where “explanation” is their product.

Thanks to this easy 3-minute explanation of “Blogs in Plain English,” I picked up a better understanding of the genesis of blogs and their expansive reach over the years.

If I had to choose my favorite lesson from Lee’s 3-minute explanation, it would be the following:

Bloggers build off one another.

This is just what we’re trying to do with the BlackboardTV Channel on YouTube.  As mentioned in last week’s post, the BbTV initiative is all about helping Blackboard users leverage the power of the video blogging community — vloggers if you will.  As BbTV expands, I’m eager to see how Blackboard’s vast community of innovative users are using video to enhance the campus experience!

We invite you to share with BbTV your own vlogs or suggestions for videos that should be featured here on EducateInnovate.com.  Send your videos to us, or links to clips you like, at BbTV@blackboard.com.

If you’re interested in seeing more of the “In Plain English” series, the BbTV crew has been archiving our favorite clips on the BlackboardTV Channel.