As I have said before, I rarely write about items that come with a price tag unless it offers exceptional value to the classroom. With that in mind, my eInstruction Classroom Performance System has arrived. For those not aware of these systems, sometimes just referred to as clickers, they are wireless handheld remote controls that allow students to not only give real time feedback to the content being covered, but also gain real time results. This type of assessment allows teachers to know whether what they’re covering is being digested, and whether they need to pause and go back or keep moving forward.

There’s obviously a lot more that can be done with this system(attendance, grading homework, voting, etc…) that will be covered as I use and experiment with them in my own classroom. Already using CPS? How are you using it in your classroom? Let your tips fly in the comments… they may make it into the next posts.

When trying to raise money to add technology to a classroom, many teachers will turn to writing lengthy grants or begging. I won’t knock either strategy, but eInstruction is giving classes a chance at a remarkable technology makeover in a way that won’t just get the students involved, but will be a blast in the process. What are they wanting? A music video. So not only will your students get to be the rockstars that they are, but their classrooms could walk away technology package whose value might have Timbaland jealous. This leaves only two questions. What do you need to do, and what could you win?

Here is what you do

Make a music video based on the theme of how you use(or could use) technology in the classroom.

The video will be judged on the following criteria: demonstration of effective use of technology, collaboration between teachers and students and the overall creativity and spirit. The video must be submitted by a teacher.

‘eInstruction’ must be mentioned once within the lyrics of the song and the video must direct viewers to www.eimakeover.com to vote. The video should be no longer than two and a half minutes in length.

A panel of judges will select five finalists in each category, and the videos will be posted on the contest website where the public can vote for their favorite.

The contest is open to all primary and secondary teachers and students in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The contest is not limited to users of eInstruction or Interwrite Learning products.

Video submissions for the contest will begin at 12:00 PM EDT (16:00 GMT) on September 15, 2008 via the official contest website: www.eimakeover.com. The contest closes at 11:59 PM EDT (15:59 GMT) on October 24, 2008. Finalists will be announced on October 31, 2008 and winners will be announced on December 3, 2008.

Here’s what you could win

* Next Generation Interwrite® Board
* Next Generation Interwrite® Pad
* Workspace- ExamView® Edition
* CPS RF 32 Unit Student Response System
* ExamView® Assessment Suite
* ExamView® Learning Series
* Dell™ Latitude™ E5400 Laptop
* Planet Earth Series DVD Set by Discovery Education
* Study Island Subscription
* Inspiration® and InspireData™ Licenses*-
* Server - Provided by Safari Montage®
* netTrekker d.i. License
* Control System from Calypso Controls
* AVerVision CP300 Document Camera by AVerMedia®
* One Day of Professional Development from Brewer Technology and Learning
* Free Installation from BMC
* Other prizes will include an LCD projector, sound system and $1,000 (USD) for other classroom technology. Plus, a party for the entire school.

All of this is valued at right around 25,000 dollars.

The contest will name one winner from the following three grade level: Kindergarten through fifth; sixth through eighth; and ninth through 12. In addition, all participants who submit a video will receive a free copy of Workspace- ExamView Edition LE, and the 15 finalists will also receive a software package including our ExamView Assessment Suite, PuzzleView and Quiz Show, allowing winners to present content in a puzzle or game show format.

For rules and guidelines for participating in eInstruction’s Interactive Classroom Makeover Video Contest, visit www.eimakeover.com. For more information on eInstruction’s interactive learning solutions, please visit http://www.einstruction.com.

Downloaded YouTube videos come in either an FLV format or MP4. Neither play in PowerPoint. To be able to work a video into your presentation will require a handy free application call Any-Video-Converter. This program comes complete with a feature that won’t just download the video, but will convert it in a way that will make playable right in your presentation. The following screenshots will walk you through the steps of doing just that.

Before following the steps, download the video converter here.

Step 1:

Visit YouTube and find the video of your choice. On the page that plays it, copy the url in the address bar.

Step 2:

Open Any-Video-Converter and select the YouTube Video icon.

Step 3:

Paste the url of the video into the box that appears. Hit OK when finished.

Step 4:

After clicking ok, the video name and some details will appear in the main window. Right click on it, and select download FLV. A status bar will appear showing the progress of the download. This will download the video, but keep in mind that it is still in a format that will not play in PowerPoint.

Step 5:

After video has finished downloading, select WMV from the dropdown box on the top right of the program window.

Step 6:

Hit the encode button. This will convert your video to a WMV file that can be used in PowerPoint.

Step 7:

When this process has finished, you can find the resulting WMV file in a folder in your My Documents folder. to find it go to My Documents>AnyVideoConverter>WMV.

Step 8:

Open your PowerPoint presentation and go to the page where you wish to play the video. In Office 2007, you will hit the Insert tab, and then select Video From File. Use the box to find the file in the location given above. It will ask you whether you want to play the video automatically or upon being clicked. The video will be inserted on the slide where it can be stretched or placed where you want it.

Once placed on the slide, the video is free to be played anywhere, even if YouTube is blocked. Enjoy.