This Just In,,,

Not long ago I had the privilege to collaborate with a staff member from West Virginia University. She was responsible for observing students in the Teacher Education program. To travel to each school location for purposes of observation would have been unproductive and inefficient. Surely there must be a solution to this dilemma.

There was. Using a web cam, laptop, and Internet connection, Oovoo was employed, This web service is similar to Skype and Go ToMeeting. Parties can use these programs to see and hear each other in real time. Additionally, the ability to chat is built in to these programs. Oovoo will record the interactive sessions for later recall, but a fee mist be paid to enable that feature.

Enter justin.tv. This program does the same as Oovoo and Skype. The big difference is that justin.tv records interactive sessions for later retrieval at no charge. I've seen justin.tv in action. It's every bit as good as the competition. The fact that it records and saves sessions for later retrieval adds value for pre-service teachers in that the videos can be saved and incorporated into a digital portfolio of their experiences.

Are there uses for the  classroom by teachers in the field? Absolutely! A few are bulleted below.

Record lessons for later playback:

• Homebound students
• Students at home with illnesses
• Students on vacation
• PLCs and PLNs
• Administrators to evaluate personnel
• Simulated "public speaking" experiences for students
• Schoolwide announcements, news, etc.

I'm sure that as new ideas for ways to use justin.tv come to mind, you'll come to appreciate the power of Web 2.0 applications. Give justin.tv a try. It's free, easy, and powerful.