“Meet Me at the Corner Virtual Field Trips for Kids takes you to meet fascinating people from all over the world.” (homepage)
User's Annotation
Want to learn how to make video podcasts about interesting people, events, or your favorite books? Then check out Meet Me at the Corner, where you can learn how to do this and more, and submit your videos to be possibly edited and shown on the Internet!
About the Site’s Creator
In 2006, Donna W. Guthrie founded Meet Me at the Corner. She has authored more than twenty award-winning books for children, among them a middle grade fiction novel, Frankie Murphy’s Kiss List. She has also taught kindergarten through fifth grade, and is a visiting professor at Colorado College where she teaches children’s writing. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Children’s and Young Adult Writing.
Genre
Web site: video production
Interest Age
9-14 yrs.
Site Content
This is a Web site where kids can learn how to create video podcasts and submit them for possible editing and posting online. The age range of children who can submit videos is not specified, but the children in the videos that I watched appeared to be 9-14 years old. The percentage of submitted videos which are posted on the site is not specified. The site contains video podcasting lessons which very clearly demonstrate the process from start to finish. Storyboarding templates are also provided. The meat of the site is a collection of about 80 videos created by children: principally interviews of adults skilled in some area, book reviews, or a piece on an event which took place in the child’s hometown. Just a small sample of the topics included are: music, sports, art, travel, astronomy, history, and poetry. A new video appears every two weeks, and many of the videos included links to learning activities, related Web sites, and recommended books. The topics of the next videos scheduled to appear this month and next are: the U.S.S. Midway Museum in San Diego, the artwork in the New York City subway system, and model trains. There is also a page listing links to art and writing contests.
Critical Evaluation
I am very impressed with this site, and found it very user-friendly. There are a few commercial ads and of course the Amazon store, but I think the educational value of the site far outweighs the small commercial intrusion. And people are watching the videos on this site – each has been viewed at least hundreds, if not thousands of times, based on site stats. I found the video podcasting lessons quite informative, yet easy to understand, and I even learned several good tips myself. The site is very well-organized and I liked the music and design elements at the beginning of each video, very current and attractive for kids and adults alike. It is obvious that thoughtful preparation has gone into the learning activities and lists of Web site recommendations and books. My only wish, however, is of course that the list of recommended books be moved from the bottom to the top of the page, or at least somewhere in the middle. Despite a few issues with choppy sound during the videos (and this may well have been due to my computer), I highly recommend this site. And I’m absolutely certain that we’re going to see poised 12-year-old Emma as a filmmaker or CNN news correspondent someday. :)
Talking Up The Site
• Show clips from a few of the videos on the site which offer instruction on make a video podcast.
• Show clips from a few videos which kids have submitted to the site.
Curriculum Ideas
• Critical Thinking: Each student reviews a favorite video on the site, sharing with classmates its strong points and areas for possible improvement.
• Media Production: In small groups, students story board and create videos, and then submit them to the site.
Potential Challenge Issue & Defense
Site includes an Amazon store and a few commercial advertisements:
• Become familiar enough with the site’s content to promote its merits.
• Refer to library’s Internet policies.
• Refer to site reviews from authoritative sources.
• Obtain site reviews from tweens who have used it.
Why I Chose This Site
I wanted to review a site at which tweens can learn the basics of video production.
Posts
1 comment:
Thanks for the nice review. I really appreciate your help in getting the word out about MEET ME AT THE CORNER, Virtual Field Trips for Kids.
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