Video in the Classroom

     I think that video has a place in the classroom. By this I mean videos that others mean, and videos that could be made in the classroom by students. I would like to teach both special education and music, and I could see uses in both of those areas.
     One way video was used in a special ed. lesson plan was where the teachers made up a virtual supermarket that was interactive that students could use to practice shopping for a list of groceries before heading out to the real store. That was a great idea. Another idea would be to teach a student how to ride a city bus, before actually leaving the classroom.The teacher could video the inside of the bus and explain how to pay the fare and how to request a stop at the end of their journey. Knowing these things could really help allay any fears students might have. These two examples show how students could be taught community living skills, which they will need in order to be more independent after they graduate high school.
     For music classes, videos of groups playing, such as jazz trios or symphony orchestras would be very educational. Listening to music is great all by itself, but adding video to the experience adds more dimensions and would help the visual learner to focus on the music better. Making a video of their groups playing or singing would be great, too, so they could see their spring concert performance.Performing groups would probably really enjoy seeing how they looked to the audience. And if anything remarkable happened during the performance, like the conductor falling off the potium, or a student disappearing from the back riser only to reappear seconds later, uninjured, the students would enjoy that,too. (I've seen both of those things at Reading High School concerts!).
     One thing is, I would need more practice if I were the one producing the video of either scenario!