The role of the audio visual - videos rule!

Buona sera. It's Saturday night again (what a week!) and our homework is to explore some videos and their application to the classroom. The ones i am most familiar with using is YOUTUBE, so, no wonder that's where i started. i found a very funny one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3iAqxNpQ-A
(The Monty Python Italian Lesson) which is very funny and must be quite old, as all the guys look quite spritely. Its is very funny, as the students seem to know more than the teacher and be able to say it better too! I also think humor is very effective in the classroom and i think showing something like this would encourage the students to come up with some of their own funny situations in small groups, which they could perform in class.
One gets very good at skipping the ads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Kx-BDA3mc (English / Italian Lesson 4 - differences / contrari) was quite good. However, the video they invite you to see at the end of it on Body Parts http://www.youtube.com/watch?src_vid=j-Kx-BDA3mc&feature=iv&v=P1MB-DzajMo&annotation_id=annotation_822775 has several grammatical errors and some pronunciation problems! So, i think it is crucial for teachers to preview the videos before showing them to the students. There is plenty of material on youtube and i know students like to use this too. My students can't access youtube themselves at school but they can watch videos selected by the teacher on the large screen.
Then i went to TED, which i have seen before. i liked the option of starting up a conversation or joining in on a conversation, like "As a parent (or a grandparent), how do you bring your child / children up to think and live "Green"?
I looked at some of the talks, but have seen some of them before, so i decided to see if i could find one in Italian on a global issue. this is what i clicked on http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/it/mike_biddle.html
Mike Biddle: La plastica si può riciclare --> where Mike Biddle talks about recycling. I liked the fact that the talk had been subtitled in Italian. The translations seemed spot on to me. So, it could be a very useful option fof the Italian classroom.
I couldn't find a talk delivered in Italian. Even Dr Alberto Cairo's talk was in English and subtitled in Italian http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/it/alberto_cairo_there_are_no_scraps_of_men.html
Nevertheless, there are lots of good things on TED.
Some of the gear on TED-ED seemed to me to be more suitable for switched on senior secondary & tertiary students in general. http://www.academicearth.org/lectures/the-future-of-globalization The Future of Globalization by (Jeffry Smart) wouldnt interest any of my students, although it probably should. The method of presentation was dry - so i would prefer to select something more engaging if i had to entertain / teach high school students.
Kids spend ages watching and sharing short internet videos, especially funny ones, if my 2 are anything to go by. I suppose we all remember more of what we see, than what we are taught in the traditional way.
In closing, i happened upon a kit kat smoothie demo i thought you might enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdhAFnnmYlc&feature=b-cat-howto
Am logging off now. Buona notte, Livia