Thing #7 Video Resources

I discounted this 'Thing' when I saw the topic. My apologies. There is so much more available than I realized, I found myself getting lost in 'search mode' for quite a while. Ooops.
...What this 'Thing' did was help me realize that videos are not necessarily a bad thing, they've been vilified for so long as a lazy way to teach. I support students who are dealing with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome. It took just a New York second to realize that search engines provide easy access to videos on the 'topics of high interest' for my students. (Some of my students have topics of interest which are so engaging to them that they will talk/read on nothing else. Of course students need to be able to engage in personal interests, but they are generally not effective at self-regulation and may become completely mesmerized and literally 'check out' of the school day.) We can regulate their access to the topic and the videos can be used as part of their incentive programs. Easily.
....A pleasant surprise when searching for ideas was the number of 'social stories' videos available. Social stories are a means of supporting some of our students, giving them concrete training in how to handle different social situations. The video I found embedded deals with handling changes in school schedules, a relevant topic for middle schoolers. You Tube had social stories on greetings, making telephone calls, working with groups. If we have an Activ Board this year, it will be so easy to use these QUICK videos to support our social skills lessons. Nice.