Project SOCRATES:

Stream Award-winning Video into Your Classroom

Enhance curriculum by streaming award-winning video into the classroom via the Internet.  Timely clips and images can be shown alone or integrated into presentation software (like PowerPoint) to create complete lessons. Teachers can create assignments that include written directions, links to video concepts or images, interactive assessment, and Encyclopedia Britannica content.  A closed e-mail system for teacher/student communications is also available. 

The classroom teacher’s day has changed dramatically over the years.  A day that used to consist of the 3 R’s now includes instruction in health, basic technology skills, diversity and many other subject areas that use up valuable teaching time.  It is difficult to include learning enhancements that teach to different learning styles.  It is time to look for smarter ways to deliver curriculum which appeals to those different learning styles.

Video streaming (the delivery of video via the Internet and a computer) has been around for a few years, but until recently Internet bandwidth was a limiting factor.  Today many school districts manage, own, or leased fiber networks within their Local Area Network, as connections to the Internet increase and demands from the classroom grow. 

Companies like AIMS Multimedia have adapted their huge video tape collection to a digitized format to run over the Internet.  AIMS has also taken the next step to create a data base of information called Digital Curriculum: Complete Curriculum on Demand, a collection of video programs edited into learning concepts—short 1–5 minute video segments that address a particular lesson objective.  Teachers can download these concepts to their computer, connect to a TV or video projector, and show pertinent video information to introduce or support their lesson objective.  Digital Curriculum’s website has another data base of full length videos, concept video clips, photos and still images available to the student and the teacher 24 x 7. This technology could help homebound students with Internet access receive instruction live from the classroom.

Project SOCRATES, in cooperation with South Central Service Cooperative, can provide video streaming for member districts at reduced prices through AIMS Multimedia. Training sessions are available to interested districts, enthusiastic about video streaming possibilities.  Contact Glenn Morris at South Central Service Cooperative (507-389-5106 or gmorris@mnscsc.org) or Project SOCRATES Director, Dale Carrison (507-388-4264 or dcarrison@projectsocrates.org) for further information.