About My Tool: EduCanon
EduCanon allows teachers and students to create interactive videos. They are very simple to use, having an extremely clear, user-friendly website to manipulate all of its features. As a teacher, I strive for one-hundred percent student engagement, and, even though that is nearly impossible, I believe eduCanon is a tool that elevates the common video, changing it from something flat to something interactive. With a few clicks, some simple questions, and a push of the “play” button, eduCanon catches the mind and holds it until the last seconds of the video.
Teaching with EduCanon
All that is required to use eduCanon is a computer and an internet connection. Being so easy to utilize, these teacher-modified videos can be used to enhance any lesson. I especially enjoy using them to check for comprehension. A lot of the time, teaching students a second language is a challenge because vocabulary is so wide and grammatical concepts can pose issues. If I wanted to show a video without eduCanon, I would often need to prepare the students before watching, giving them every concept that will appear ahead of time or wait until the end to deliver all the misunderstood concepts that the students did not comprehend during the video. With eduCanon, though, I can check for comprehension as a class and move on. Also, eduCanon allows students to go at their own pace throughout the video. All I would have to do is give them the link to the modified video and have them watch and respond on their own.
I could definitely see myself using eduCanon in the Pre-AP Spanish course that I’m teaching next school year. In it, we will cover numerous works of literature from various Hispanic authors. There are many short film adaptations of these works, most found on YouTube. With eduCanon, I can modify these videos to check for comprehension or maybe offer a question on comparisons.
I have discussed with a group of other teachers about their insights on eduCanon and how they use it/ plan on using it in their classroom.
Connecting with the Common Core
Even though Spanish is not part of the Common Core Standards, I found that the most similarities occur within the English Language Arts and Literacy. For my interests, I found that the Reading Standards section related best to what I would be teaching in Pre-AP Spanish. Using eduCanon would help facilitate incorporating the standards into what I would teach.
The following are example standards.
 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. |
Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact. |
Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement). |
I feel that the standards above could be integrated successfully through eduCanon, specifically when analyzing Spanish literature. These would direct me as I help the students draw comparisons, find meaning, and notice structure between the literature and the short film adaptations I previously mentioned.
