Museum Box is a presentation tool for students and teachers that allows users to build arguments or descriptions using digital cubes. Students can create cubes on assigned topics and add various media types like text, images, sound clips and videos. Teachers and students can provide feedback through a message center. The number of cubes and layers can vary based on the assignment.
2. Presentation tool for students and
teachers
Can be used to build an argument or
description of an:
◦ Event
◦ Person
◦ Historical Period
3. Students create cubes pertaining to assigned
topics.
Teachers and students can comment on their
projects in a message center.
Students can use Museum Boxes to guide
presentations.
4. The number of
cubes and layers
can be assigned or
determined by the
nature of the
assignment.
Students can have
as few as 1 cube or
as many as 24
among 3 different
layers.
5. Text
Image
Sound Clip
Video
Link to a file
Link to a video
6. All video must be in the following formats:
◦ .flv
◦ .mpg
◦ .avi
◦ .wmv
◦ .mp4
An option for embedding codes is not
available. The videos from websites such as
www.youtube.com must be captured.
7. Launch Fire Fox
Go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-
US/firefox/addon/video-downloadhelper/
Click “Add to Fire Fox.”
Follow prompts to
download the add on
8. Look for an icon to the left of your address
bar that looks like 3 circles.
When you are on any website that has video,
click this icon to download the video.
Finally, designate a location to save it.
When saving within district, save to the V
drive.
Museum Boxes is a tool that allows students and teachers to enhance classroom presentations.It can be used to create an argument or description of an event, person, or historical period.Although it has primarily been created for use in the area of language arts and social studies, it would also be a valid resource for students to create presentations for science as well. Cycles in science such as weather and plant cycles would easily fit into this format as well.
Within the website students can create boxes like the one you see here pertaining to assigned topics.The site is safe for students and approved by the district for use. Another nice feature of the Museum boxes website is that it allows for student and teacher comments within a message center that the students can view when they are signed in. Students can use Museum boxes to guide presentations or simply as a class project that would be reviewed by teachers and peers online.
Students can create many cubes within a layer. Each cube has six sides that information can be added to. The number of cubes or layers can be assigned or determined by the nature of the assignment. Students can have as few as 1 cube or as many as 24 different cubes among 3 different layers as displayed here. For example, a fourth grade student might create a layer with 5 cubes in it about anoles. Separate cubes could be created for where they live, the anole body, daily life, conservation. And reproduction. Likewise, a student could use one cube as a form of a book report. The student might include the title of the book, a summary, the setting, the characters, the problem, and the solution from the story. Each side of the cube is able to hold a substantial amount of information.
Items that can be added to cubes are text, images, sound clips video, and links to files. Anything that is added to a cube must be owned by the creator, copyright free, or free of third party copyright restrictions.
When adding videos you may choose to capture a video from a website. All videos must be in the flv, mpg, avi, wmv, or mp4 formats. Options for adding Embedding codes from websites such as you tube are not available.
This process can be used to capture videos. First, launch fire fox and go to the website that has been displayed. As seen in the image here, click on the “add to fire fox” button and Follow the prompts to download the add on.
When the download is complete, you will now see an image like the one displayed here to the left of the address bar. From now on, when you are on a website that has a video, you can click on this icon to download the video. It will then prompt you to designate a location for saving the video. When saving within the district, save to the V drive or on a personal flash drive
When a museum box has been completed. It must be approved by the Museum Box staff. This approval is what makes this website a safe and trusted site for student use. Approval can take up to 5 days, but is usually quicker than that. During the time that you are waiting for approval the museum box will be unavailable for viewing and editing. Lesson planning would need to be planned to accommodate this process.
The help guide for museum boxes allows users to move their cursor over any area on the screen for help notes. To exit the help mode click on the help button again.
Click on this final image of Museum Boxes to view a how to video.
