Have any of you used Kaltura yet?  It's a cool new tool (I think...I'm always the "last to know" about the cool new sites) that allows people to collaborate on various types of media products, such as videos, slideshows, podcasts, etc.  At the end of this post you'll see a the list of what you can create.  I have only had a few minutes to play around with it, but here is my first creation.  It's in the "sandbox" stage right now, so my creation was just made up of a few files I had on my desktop.  However, I can see the power in this.  I am picturing groups of students from across the globe collaborating on a DST project or producing a podcast together.  Don't expect the features you are used to in iMovie or FinalCut.  However, do we really need those features if we are trying to focus more on the content anyway?

One other cool thing about this tool is that you do not need to join to collaborate on a media product.  If the creator sets it up so that anyone can view AND edit the product, all the collaborators would need is the URL.  So, with that said, please come play in the sandbox with me.  Add to, delete from or change this Kaltura video with the password wjhs.  Have fun!  And, let me know what you think...I'd love to hear your ideas on how you might use this with students.  (Oh, and let me know if you can't edit the video from this link using the password wjhs.)

Okay, so you can't edit the video without creating an account, but you can view it with the password.  Just click "Cancel" when it asks you to create an account, then enter the password: wjhs.

I was intrigued by the video "A Vision of Students Today," which happens to be this week's video of the week.  For obvious reasons the "statistics" amazed me.  Today's kids actually get 26+ hours of "stuff" done in a 24-hour day!  I was listening to the EdTechTalk chat the other night and found that I could not follow what everyone was saying because I was too busy reading the written chat.  But, the kids in this video would be listening to the presenters, reading the chat, IM-ing their friends, talking on the phone and watching TV all at the same time.  What is wrong with me?!?

Then I started thinking...as educators, how do we handle this?  Do we discourage this type of multi-tasking and teach our students how to focus on one thing?  They can't possibly be paying complete attention to ALL those tasks.  But, can we really change that?  And, do we want to? 

So, since today's students will clearly multi-task for the rest of their lives (bold statement, I know, but I can't see it any other way), the question I have is, how do we help them succeed when they our spreading their attention so thin?
EDIT 10/20/07 - Just read an interesting article that talks about TEACHING multitasking.  Seems to focus more on older students, but interesting nonetheless:

I have been thinking a lot about how to "get around" the requirement of many excellent online resources that an account (with valid e-mail address) be submitted.

We do not give our students school e-mail addresses, and many of them do not have personal e-mail addresses (which I don't allow them to access anyway).  So, how can I have them sign up to collaborate on a Google Presentation or create an Animoto video?

Some of these resources do not require that users "validate" their e-mail address, so I thought about having them "make one up" just to enter in the field.  But, then I grapple with the ethics of that; how can I require them to lie?  What kind of precedent is that setting?

I am thinking about using Gaggle's monitored e-mail service
as an option.  Are there any other similar services/resources out there?  Please do share!