Tuesday, February 27, 2007

3. Midterm - Articles and links

Midterm Assignment

Practice and play with what you have learned. (iphoto, imovie, idvd and itunes).

In the comment box below summarize and comment on each item. (only need to post one reflection covering the three topics). Suggestion, write in Word (offline) and copy and paste to the blog. Save your Word document as backup.

  1. Read an article about using these applications and/or video in education. Read it and reflect your opintions or ideas from the article and how it might apply to your assignment in school.
  2. Go to iTunes, locate a podcast that you may use in your classroom. Tell us what you found!
  3. Go to the iLife Awards Site http://www.apple.com/education/ilifeawards/ and lesson plans page http://www.apple.com/education/solutions/ilife/ Choose one you particularly like or one that is relevent to your job.

Article options
1. Article IPods Fast Becoming New Teacher's Pet
2. Article There's Something in the Air: Podcasting in Education (pdf)
By Gardner Campbell. © 2005 Gardner Campbell
3. How To: Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom * Edutopia Magazine
http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=art_1418&issue=dec_05
Edutopia - A storyteller for education, GLEF profiles how teachers and students around the country are enacting many inspiring stories and transforming their schools http://www.edutopia.org/ - subscribe now!

4. Students Find Their Voices Through Multimedia The San Fernando Education Technology Team helps Latino students deliver powerful messages through video and the Web. Read and Watch - Marco Torres more Teacher Video by Marco Torres and Digital Students (Note Digital Students @analog Schools - 4th on right) Marco Torres student movies
http://homepage.mac.com/cinedlg/html/muves.htm

5. Jamestown - NEA Article http://www.nea.org/takenote/jamestown06.html (and check it out in iTunes/podcast)

6. Podcasting: Collaborative projects and shout-outs
Rock Our World (an international project using podcasting and videoconferencing)
Mothers' Day Podcasts Where in the World Podcasting Project: PDF Description and RSS Feed

7. eSchool News series Video Goes to School (may have to register to read articles *)
Part 1 http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=5597
Part 2 http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStorysr.cfm?ArticleID=5641 *
pPart 3 http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStorysr.cfm?ArticleID=5689 *

eSchool News Video on Demand Boosts Students’ Math Scores
8. http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/Pfshowstory.cfm?ArticleID=5134 *

See you on Friday, March 23rd!!

12 comments:

sudofarr said...

Just watched a couple of the award-winning films on the Apple iLife site, 'Baffling Biomes' from the science collection and 'Grass Born to Be Stepped On from Social Studies.' BB was a little rough although it was cute. There were a lot of copyright things I wondered about, however. For instance, each biome was represented by a popular song (ie, arctic biome was "Baby, it's cold outside"). I think that might be OK in the classroom for the purposes of face-to-face teaching, but once it is published on the Apple site, it seems like Fair Use goes out the window. Oh well, it was pretty cute anyway. I can see our virtual Hale Zoo utilizing something like that.

The other video about Chinese women's rights was phenomenal. It was a great combination of stills, videos and music with narration. It was well-organized, well-researched and well done. I tried to read about the lesson plan, etc, but the server (Apple's) was having some sort of hiccup and it said to come back later. I definitely will because I want to know about assignment that resulted in this student work and then copy it!

Unknown said...

Article reflection:
I read the articles How to: Use Digital Storytelling in Your classroom and IPods Fast Becoming New Teacher’s Pet.

I will be honest, when it comes to understanding iPod, podcast and blog, I feel like I am stuck in the 50’s as far as my personal vocabulary and knowledge are concerned. As I read suggested articles, and recently found my way to the iTunes store, I realize I am still living in a cave.

As I learn more about the new trends in technology, I realize I could be introducing these ideas into my classroom, especially my aerobic classes. Students could make up mini-routines, video/edit/produce and post them! I will have to do some research within my school to see what equipment and programs are available for students to work with. We used to be one of the top schools in central MA in regards to technology....I do not feel we are even close now.
Students could also use this venue a makeup option.

iTunes/Podcast reflection:
I chose health/fitness topics to review, and really enjoyed them! The most heIpful podcast was Motivation to Move. I learned a few new “moves” geared for core training and plan on introducing a couple of these exercises to my aerobics class this week! I am hoping, that some day, I feel more confident with my technological knowledge/skills and create an aerobics workout for viewing. Students could introduce and demonstrate specific exercises using stability balls, free weights and medicine balls. Students could demonstrate one exercise, with varying degrees of intensity -easiest, hard, most challenging. Students could also show correct/incorrect technique when executing each exercise. With a dvd production, each student could then be given a copy to work out at home!


iLife Awards reflection:
There is limited selection for my teaching area so I chose Health Bytes Film Festival under the Health category. Wyoming Middle School, May 2003 created a project on teenage depression. A young male actor portrayed a variety of tell tale signs of depression (struggling to get out of bed, not wanting to eat, being bullied at school etc.). The main point is to seek help as soon as possible by talking to someone. In my opinion, it was a wonderful way to present real life situations that may indicate depression. The students chose great examples, and conveyed them nicely throughout the film.

I could have students create movies on the 5 components of health: muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance and BMI. Students could elaborate on the importance of each component in regards to overall health. Demonstrations of an exercise in each component to help improve ones fitness level could be performed. Statistics could be given orally or written to emphasize the importance of being physically fit.


Denise H. Aldrich

sudofarr said...

I just looked at a number of the Rock Our World videos and some were pretty good. They were all pretty simple minded and I thought that any of our kids could make these...they used garage band with music and voiceover narration with video segments from the schools. I liked the voice over better than the live audio because it seems so much easier to control the volume so everything is the same. The Sierra something Middle School had a segment about lunch and the clips with live audio were hard to understand.

Lizette Crowley said...

About the videos in the classroom article:

I agree with this article. I have used small clips to enhance the lesson. I recently was reading a book about volcanoes to my small reading group. The book talked about how the Hawaiian Islands were formed from volcanoes. The students could not understand this concept. They had never seen a volcano (I have not either). I was able to download a video from http://volcano.und.edu/. We needed no more words afterwards.
This can be powerful. I want to take advantage of this resource more.

About the iLife lessons from Apple. LOVED THEM! I have done some of this too however, I have always felt uneasy with the legal issues attached to having someone else's children on a video for the world to see. I have created forms for parents to sign regarding videotaping and I would never do it without their permission. However, since I am not a lawyer, I wonder how "good" are my forms. What if 10 years from now I get a knock on my door??
Is there a "legally-ok" form out there for teachers to use?

About the Podcasting article:

I am really interested in creating my own podcast. I can see how fantastic it can be as an educational tool. I am looking forward to that portion of the class.:-)

Unknown said...

Mary post for Lizette

About the videos in the classroom article:

I agree with this article. I have used small clips to enhance the lesson. I recently was reading a book about volcanoes to my small reading group. The book talked about how the Hawaiian Islands were formed from volcanoes. The students could not understand this concept. They had never seen a volcano (I have not either). I was able to download a video from http://volcano.und.edu/. We needed no more words afterwards.
This can be powerful. I want to take advantage of this resource more.

About the iLife lessons from Apple. LOVED THEM! I have done some of this too however, I have always felt uneasy with the legal issues attached to having someone else's children on a video for the world to see. I have created forms for parents to sign regarding videotaping and I would never do it without their permission. However, since I am not a lawyer, I wonder how "good" are my forms. What if 10 years from now I get a knock on my door??
Is there a "legally-ok" form out there for teachers to use?

About the Podcasting article:

I am really interested in creating my own podcast. I can see how fantastic it can be as an educational tool. I am looking forward to that portion of the class.:-)


Lizette Crowley
Instructional Technology Specialist
C. W. Morey Elementary School
lcrowley@lowell.k12.ma.us
978-441-3725

Carol said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Carol said...

Articles:
I read How to Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom and iPods: Fast Becoming The New Teacher's Pet.

While projects of the magnitude of the first article are clearly geared toward older students, I was impressed with the core benefits to the students more than with the actual project. First, they became familiar with and adept at utilizing the technology, skills that are most necessary in today's professional world. Next, they were able to put into practice skills such as research, development, and the fine tuning of information for presentation. Further, and very important as a life skill, they were learning to function as a team, to collaborate with peers toward a common goal. The also learned the importance of giving something to the world. They were able to refine their skills to the point of being able to teach others, as well as gain further proficiency in areas they needed to work on. Last, they were able to experience the thrill of having their work, something that they had invested so much in, viewed and favorably received.

The iPod article was an interesting insight into the possibilities of using this technology with podcasting even with very young students. The students in the article seemed to have a lot of great ideas as to how to use the podcasting in their school. Personally I think it would be a great tool in a system like mine, where second language learners are frequently unable to relate to or understand many concepts due to language differences, a lack of cultural understanding, and underexposure to the world around them. To use this technology with second language learners would greatly enhance their understanding, and could certainly be used to enhance our understanding of their cultures as well. Like Lizette, my laptop is always close by when we are reading about something that these kids have never experienced-a few weeks it was a video of the Northern Lights-the kids had no idea from just the reading what they looked like, nor could they make the connection to the idea of a Finnish folk tale explanation of them. Of course, first we had to find Finland on the map...

Podcasts: Although there are a zillion podcast out there, I had trouble finding one that I could relate to or consider using with special needs kids. I saw/heard some good ones, some really boring ones and some pretty funny ones. For my kids, we need to back it up a bit-vocabulary at an elementary level, grammar, etc. I though I was close when I found a podcast made by the folks from Open Court, but it was on chanting and made for teachers-it would be great if they had the chants, done by kids, for the kids to work with. Strictly audio podcasts will likely be less beneficial to special needs kids-it's all in the visuals usually, so we need video podcasts. I'd like to see some Orton-Gillingham based stuff maybe...

iLife Awards-Now here I had fun, because I found a viseo that is exactly what I'd like to do. (Kindergarten Trip To The Zoo) Last year we made a book with iPhoto of a field trip we attended that turned out great. It included photos and illustrations and text written by the kids, complete with chapters and personal reflections. What an amazing iMovie it would have made. The kids could have done commentary, role-playing, and interviews. Because they visited textile mills, the machinery could have been added as audio to get the effect of the noise-great! They would have to plan what was going to be done, and researched where they were going, which is great pre-teaching for their trip. Next year...

Laurie Patterson said...

I read the articles, “iPods Fast Becoming New Teacher’s Pet” and “How To: Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom.” I thought there was a lot of good and interesting ways teachers are using podcasts in classroom. I especially like the idea that parents can stay informed about some of the things the students are doing at school. I have used iMovie in a classroom setting for many different projects from first grade phonics to fifth grade science. Using visual media helps keep students involved and on task.

I have found many, many podcasts that I listen to for my own personal education. I listen to several on Photoshop, scrapbooking as well as educational technology. My current favorite is the iLifeZone produced by Scott Bourne, and Chris Breen, both of whom are very active in MacWorld. But one very interesting podcast I found were Sudoku puzzles from TimesOnline.

As I looked at some of the iLife Award winners I was disappointed in myself that I had not submitted some of the work I’ve done with students. There is so much technology out there, and so many resources, it seems almost impossible to keep up with what is going on. Apple has a wonderful resource that I have been aware of for many years, but just have not taken full advantage of it.

Laurie Patterson said...

I read the articles, “iPods Fast Becoming New Teacher’s Pet” and “How To: Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom.” I thought there was a lot of good and interesting ways teachers are using podcasts in classroom. I especially like the idea that parents can stay informed about some of the things the students are doing at school. I have used iMovie in a classroom setting for many different projects from first grade phonics to fifth grade science. Using visual media helps keep students involved and on task.

I have found many, many podcasts that I listen to for my own personal education. I listen to several on Photoshop, scrapbooking as well as educational technology. My current favorite is the iLifeZone produced by Scott Bourne, and Chris Breen, both of whom are very active in MacWorld. But one very interesting podcast I found were Sudoku puzzles from TimesOnline.

As I looked at some of the iLife Award winners I was disappointed in myself that I had not submitted some of the work I’ve done with students. There is so much technology out there, and so many resources, it seems almost impossible to keep up with what is going on. Apple has a wonderful resource that I have been aware of for many years, but just have not taken full advantage of it.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

Midterm Assignment
Sheila Labriola

I chose to read: “There’s something in the Air: Pod casting in Education.” The article was great for me because of my lack of knowledge on this topic. After class, I asked my IT teacher, “Why do we need pod casting?” To me, I felt the predictions from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 were ringing true like the predictions from Nostradomus. In Fahrenheit, the people walked around wearing in their ears “seashell thimbles” constantly listening to the words of the government. Eventually, most people could not think for themselves anymore, lacked emotion, and lost the ability to read and write.
Can the world of pod casting create illiterate people?
So I met Jenny in the article. What a cool college life she has; waking up to her itunes music and a philosophy explanation on excerpts she was to read later that day. It gets even better; she learns to speak Arabic with students and meets a really cool professor BEFORE she actually takes the course! All this learning takes place on a walk through campus, commuting in her car, or in her dorm room still in her PJ’s!
At this point I am still skeptical, thinking the next generation is cursed with way too much communication. Jenny passes friends on the way to class saying hi to friends, pausing the pod cast to hold a conversation. Just as the article reiterates that teachers need to at least expose themselves to “rich media authoring” I begin to value the significance of educating myself about skills my students already come to school with. I learned this quickly in the past week when one of my students helped me play around with Garage Band for the upcoming weekend. He amazingly designed a rock song mixed with techno-transitions in about three minutes. I decided to listen to some pod casts to search for the deeper meaning. I entered into ITUNES and skimmed through poetry pod casts. Weeding through them, I came across some stupid ones, a gruesome poem being read by a Dr. who cared for a drug addict who used so many needles and finally, a professor reciting a poem to his class. At this point, I connected to the part in the article that referred to “the magic of the human voice.” I love to “read aloud” to my students, and they beg me to read to them. I listened to some short stories being read and a newscast, this time more in tune to the power of the voice. My creative side began to soar seeing the benefits through a different mind.

To keep to the general theme of poetry, I looked at the ILIFE lessons finding the IPOETRY: Modern Interpretation of Classic Poetry (A runner-up) really fascinating. This year, I have been reading a poem a day to my sixth graders. There are many benefits to poetry in my writing curriculum but my students have come to enjoy the special time I recite to them and our interpretation discussions. I always practice the poem several times before I read it to them. We also have been looking at song lyrics and how the words, melody, and tone relate to the theme of a book. So when I saw the poetry lesson, I was shocked at how these two ideas I had been using were incorporated in movie. I would like to enhance this lesson with some of my video clips of students reciting and make a pod cast of their two favorite poems we voted on this year!

In other words, it all is so connected and although change can be hard and cause undue skepticism, I suppose I want to be a life-long learner as stated in my school’s mission statement. Looking forward to garage-banding it, pod casting it, and Stephen Speilberging it this weekend!

Unknown said...

1. Article
How to Use Digital Storytelling in your Classroom
Until I read this article I thought of storytelling as an event where an experienced story teller or grandparent related a folktale or original story or a moment from the past. Around that storyteller a rapt group of listeners would be sitting.

I can see that the word storytelling can take on a new meaning, much more than my traditional and somewhat narrow view of it. After I read the article I can see that story telling could be a persuasive piece such as a commercial, or a documentary of a person’s life, or a description of a day in school.

I especially like the idea that technology could be used to tell the story and in addition, that learning takes place for both student and teacher. I have not had the opportunity to use this technology with students but I can see the possibilities. Part of my job in the library is to teach research skills to students, including note taking, from a variety of print and online sources. I work with the teacher during the research process and sometimes make suggestions about ideas for the final project. After the research the students work in the classroom or the computer lab (Kid Pix ).

I can see that there are a lot more choices than written reports or posters or dioramas or KidPix for final projects. iMovie and podcasts could be suggestions for projects and allow students to tell their “story” in a different and interesting way limited only by the age of some of the computers in the schools and the lack of iLife software. By showing examples of this type of creative project it might be possible to persuade the district to upgrade existing equipment to newer Macs with iLife.

2. Podcasts
In my first venture into Pod casts I discovered one about Yellowstone National Park, Bears, a Yellowstone Love Story. This was personally interesting to me as I enjoy visiting national parks and photographing wildlife. In my school district the fourth grade classes study regions and one class will be doing a library research project on national parks and monuments in April. Excited about the possibility of using this podcast I tried to transfer it to an MP3 player I bought last summer and never used. Then I discovered it was a video podcast which my player doesn’t support. I watched it on the small screen on the computer and realized that it would be a great introduction to the park research project as it explained the idea of the conflict between visitors and wildlife in national parks. Historical footage of people feeding bears and audio about the changes in policy over the years would capture the student’s interest and also give an overview of decisions that need to be made to keep our parks in a wild state.

Another podcast that I will be able to use was (EFT) Electronic Field Trip. One called Show me the money would be useful in a project I have proposed for the third grade students who are studying famous men and women of Massachusetts. They have to write a letter persuading the government to use the Massachusetts person they are studying on a new issue of a dollar bill. They need to be specific as to the positive impact of their person’s accomplishments in their letter. Then they have to design a dollar bill which would have the required currency information in addition to specific images or text which tell about their Massachusetts person. In this video podcast children are learning about currency standards and then designing their own bills and coins. The only thing I didn’t like was the EFT logo flashing frequently as an ad.

I listened to several other pod casts including Why, The science show for kids. Questions and answer format provided answers to student questions such as “What would happen if there were no plants?”, “Who was the first person in space?” This might work in a science classroom but was not useful for me.

3. iLife Winners
When Fifth grades were part of the elementary schools in our district they came to the library to gather information about biomes. They used print and online resources to find out about the plant and animal communities in each biome. The final product was usually a poster illustrated with text and hand drawn and computer images.

When I saw the iLife award winner about biomes I saw the possibilities for a creative final project that would still require careful research, but would be a vehicle for presenting biome information in a new and exciting way. This project depended upon a zoo nearby but it would be possible to do it without the zoo by using video clips and stills.

Just by watching and observing how the students combined video and stills with the use of text and a clever question and answer section, I learned many techniques that I would like to try on my own. I also can see why this form of final project would keep students engaged and interested and also learning from each other.
I sent the URL on to one of the 5th grade teachers and look forward to discussing it with her.
Sue