I was a member of Edutopia this past year and became active in discussing ideas and interventions with other teachers through the forum. Edutopia is part of the George Lucas Educational Foundation that provides educators with current methods, models, videos and lesson planning materials.
One specific area of interest I looked at was project based learning in the classroom. I was able to read specific articles that shared teacher's experiences about what worked and what didn't work and how collaborative settings can enhance learning and social interactions. I was able to discuss with other educators through the online blog questions I had as well as browse through a library full of resources.
Edutopia Website
An article entitled, "Project-Based Learning: Real-World Issues Motivate Students" showed me some really neat project-based learning activities other teachers were doing in their classroom. Seeing activities first-hand through gave me some ideas to adapt and use in my own classes. Read the article and see the videos here.
As an Edutopia member, I received weekly emails that shared "hot topics" in education and resources to utilize through the website. I plan to continue my membership and read through Edutopia's resources continually for leading research and instructional activities. Overall, being a part of this online community was beneficial to me and my practice.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
IEP-Garage Band
For my IEP, I chose to learn Garage Band. Garage Band is a Mac application that allows you to create music tracks or podcasts. I decided on Garage Band because I knew students were interested in the program and I wanted to find a way I could use it to help them begin professional authorship. I had seen my students play with it to record songs and had once played with the musical options but became quickly overwhelmed.
After my learning experience, I then created a series of lesson plans that incorporate the use of Garage Band to create a podcast that shares a family story. I started by playing with the application. I read and viewed a few useful sites to help me get acquainted with the program and to guide my exploration. Specifically, Dave Jackel's video tutorial from eHow.com was very helpful. View the video here.
His lesson on exporting was also very helpful. View it here.
After exploring and getting familiar with the functions and buttons, I then worked on my script for my recording. I recorded a story my mother told me about a seal's spirit when she taught me how to cut a seal. I then added an introduction and story background. Finally, I exported it and published it as a podcast file.
Using what I had learned and this podcast idea, I created a unit for my Yup'ik I class on Preserving Family Stories. Storytelling is a powerful educational tool and is rooted in Yup'ik traditions of the oral tradition. In designing these lesson plans I had to keep in mind modeling and being explicit about direction and expectations for the development of the story project.
View my lesson plans here for my unit: Preserving Family Stories Using Podcasts
Taking the time to learn Garage Band was extremely beneficial. I was finally able to have a comfortable grasp over the application and its abilities. I plan to teach this unit this year and think my students will really enjoy the creation of their podcast. Learning this program has also opened up an array of possibilities to record Yuraq (Eskimo dancing) songs and Elder interviews. I'm very excited to incorporate other ways to use it in my classroom!
After my learning experience, I then created a series of lesson plans that incorporate the use of Garage Band to create a podcast that shares a family story. I started by playing with the application. I read and viewed a few useful sites to help me get acquainted with the program and to guide my exploration. Specifically, Dave Jackel's video tutorial from eHow.com was very helpful. View the video here.
His lesson on exporting was also very helpful. View it here.
After exploring and getting familiar with the functions and buttons, I then worked on my script for my recording. I recorded a story my mother told me about a seal's spirit when she taught me how to cut a seal. I then added an introduction and story background. Finally, I exported it and published it as a podcast file.
Using what I had learned and this podcast idea, I created a unit for my Yup'ik I class on Preserving Family Stories. Storytelling is a powerful educational tool and is rooted in Yup'ik traditions of the oral tradition. In designing these lesson plans I had to keep in mind modeling and being explicit about direction and expectations for the development of the story project.
View my lesson plans here for my unit: Preserving Family Stories Using Podcasts
Taking the time to learn Garage Band was extremely beneficial. I was finally able to have a comfortable grasp over the application and its abilities. I plan to teach this unit this year and think my students will really enjoy the creation of their podcast. Learning this program has also opened up an array of possibilities to record Yuraq (Eskimo dancing) songs and Elder interviews. I'm very excited to incorporate other ways to use it in my classroom!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Digital Story
The creation of the story started with a simple idea. I was sitting in the living room thinking about the possibilities and applications for my classroom, then my daughter woke for her evening feed. As I was feeding her, I thought about creating a story for her, a piece that I could share and she could now tell. I chose to to create a digital story in the form of a letter to my daughter Mazlyn.
Creating the digital story was an amazing writing and publishing experience, however, I wasn't pleased with the final product. I had higher expectations but felt that the story didn't come together as I would have liked it too. I had planned to use it to share a personal narrative with my students but then I thought maybe the content was too personal for the classroom because it spoke to my religious views. Though I'm not for certain I would use this specific video for my class model, the process helped familiarize me with the creation of a story.
View my script here.
I edited and revised my written narrative then created a story table to organize the imaging alongside my story, picking photos from my own collection and borrowing a few from online sources. I did find areas to edit as I recorded and made necessary changes as I went through the recording. As I listened to my story, I found areas to add pictures to evoke a stronger meaning.
View my story table here.
Lastly, I began creating the story through iMovie, choosing my backgrounds, adjusting the timing and function styles, and then editing.
I also created a rubric to use in my classroom with students to create a digital story based on their Personal Narrative.
View my rubric here.
Here is my digital story, entitled, Dear Mazlyn.
Creating the digital story was an amazing writing and publishing experience, however, I wasn't pleased with the final product. I had higher expectations but felt that the story didn't come together as I would have liked it too. I had planned to use it to share a personal narrative with my students but then I thought maybe the content was too personal for the classroom because it spoke to my religious views. Though I'm not for certain I would use this specific video for my class model, the process helped familiarize me with the creation of a story.
View my script here.
I edited and revised my written narrative then created a story table to organize the imaging alongside my story, picking photos from my own collection and borrowing a few from online sources. I did find areas to edit as I recorded and made necessary changes as I went through the recording. As I listened to my story, I found areas to add pictures to evoke a stronger meaning.
View my story table here.
Lastly, I began creating the story through iMovie, choosing my backgrounds, adjusting the timing and function styles, and then editing.
I also created a rubric to use in my classroom with students to create a digital story based on their Personal Narrative.
View my rubric here.
Here is my digital story, entitled, Dear Mazlyn.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Philosophy of Education
Creating my Philosophy of Education video was less daunting than I expected it to be from a technical perspective. I reflected deeper into my personal philosophy while constructing the final edits and organization of the images alongside my audio. Providing the visual component brought life to my philosophy as a living document. I took images from the last 5 years of my interactions with kids in schools and specifically a Children's Book Unit I taught that I felt was very successful and representative of my philosophy of education.
I must say that using iMovie was easier than I expected it to be and once I took the time to play and understand all the "buttons", the movie started to fall in to place. I learned to be patient during the editing process just like editing a written piece. I learned how to successfully create my own philosophy video that represents me and my teaching.
I've used iMovie with my students but feel that putting this together has taught me more efficient and focused ways to use it in my classroom. I hope to definitely incorporate activities in which students actively write, publish and create using the tool. This project could be adapted for students to create a video based on their personal narratives written in class.
You can view my video here:
Or you can watch it live in B-6...
I must say that using iMovie was easier than I expected it to be and once I took the time to play and understand all the "buttons", the movie started to fall in to place. I learned to be patient during the editing process just like editing a written piece. I learned how to successfully create my own philosophy video that represents me and my teaching.
I've used iMovie with my students but feel that putting this together has taught me more efficient and focused ways to use it in my classroom. I hope to definitely incorporate activities in which students actively write, publish and create using the tool. This project could be adapted for students to create a video based on their personal narratives written in class.
You can view my video here:
Or you can watch it live in B-6...
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