My IEP

I wanted to learn how to use i-movie so that I could incorporate it into my teaching. Here is a copy of 6 lesson plans that I intend to use this fall in my new teaching position. I am also embedding a link from You Tube of an example video I made. Enjoy!

As an assignment for one of my classes I learned how to use i-movie; a program to create videos that can be used in the class room. While learning more about the program I began to get excited about opportunities to use it in my classes. This coming fall I will be teaching in a K-8 school as the lead teacher. My responsibilities will primarily be to teaching the 5-8^th grade students; all subjects. The group of students I will be working with have been challenging to motivate to perform to their highest potential; I think that having them working on projects using computers to make movies that will be shown to their peers is a great way to motivate them to do their best.

Below is a list of a few ideas I have for using i-movie in my new class:

*Science- demonstrate scientific principle, ie gravity, chemical reactions, erosion, etc.

*Language Arts- video journal entry, short story, poetry reading, interpretative reading, dissecting sentence, etc.

*Math- story problems and how to work them out, teaching other students how to subtract fractions, etc.

*Social Studies- Historical re-enactment, animated historical documentary, country reports, physical geography description.

One concern that I have about using i-movie is that it could become easy to focus on the software and the project rather than on the content of the students’ productions. I think that after we make a couple of movies, the newness of the tool will wear off and the work will focus on the content again. I am hoping that the excitement for the use of this tool won’t lead to the students dropping their level of motivation. I believe that having an exciting project that motivates students and helps them become more confident in their use of technology is valuable, even if it gets in the way of the content the first few times it is used. The more I incorporate these kinds of projects the more natural it will feel to the students and, I believe, the focus will return to the content.

Teens and Technology

The article discusses a study released in January 2010 by the Kaiser Family Foundation on 8- to 18-year olds and their daily of use of entertainment media. The study found the use of media, television, music players, internet and video games, of this age group averages 7 ½ hours a day. The article then focuses on the role parents have in monitoring teen use of media. Parents should set limits and rules on media use; which has been shown to decrease the amount of use by their teenagers. The next focus is on schools and their role in “setting parameters” for technology use by teenagers. Some offerings include cyber safety courses and banning cell phones from classrooms. Yet the article points out how technology in schools is often used to engage students and connect them to the learning. The article ends with suggestions, primarily for parents, on how to monitor their teenagers’ technology use. The page may auto refresh to the top, showing new advertisers, before one finishes reading the entire article.

This was an interesting read and is definitely something I will keep in mind as my own kids continue to grow. If the study were done in Togiak I think the results would be very different. We don’t yet have cell phones, and less than half the students have internet at home. The article and the study did not talk a lot about content, except to mention that parents have a responsibility to monitor, but I have been surprised at the number of violent movies my middle school students watch and want to discuss while they are at school.

Chapters 5&6

This article discusses how to create the story core. It shows how to design a story map and create a flow to a story. Using example, illustrations the article suggests how to implement a digital story into a curriculum. It shows how to break a story into beginning, middle and end while maintaining the main characters challenge or question, growth and triumph in a story. I find this article very interesting as a teaching tool for the classroom. It is not only important to remember story mapping when asking students to create a story. I think that it will be useful as I have students plan other projects that we will be working on. I have my students work on personal timelines as one of their first assignments of the year. Story Maps will be beneficial to the students as they begin working on this project. Campbell’s theories on stories rings true to me and stories I relate to but my students may relate to other forms.

The article explains of how to apply the art of creating a story to the story map. The process is shown by telling and retelling the story of the computer technician's presentation. In the first version, the story is unmemorable; by the final version all of the elements are included to make it a story that resonates and is memorable. A story is more than just a beginning middle and end. This article was helpful as I completed my digital story. I think that it is important to remember that a good story is a good story no matter the medium. I need to ensure that I don’t let the use of technology replace the importance of the content. Include conflict and resolution is important if the story is to be remembered. The last point is similar to something I heard years ago, I wish I could remember who said it, “people will not always remember what you said but they will always remember how you made them feel.” Both quotes resonate with me.

Anthro Tech

There is not a strong culture of utilizing technology to its best capabilities at my school. The main reason for this is that access to technology is somewhat limited. We do not yet have cell service available. The school district has blocked students from using e-mail at school, access to working computers is limited in the middle school, and Internet access is slower than we would like. There are a few Smart Boards in the school, but only one is currently in the middle school. There is a sense of resignation to the fact that using technology is more challenging in Togiak than it might be in Anchorage.

Although it may be more challenging to incorporate the use of technology into teaching, the students enjoy and become more engaged when we bring it into the classroom. The students have had limited exposure to computer use by the time they are in middle school. One of my responsibilities as a teacher is to provide opportunities for students to use tools that will help them be successful in high school and in life. This coming school year I may have the opportunity to use a smart board in my class room. I look forward this coming school year. I plan on utilizing computers for more projects with my students. A copy of the report can be found here.

Digital Story

I made this movie as an assignment for my ED632 class. It is a digital story about a spur of the moment trip I took to Venezuela several years ago. I have hundreds of photos of my trip but can’t find them; I think they are at my mother-in-law’s house. I would have liked to have used more of my personal photos instead of using photos from the web. Most of the photos come from 3 organizations; BBC, USGS, and Fortune City. If I were to do this project again I would find my photos and use them.

The experiences I had in Venezuela made a very significant impact on my life. As I state at the end of the movie, my focus really began to shift from an attitude of “it’s all about me” to being more concerned about others and wanting to give something back. It is part of the reason I became interested in being a teacher. If I were to ask my middle school students to make a movie like this it would be for them to tell about a significant event in their lives; to tell their history and to emphasize that the stories we tell in history are about real people just like them. I hope you enjoy this short movie. The story map can be found here.

Education Philosophy

I made a short video expressing my philosophy of education. I hope you enjoy it.

This project was a good opportunity for me to learn how to use i-movie. I found the program to be very user friendly and straight forward. It would be fun to do a project like this with my middle schooler's. I think that if I do have them use i-movie I will have them use it for several projects throughout the year. That way I can more easily justify the time that is required to initially teach them to use the program.

Five sites that I used while teaching

Five sites that I used while teaching:

1. Google Earth. I played “splat” using the images from Google Earth.
2. Mr. Donn. I used his site with the students and had them compare Togiak today to Ancient Rome. I had them make Venn diagrams.
3. Teacher Tube. This site has a lot of good content, and you don’t have to wade through as much to find good things to use.
4. City Data. We compared cities and villages using this web site.
5. Digital Photo School. I showed this to students and gave them assignments based on these and other elements of photography.