Mr. Nesbitt’s Math Applications classes take on the Ken Ken Challenge.
The goals of my Capstone Project have not changed since my last reflection. My biggest challenge has been keeping up the production and posting of new Middle School project videos. With so much going on in each grade level, especially at the end of the year, and with the school wide migration from Blackboard to Schoology underway, I have had little time for editing and posting the footage I’ve been shooting these past few weeks. The projects in the pipeline will have to wait until school gets out and our professional development days have been completed.
The concepts and techniques presented in FPE have made me more conscious of creative possibilities. I am more aware of composition, contrasts and camera angles as I peer over students’ shoulders with my iPhone!
Documenting class projects in 3 to 5 minute videos can become formulaic. I want to apply the principles we explored to make each video a compelling glimpse of something new students are doing. I am happiest when I’ve been able to capture a feeling of “being in the moment” and not a staged scenario. Sometimes that just isn’t possible, but at least there will be a snapshot of what went on during the activity.
FPE has inspired me to tell more digital stories. I’d like to spend more time in Lynda.com with iMovie, Garage Band, WordPress, Screen Flow and PhotoShop. I’ve worked a little in all of these courses either on my school’s or Full Sail’s subscription and they are excellent.
My experts and test group have been generous with feedback and suggestions for my project. Over the summer I will be updating my copyright video or creating an additional piece to supplement the classroom lesson on Creative Commons.
The Middle School administration is excited by what they’ve seen so far and has asked me to share it with the school community. This has been my goal ever since I started at Full Sail: to create a showcase for Middle School creativity. After next month in Games Strategies and Motivation, my project should be even better.
My Film Principles in Education course is giving me practice in digital storytelling. Here is the Personal Digital Story assignment I completed this week.
Copyright infringement is a tricky topic and not so simple to address. Here’s the project I submitted for Digital Assets In Educational Media.
Ileana Lavender’s Middle School Art students explain the processes they use to create colorful scrims. The project is a modification of fabric screen designs frequently used in theatrical productions.
Ideally, scrims are displayed hanging from the ceiling with the velum suspended one foot in front of the wallpaper strip. The desired effect is an interplay of light and shadow cast from the stenciled cut-outs on the velum.
Materials:
Capstone Update:
I’ve really enjoyed recording and making video posts to my Capstone blog this month. As students and teachers become more comfortable with me recording their presentations, there is more openness in sharing experiences.
So far I have made 5 video posts and have three more waiting to be edited. There is never a shortage of activities to record! My goal is to expand to other content area classrooms and develop the rapport with teachers so that my presence will not be disruptive to their routines.
My department director (and primary expert) made several recommendations for improving my project and Action Plan. One suggestion was to mark and date revisions to the Action Plan page so I could see the changes over time. The other changes involve widgets.
As for meeting with teachers about my project, there are currently three people (including my director) who have agreed to be my experts. Four other teachers have agreed to be in my test group: one in 5th , 6th, 7th and 8th.
Full Sail classmate, Jeffrey Almicar, made an excellent suggestion last month when reviewing my Action Plan: expand my test group to include all teachers in grades 5-8, not only the “ tech saavy.” Good idea. Now that I have simplified my expectations for commentary, perhaps it will not be so difficult to convince them to enlist!
One obstacle I see on the horizon for implementing my CSC project is the upcoming trainings and meetings scheduled for our school’s transition to a new LMS next year. In the meantime, I’m learning a lot and enjoying the coursework and “sandbox” experience in DAE.
Reflection:
What I’ve learned so far in DAE can be applied directly to my job in the Educational Technology Department. There is never a shortage of projects in the pipeline.
For example, there is a need to create e-learning modules on digital citizenship, copyright, the school’s Honor Code, and the Acceptable Use Policy.
Currently, each school division presents this content in various assemblies, class advisories, and grade level meetings. Wouldn’t it be more effective to require all students to complete interactive e-learning modules targeted for their specific grade levels? I think so.
Sra. Devash’s 6th grade Spanish students presented Voki projects this week. Hear what they had to say about it and view a few samples of their work.
Roselyn Ferguson and Jon Sikora combined their 7th grade science classes to form teams to study specific weather systems. Each team had to create a lesson plan and teach the content to the class.
Lesson plan requirements included:
The cultivation of clear, stable, nonjudgmental awareness.
Middle School + Innovation + Literature
A Content-oriented Tumblelog theme
La Voz
EdTechTurista 