One of the biggest challenges I have faced as a CFF coach has been a general lack of time for professional development.
Last Friday I was able to act somewhat proactively and find time with some of my teachers.
There was a scheduled in-service day on Friday. The, because of a quirk in the schedule, it was closely followed by a second in-service day the following Tuesday. I heard through the grape vine that because of this, the first day had a large amount of time allotted to department meetings. My school does not have regular department meetings, so I rarely have the opportunity to speak to a large group at once.
Taking some initiative, I sent out an email to all of the department chairs, offering to give some professional development--on any topic or program, for any length of time. I figured that being flexible would make the offer more attractive. If a department head only had fifteen minutes to fill, and was afraid I was asking for an hour, it would have been a missed chance.
I heard back from both the Math and the Social Studies departments. Math later had to cancel because they had to focus more on curriculum, and, as the department chair told me, they had a rare, engaging, and productive dialogue going on.
Social Studies offered me a two hour block in which to present whatever I wanted.
I had to sit down and give this some thought. I wanted to present something useful, and something fun that would grab their attention and help them see me as someone who can help enliven the classroom and not just someone who drone on and on about technical issues. I decided to go with Photo Story and xtranormal, and to end with a demonstration of the new ActiveInspire software that we are hopefully adding to the computer images over the summer.
Photo Story did not go well. I had originally anticipated having about a half dozen high school teachers with teacher CFF laptops. I knew that about half had Photo Story and about half did not. That was a decent mix, because I was planning on having teachers work in pairs to create a short story. I gathered pictures for me to use to make a presentation while demonstrating, and another set of pictures for them to use to make their own. That way, I we could save time but not having teachers have to search for pictures. Unfortunately, my plans were for nought. When i arrived, there were about a dozen teachers, from the middle school and the high school, and two of the teacher with Photo Story were not able to attend. So, almost everyone needed to use a student laptop, but those had been recently re-imaged and no longer had Photo Story. I did a very quick presentation, that even I knew was getting dull and boring, because no one could follow along. All they could do was watch. I kept it to about ten minutes, and showed just the very basic buttons. I also showed parts of two student generated Photo Stories as examples of what students can create in a limited time. The examples were by far the best part of the presentation, and I was glad I had thought to bring them.
I very quickly moved on to xtranormal. This was a program I chose because I knew most of the computers had updated flash, so most of the computers could run the program. Also, I know that it is always a big hit. It is fun, easy to use, and most educators can envision ways for either themselves or their students to use it in the classroom. About half the computers did not have the latest flash, so mostly everyone worked with a partner, but even that went well.
I started by showing a demo video I had made. In it, a British Ninja and an Australian judge discuss how easy xtranormal is to use. I then pointing everyone to the website and had them sign up. I then walked them through selecting characters, voices, and a setting. As a group, we came up with a few lines of dialogue. I demonstrated switching between characters, adding camera angles, and adding actions. As I was doing this, everyone was able to follow along and add their own actions, angles, and lines.
When I finished the short demo, I gave an assignment. Each group had to create a movie with at least six lines, two actions, two camera angles, and, for "extra credit" two looks at the cameras, two facial expressions, and one point.
It went well. Everyone completed a movie. I don't know if everyone met every requirement, though. I really only used those as guides to encourage exploration and creativity.
And most importantly, they had fun doing it. Everyone was laughing, and sharing their movies as they worked. And they were talking about making movies for their classes, or having students do them. All in all it was a great success.
I then demonstrated tinyurl as a way to easily get a link to everyone's finished video to share with the group.
In the end, we didn't have time for the ActiveInspire demo. But I think that this was time well spent. Several teachers were exposed to a tool they didn't know they had. Several were inspired to see how easy some technology is. And, I hope, a few saw the value of working with me to show them these tools so they can use them to reach their classroom goals.
Showing posts with label photo story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photo story. Show all posts
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Creek Project--Update Three
This post is going up very late. I haven't had a lot of time to get to it.
Monday was the first day of presenting projects for the Creek Project. The Biology Teacher and I weren't 100% sure what to expect. The projects today were all from her honors students.
There were some very well done ones. One student recreated a salamander habitat (using craft store eyes as eggs). It was not the most engaging presentation, because the information was put on posters around the scene, but it was visually appealing. And, based on the info, it was clear that the students had learned something about the salamanders.
Students did infuse technology into their projects. One group wrote an original song. The execution was not great--the audio was poor quality (fortunately they provided a lyrics sheet for listeners to read along), and their refrain was a bit long. But, they lyrics showed a good understanding of their question, and the animations that went with it were an engaging mix of scientific and funny. One group did their project in the form of an episode of "House." In it, a fix owner brings in a fish that was harmed by pollutants in the creek, and Dr. House has to diagnose what the pollutants were, based on the fish's symptoms, in order to create a treatment to save the fish. The teacher eventually had to ask for their script because some parts the audio was good, and others it was bad. Another group did a series of sketches with a "water safetey lass" (basically a friendly eco cop) explaining to different people in different scenarios how what they were doing was having a negative effect on creek water.
One of the big concerns was the Photo Story projects. A lot of these students had done Photo Stories for the Helen Keller 3 Days of Sight project. So, feeling comfortable with that program, used it again. However, with laptops were reimaged, and Photo Story was removed. Fortunately, the students were easily able to access non-reimaged laptops to use. However, some of them did not remember the step to convert from a Photo Story to a WMV file. It was easy enough to deal with because the teacher still had Photo Story and I was able to help students convert during the period. I am more concerned because I would like to see student retaining more of the tech skills I am trying to impart. That being said, I did see improved file management.
Another concern was that some of the projects got more caught up in trying to be impressive or interactive, and strayed from the overall idea of teaching something and answering a question. Several of the games did a good job of testing knowledge but a poor job of presenting that knowledge ahead of time. Other projects simply presented research, with no context of an overall question.
We had discussed the idea previously, and came back to it again. The Biology teacher and I both felt that, if the students had been given more structure--been responsible for first coming up with a question, and then doing research, and then being introduced to the idea of being able to display their research/learning in a way of their choosing--more of the projects would have retained focus.
It was encouraging, though, to see students being creative. A lot of them used programs that they were not formally introduced to in school. Others used programs that we had taught them, but were able to discover and use some of the more advanced functions. And, so students who did not use a lot of technology did some very creative low tech things. Next year, going about this project in a more structured way, and still allowing for that creativity, will create even better results.
Monday was the first day of presenting projects for the Creek Project. The Biology Teacher and I weren't 100% sure what to expect. The projects today were all from her honors students.
There were some very well done ones. One student recreated a salamander habitat (using craft store eyes as eggs). It was not the most engaging presentation, because the information was put on posters around the scene, but it was visually appealing. And, based on the info, it was clear that the students had learned something about the salamanders.
Students did infuse technology into their projects. One group wrote an original song. The execution was not great--the audio was poor quality (fortunately they provided a lyrics sheet for listeners to read along), and their refrain was a bit long. But, they lyrics showed a good understanding of their question, and the animations that went with it were an engaging mix of scientific and funny. One group did their project in the form of an episode of "House." In it, a fix owner brings in a fish that was harmed by pollutants in the creek, and Dr. House has to diagnose what the pollutants were, based on the fish's symptoms, in order to create a treatment to save the fish. The teacher eventually had to ask for their script because some parts the audio was good, and others it was bad. Another group did a series of sketches with a "water safetey lass" (basically a friendly eco cop) explaining to different people in different scenarios how what they were doing was having a negative effect on creek water.
One of the big concerns was the Photo Story projects. A lot of these students had done Photo Stories for the Helen Keller 3 Days of Sight project. So, feeling comfortable with that program, used it again. However, with laptops were reimaged, and Photo Story was removed. Fortunately, the students were easily able to access non-reimaged laptops to use. However, some of them did not remember the step to convert from a Photo Story to a WMV file. It was easy enough to deal with because the teacher still had Photo Story and I was able to help students convert during the period. I am more concerned because I would like to see student retaining more of the tech skills I am trying to impart. That being said, I did see improved file management.
Another concern was that some of the projects got more caught up in trying to be impressive or interactive, and strayed from the overall idea of teaching something and answering a question. Several of the games did a good job of testing knowledge but a poor job of presenting that knowledge ahead of time. Other projects simply presented research, with no context of an overall question.
We had discussed the idea previously, and came back to it again. The Biology teacher and I both felt that, if the students had been given more structure--been responsible for first coming up with a question, and then doing research, and then being introduced to the idea of being able to display their research/learning in a way of their choosing--more of the projects would have retained focus.
It was encouraging, though, to see students being creative. A lot of them used programs that they were not formally introduced to in school. Others used programs that we had taught them, but were able to discover and use some of the more advanced functions. And, so students who did not use a lot of technology did some very creative low tech things. Next year, going about this project in a more structured way, and still allowing for that creativity, will create even better results.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Creek Project--Update Two
I visited the Biology Class again today. The teacher was introducing the Creek Project to the non-honors students.
With the honors students, kids were introduced to the project, given ideas of what to do for the project, and then allowed to start research and planning, all on the same day. As a result, as we discussed, a lot of students were skimping on the research in favor of coming up with "great" ideas.
For the non-honors, the students were assigned to come up with a questions and do research on it in class. Then, today, after two and a half days of research, they were introduced to the project. The teacher and I went through some of the possibilities--dressing up in character to teach about your topic, creating a game, creating a Photo Story, creating a web site. Like the honors classes, these students will also be allowed to come up with their own project if they get it approved. A lot of these kids also just did the Photo Story in their English class, so this could be a chance for them to shine, by using a program they already know, and being able to make it better from having had practice (and now more time). I also showed them how to link between pages of a ppt, so that they can make clickable interactive games/presentations. Several students also decided to make wiki websites, since they already know how to use wikis from the cell "my space" pages earlier in the year.
On the back of their directions sheet was a worksheet that had to be filled out by Monday--name of partner, topic, question (all of which had already been established prior to today) and how they are going to teach about it. She asked them to be detailed, and not just say "game" or "website." At the bottom was a calendar showing the midpoint date, when they had to present evidence of their progress, and the due date. I told her it was a really good idea. She said that she got the idea from me, when I commented that a lot of the honors students didn't take this seriously yet because they think they have more time than they do--the assignment was given in February, with all the due dates being in March, making it feel like nothing had to be done for "over a month." I fear I was only able to make this observation because my mind works in similar ways at time, and my first reaction to all of the due dates was "wow, they have a long time to do this." Because I'd pointed that out, she decided to give the non-honors class a very clear visual representation (calendar) of how much time they had. It made me feel useful. She's also thinking about putting up a daily count down for the honors kids. I don't think that that's a bad idea at all.
With the honors students, kids were introduced to the project, given ideas of what to do for the project, and then allowed to start research and planning, all on the same day. As a result, as we discussed, a lot of students were skimping on the research in favor of coming up with "great" ideas.
For the non-honors, the students were assigned to come up with a questions and do research on it in class. Then, today, after two and a half days of research, they were introduced to the project. The teacher and I went through some of the possibilities--dressing up in character to teach about your topic, creating a game, creating a Photo Story, creating a web site. Like the honors classes, these students will also be allowed to come up with their own project if they get it approved. A lot of these kids also just did the Photo Story in their English class, so this could be a chance for them to shine, by using a program they already know, and being able to make it better from having had practice (and now more time). I also showed them how to link between pages of a ppt, so that they can make clickable interactive games/presentations. Several students also decided to make wiki websites, since they already know how to use wikis from the cell "my space" pages earlier in the year.
On the back of their directions sheet was a worksheet that had to be filled out by Monday--name of partner, topic, question (all of which had already been established prior to today) and how they are going to teach about it. She asked them to be detailed, and not just say "game" or "website." At the bottom was a calendar showing the midpoint date, when they had to present evidence of their progress, and the due date. I told her it was a really good idea. She said that she got the idea from me, when I commented that a lot of the honors students didn't take this seriously yet because they think they have more time than they do--the assignment was given in February, with all the due dates being in March, making it feel like nothing had to be done for "over a month." I fear I was only able to make this observation because my mind works in similar ways at time, and my first reaction to all of the due dates was "wow, they have a long time to do this." Because I'd pointed that out, she decided to give the non-honors class a very clear visual representation (calendar) of how much time they had. It made me feel useful. She's also thinking about putting up a daily count down for the honors kids. I don't think that that's a bad idea at all.
Sight Project--Assessment Day Four
Final day of this project.
It didn't take us long to finish up the grades. We had to watch two more movies that hadn't been played in class because the creators had been absent that day.
After finishing grading, we talked a little about doing the project next year. She wants to do it again, which made me happy. Then, because its a real possibility, I asked her if the grant ran out and there was no coach next year, if she'd still do it again. She thought for a minute, but said she would. She decided the program is easy enough that she could guide kids through it, and, even though grading by herself might take longer, she could get it done. After all, next year she'd have a rubric ready to go at the beginning, and a better idea of what to expect.
I told her how much I liked the idea of having the kids offer feedback. I don' think enough teachers do that, and I know I didn't do it enough in the classroom.
One of the ideas that they shared with CFF coaches at boot camp was the idea that conversations can lead to being able to work with teachers. And here was the progress of that. While talking with her about the feedback, I remembered, and commented on her really unresponsive 7th period class. And we talked about how it was a problem, because without feedback, she wouldn't necessarily know where to go or what the class needed. And, you could never be sure if it was a matter of kids not wanting to talk, kids being shy about talking in front of the class, kids not getting it, or kids just being lazy. So I suggested a blogging project--where kids could think out and write out their answers before sharing.
She seemed to like the idea and asked how it would work. So, I told her about the other "blog" projects I'd done. I gave her the example of the Social Studies teacher who had the kids blog outside of class, and the English teacher who blogged in class (and I was honest about how horribly that went) and the other English teacher who blogged in class and assigned kids to respond to comments by other students. She seemed to like that there were a lot of ways to go with it.
She then said there were going to be starting Greek Myths soon, and she wanted to have them do something with writing their own "journey" story. I was tempted to say they could do a Photo Story, but decided she might be ready to be done with Photo Story for a least a little while. Instead, I suggested doing something like the 1001 Flat World Tales. Then, the students could work with a partner, write their story, have a partner leave comments for editing suggestions, read and make comments on their partners' stories, and edit.
She seemed to like both ideas. And, she really liked that I could offer to show her examples of each.
It didn't take us long to finish up the grades. We had to watch two more movies that hadn't been played in class because the creators had been absent that day.
After finishing grading, we talked a little about doing the project next year. She wants to do it again, which made me happy. Then, because its a real possibility, I asked her if the grant ran out and there was no coach next year, if she'd still do it again. She thought for a minute, but said she would. She decided the program is easy enough that she could guide kids through it, and, even though grading by herself might take longer, she could get it done. After all, next year she'd have a rubric ready to go at the beginning, and a better idea of what to expect.
I told her how much I liked the idea of having the kids offer feedback. I don' think enough teachers do that, and I know I didn't do it enough in the classroom.
One of the ideas that they shared with CFF coaches at boot camp was the idea that conversations can lead to being able to work with teachers. And here was the progress of that. While talking with her about the feedback, I remembered, and commented on her really unresponsive 7th period class. And we talked about how it was a problem, because without feedback, she wouldn't necessarily know where to go or what the class needed. And, you could never be sure if it was a matter of kids not wanting to talk, kids being shy about talking in front of the class, kids not getting it, or kids just being lazy. So I suggested a blogging project--where kids could think out and write out their answers before sharing.
She seemed to like the idea and asked how it would work. So, I told her about the other "blog" projects I'd done. I gave her the example of the Social Studies teacher who had the kids blog outside of class, and the English teacher who blogged in class (and I was honest about how horribly that went) and the other English teacher who blogged in class and assigned kids to respond to comments by other students. She seemed to like that there were a lot of ways to go with it.
She then said there were going to be starting Greek Myths soon, and she wanted to have them do something with writing their own "journey" story. I was tempted to say they could do a Photo Story, but decided she might be ready to be done with Photo Story for a least a little while. Instead, I suggested doing something like the 1001 Flat World Tales. Then, the students could work with a partner, write their story, have a partner leave comments for editing suggestions, read and make comments on their partners' stories, and edit.
She seemed to like both ideas. And, she really liked that I could offer to show her examples of each.
Sight Project--Assessment Day Three
After viewing all of the remaining photo stories in a straight run of three classes, the English teacher called it a day.
So, we reconvened the next morning to compare our notes/rubric scores for the kids. It started going a bit faster after awhile. No more looking back to see what a certain commented had translated to grade wise on another paper--we could just remember. The same comments seemed to pop up on a majority of papers. Words like "why" and "speak up" and "don't read your captions."
I think some of my suggestions will get implemented next year. She definitely plans to start the photo/image gathering at the beginning of the play. And, I think she's thinking about having it be about what students would show Helen Keller--especially since some students had commented that they did not really see a connection between this project and "the Miracle Worker."
It was fairly tedious task, but we got most of the projects finished. We stopped with about twenty left when we ran out of rubrics.
So, we reconvened the next morning to compare our notes/rubric scores for the kids. It started going a bit faster after awhile. No more looking back to see what a certain commented had translated to grade wise on another paper--we could just remember. The same comments seemed to pop up on a majority of papers. Words like "why" and "speak up" and "don't read your captions."
I think some of my suggestions will get implemented next year. She definitely plans to start the photo/image gathering at the beginning of the play. And, I think she's thinking about having it be about what students would show Helen Keller--especially since some students had commented that they did not really see a connection between this project and "the Miracle Worker."
It was fairly tedious task, but we got most of the projects finished. We stopped with about twenty left when we ran out of rubrics.
Sight Project--Assessment Day Two
Day two went a little more smoothly for me at least.
I checked in with the teacher at the beginning of the day, and she hadn't been happy with any of the grids she'd typed up, even though we had the rubric more or less finished. I offered to type it up for her and make copies. We then used the new grid to revisit our notes from watching the videos.
It was slow going at first, with a lot of second guessing. The teacher was unhappy that the students hadn't had a rubric to begin with. It was a big problem. It wasn't an oversight--we both knew at the beginning that not having a rubric was not a good idea--so much as planning/logistic/experience issue. In the end, we decided to grade the projects according to the rubric, and then give a 2% curve.
As far as the experience issue here, I think it would be good for both the teacher and the students to have experience. Of course, experience with projects, not just the same project multiple years, will help the teacher feel more confident in making a rubric ahead of time, and give her a better idea of what to look for. And, it will give the students more time to get better with the tech so that the tech is not detracting from the skills and content of the class. And it will help them to know how they are going to be graded--not just because they'll have a rubric, but they will be used to having this teacher grade them with similar rubrics (and used to having their classmates as an audience).
After getting through most of the already viewed stories, I decided to bring up some of the ideas that I'd had. For some reason I'm always nervous about that part of working with teachers. I don't want them to feel that I'm being pushy, or criticizing. And I don't want to step on toes.
I started by suggesting she introduce the background work for the project sooner--have students collecting pictures for the length of the unit. This would give them more in class time to work with the videos, and make it more likely that they would take time to find images that interested them, and not just images they had on hand. She definitely liked that idea. Then I suggested that since they would be doing it during the play, she could tie it more to the play by having it be about what students would show Helen Keller, and why, instead of just what they wanted to see. I couldn't tell how she felt about that, though.
The bell schedule was normal for day two. We watched the videos with rubrics in hand. I used the back to take notes to compare with the teacher later. I then circled what I felt were appropriate scores in each category. I'd say the hardest part was quickly getting student names on the papers so I would know which comments went with which students.
I saw a lot of the same patterns that had emerged on the first viewing day. Students often felt like they missed or lost the point of "sight" vs. dying. There were long meaningless stretches of photos with no narration, no captions, no explanation, and no music. And, several stories had sections that just felt insincere. I really believed that some students wanted to see Paris. Others, I had a hard time buying that they would ever go to Italy to see Venice "and other sighs." For the most part, though, everyone had several good elements to their story.
At the end of each class she did something that I wasn't expecting, but was really pleased to see. She just asked for feedback on the project. Apparently she does this for every project. I did this from time to time when I taught, but not nearly enough. It was very informal, too. She just asked, and kids raised their hands to comment.
Fortunately, I happened to have my computer on me and just took notes (for my own reflective benefit, and for this blog). (The computer is a good thing because I type faster than I can write neatly).
Predictably, the conversation took a pretty similar course in all of her classes. The first two offered their comments with little extra prodding. The last class was hesitant to speak at all, though. They did come to many of the same conclusions as the first too, but it took some leading questions to get them anywhere. It reminded me of the first day I'd been in that class and, as this group of girls came through the door talking a mile a minute, the teacher told me "if you ask them to talk, you get stares. If you let them talk, they won't shut up."
The most common comment from students was that they needed more time. Going a long with that, several agreed that if they had been able to work on it from home it wouldn't have been so bad. Or, they would have been able to work more efficiently (my word) if they had had more time ahead of time to learn and get used to the program. (It makes me feel like I'm doing a decent job of reflecting that I was able to anticipate this before hearing the student feedback). Some other criticism were that a lot of the projects were too similar to one another and not enough were original; the computers themselves froze or didn't connect properly which wasted a lot of in-class work time for some students; some people didn't have access to cameras so they didn't have access to personal pictures; some people had so many pictures they didn't know how to fit them all in or what to do with them; the background noise of the class made recording hard; they were embarrassed to show them; and some students (mostly the same that had been making this complain since day one) didn't see a point in having to record themselves talk. One student said she didn't see a point to the project at all, and another said she didn't really see how it was related to Helen Keller.
A lot of these problems could actually be fixed with more time, more explanation in the beginnig, and now having a few projects to show as examples. More time will let them learn the program, give them more time to plan out thier story, allow us teachers to make accomodations for small groups to record outside of the classroom, and give students time to really fine tune their projects for a better finished product. I would say that, using the analogy of an essay assignment, students did some prewriting and a first draft, but some didn't have time for much, if any, editing.
One thing I didn't anticipate was the a lot of students didn't know how (or didn't want) to limit their pictures of friends. They wanted to use every picture on their camera. Next time when I explain about not over using transitions and making the story flow and using music that makes sense, I will a) better explain what I mean about music making sense and b) explain that sometimes less is more and using too many pictures that have nothing new to add to the story will bore the audience. I would also like to add an audience grade component to the project. I don't know how many teachers would be willing to use this as part of the grade, or how heavily they would weigh it, but I think allowing students to critique one another, with their feedback being worth something, it would encourage them to a) do better on their own projects, b) feel a little empowered in class, and c) if they were allowed to critique their own projects, too, help them learn to be more reflective.
Only one comment really bothered me. One student said that she didn't see a point in using the computers for the project. She liked the idea of what they were doing, but would have prefered to just make a scrap book. I know that this particular students had a good deal of trouble with getting the laptop to boot up properly and connect to the network. And, she missed a day, and therefore missed in class time to work. I think perhaps we need to do a better job of explaining to students that they need to learn how to figure out how to do things. I hope that, even though she was complaining in class, she actually did get something out of the project, even if she doesn't realize it yet. I hope that she didn't just learn a little about Photo Story, but that she was able to reflect on herself, and to pick up a few tricks about learning something new.
There were some good comments too. I just like saving the posititves for last. Students called the project unique. Some said that, given more time, they could have really gotten into it ("I could have talked for days about what I really wanted to see.) Some enjoyed working on the project, and even used the word fun. And, my favorite comments, were the students who wanted to do it again, and felt that they could do so much better next time.
Fortunately, a lot of these same students are working on the bio project, and will have the chance, if they choose, to use a Photo Story for the creek project.
I checked in with the teacher at the beginning of the day, and she hadn't been happy with any of the grids she'd typed up, even though we had the rubric more or less finished. I offered to type it up for her and make copies. We then used the new grid to revisit our notes from watching the videos.
It was slow going at first, with a lot of second guessing. The teacher was unhappy that the students hadn't had a rubric to begin with. It was a big problem. It wasn't an oversight--we both knew at the beginning that not having a rubric was not a good idea--so much as planning/logistic/experience issue. In the end, we decided to grade the projects according to the rubric, and then give a 2% curve.
As far as the experience issue here, I think it would be good for both the teacher and the students to have experience. Of course, experience with projects, not just the same project multiple years, will help the teacher feel more confident in making a rubric ahead of time, and give her a better idea of what to look for. And, it will give the students more time to get better with the tech so that the tech is not detracting from the skills and content of the class. And it will help them to know how they are going to be graded--not just because they'll have a rubric, but they will be used to having this teacher grade them with similar rubrics (and used to having their classmates as an audience).
After getting through most of the already viewed stories, I decided to bring up some of the ideas that I'd had. For some reason I'm always nervous about that part of working with teachers. I don't want them to feel that I'm being pushy, or criticizing. And I don't want to step on toes.
I started by suggesting she introduce the background work for the project sooner--have students collecting pictures for the length of the unit. This would give them more in class time to work with the videos, and make it more likely that they would take time to find images that interested them, and not just images they had on hand. She definitely liked that idea. Then I suggested that since they would be doing it during the play, she could tie it more to the play by having it be about what students would show Helen Keller, and why, instead of just what they wanted to see. I couldn't tell how she felt about that, though.
The bell schedule was normal for day two. We watched the videos with rubrics in hand. I used the back to take notes to compare with the teacher later. I then circled what I felt were appropriate scores in each category. I'd say the hardest part was quickly getting student names on the papers so I would know which comments went with which students.
I saw a lot of the same patterns that had emerged on the first viewing day. Students often felt like they missed or lost the point of "sight" vs. dying. There were long meaningless stretches of photos with no narration, no captions, no explanation, and no music. And, several stories had sections that just felt insincere. I really believed that some students wanted to see Paris. Others, I had a hard time buying that they would ever go to Italy to see Venice "and other sighs." For the most part, though, everyone had several good elements to their story.
At the end of each class she did something that I wasn't expecting, but was really pleased to see. She just asked for feedback on the project. Apparently she does this for every project. I did this from time to time when I taught, but not nearly enough. It was very informal, too. She just asked, and kids raised their hands to comment.
Fortunately, I happened to have my computer on me and just took notes (for my own reflective benefit, and for this blog). (The computer is a good thing because I type faster than I can write neatly).
Predictably, the conversation took a pretty similar course in all of her classes. The first two offered their comments with little extra prodding. The last class was hesitant to speak at all, though. They did come to many of the same conclusions as the first too, but it took some leading questions to get them anywhere. It reminded me of the first day I'd been in that class and, as this group of girls came through the door talking a mile a minute, the teacher told me "if you ask them to talk, you get stares. If you let them talk, they won't shut up."
The most common comment from students was that they needed more time. Going a long with that, several agreed that if they had been able to work on it from home it wouldn't have been so bad. Or, they would have been able to work more efficiently (my word) if they had had more time ahead of time to learn and get used to the program. (It makes me feel like I'm doing a decent job of reflecting that I was able to anticipate this before hearing the student feedback). Some other criticism were that a lot of the projects were too similar to one another and not enough were original; the computers themselves froze or didn't connect properly which wasted a lot of in-class work time for some students; some people didn't have access to cameras so they didn't have access to personal pictures; some people had so many pictures they didn't know how to fit them all in or what to do with them; the background noise of the class made recording hard; they were embarrassed to show them; and some students (mostly the same that had been making this complain since day one) didn't see a point in having to record themselves talk. One student said she didn't see a point to the project at all, and another said she didn't really see how it was related to Helen Keller.
A lot of these problems could actually be fixed with more time, more explanation in the beginnig, and now having a few projects to show as examples. More time will let them learn the program, give them more time to plan out thier story, allow us teachers to make accomodations for small groups to record outside of the classroom, and give students time to really fine tune their projects for a better finished product. I would say that, using the analogy of an essay assignment, students did some prewriting and a first draft, but some didn't have time for much, if any, editing.
One thing I didn't anticipate was the a lot of students didn't know how (or didn't want) to limit their pictures of friends. They wanted to use every picture on their camera. Next time when I explain about not over using transitions and making the story flow and using music that makes sense, I will a) better explain what I mean about music making sense and b) explain that sometimes less is more and using too many pictures that have nothing new to add to the story will bore the audience. I would also like to add an audience grade component to the project. I don't know how many teachers would be willing to use this as part of the grade, or how heavily they would weigh it, but I think allowing students to critique one another, with their feedback being worth something, it would encourage them to a) do better on their own projects, b) feel a little empowered in class, and c) if they were allowed to critique their own projects, too, help them learn to be more reflective.
Only one comment really bothered me. One student said that she didn't see a point in using the computers for the project. She liked the idea of what they were doing, but would have prefered to just make a scrap book. I know that this particular students had a good deal of trouble with getting the laptop to boot up properly and connect to the network. And, she missed a day, and therefore missed in class time to work. I think perhaps we need to do a better job of explaining to students that they need to learn how to figure out how to do things. I hope that, even though she was complaining in class, she actually did get something out of the project, even if she doesn't realize it yet. I hope that she didn't just learn a little about Photo Story, but that she was able to reflect on herself, and to pick up a few tricks about learning something new.
There were some good comments too. I just like saving the posititves for last. Students called the project unique. Some said that, given more time, they could have really gotten into it ("I could have talked for days about what I really wanted to see.) Some enjoyed working on the project, and even used the word fun. And, my favorite comments, were the students who wanted to do it again, and felt that they could do so much better next time.
Fortunately, a lot of these same students are working on the bio project, and will have the chance, if they choose, to use a Photo Story for the creek project.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Sight Project--Assessment Day One
Even though the schedule was a bit tight, the English teacher wanted to show everyone's Photo Story in Class. Monday, the first day of watching the videos, was short because of a 2 hour delay. We didn't get through as many as she would have liked. But, we both understood that it was important for the students to have an audience for this project. Part of the incentive we had given them to do well was the idea of sharing these projects with the class.
Unfortunately, we didn't make a rubric until the project was underway. We didn't even finalize it until after watching the first round of videos.
Being that this was the first time through the project, watching the videos, and critiquing them (we both took notes for later use) helped us put together a rubric.
After watching videos in all three classes, we worked through her study hall finalizing the rubric. We re-arranged some categories, and played with point values. By the end, we had a web-like drawing with numbers all over it. We then experimented with one project. We both determined what we thought the grade should be, then graded it using the rubric, and compared.
The one thing we were both most dissapointed with was that we had told students that they did not have to use music. After viewing finished projects, though, we found that some students had long stretches of video that were just pictures of friends. It was boring. But, since we had told kids that they didn't have to have music, we didn't feel that we could make "use of music" a catagory. Instead, we settled on including it as part of flow. Most stories that lacked music had less of a flow.
And even though we reminded students of it several times, some still lost focus and made stories that seemed like they were dying, not going blind. We covered that in a catagory called focus. Most students did a decent job of remembering for most of the story that this was about sight. Some just failed to explain why some of their choices would be things they wanted to see rather than do. The worst catagory for this was family and friends. Most students had an entire section about wanting to spend time with family and friends. Very few remembered to explain that they wanted to see--to rememeber what their friends looked like, or memorize mom's face. Another common area that this came up was in reading, movies, and tv shows. I think a casual observer might have thought some of these stories were about the last days of life.
At the end of study hall, we had agreed on the final catagories and points values for our rubric. The English teacher had another class, and was a bit weary of grading projects. So, she planned to type it out and let me make copies, and we would meet up again to compare the first round of coments with the rubrics, and grade the projects.
I'm hoping to be able to put some student projects up on my student project wiki. I'm not sure how many I will be able to use, though, since most of them contain pictures of friends and family, and most have student names as part of the footage. I'll have to talk with the teacher about that. For now, though, I am posting the rubric we used. Any suggestions are welcome.
Unfortunately, we didn't make a rubric until the project was underway. We didn't even finalize it until after watching the first round of videos.
Being that this was the first time through the project, watching the videos, and critiquing them (we both took notes for later use) helped us put together a rubric.
After watching videos in all three classes, we worked through her study hall finalizing the rubric. We re-arranged some categories, and played with point values. By the end, we had a web-like drawing with numbers all over it. We then experimented with one project. We both determined what we thought the grade should be, then graded it using the rubric, and compared.
The one thing we were both most dissapointed with was that we had told students that they did not have to use music. After viewing finished projects, though, we found that some students had long stretches of video that were just pictures of friends. It was boring. But, since we had told kids that they didn't have to have music, we didn't feel that we could make "use of music" a catagory. Instead, we settled on including it as part of flow. Most stories that lacked music had less of a flow.
And even though we reminded students of it several times, some still lost focus and made stories that seemed like they were dying, not going blind. We covered that in a catagory called focus. Most students did a decent job of remembering for most of the story that this was about sight. Some just failed to explain why some of their choices would be things they wanted to see rather than do. The worst catagory for this was family and friends. Most students had an entire section about wanting to spend time with family and friends. Very few remembered to explain that they wanted to see--to rememeber what their friends looked like, or memorize mom's face. Another common area that this came up was in reading, movies, and tv shows. I think a casual observer might have thought some of these stories were about the last days of life.
At the end of study hall, we had agreed on the final catagories and points values for our rubric. The English teacher had another class, and was a bit weary of grading projects. So, she planned to type it out and let me make copies, and we would meet up again to compare the first round of coments with the rubrics, and grade the projects.
I'm hoping to be able to put some student projects up on my student project wiki. I'm not sure how many I will be able to use, though, since most of them contain pictures of friends and family, and most have student names as part of the footage. I'll have to talk with the teacher about that. For now, though, I am posting the rubric we used. Any suggestions are welcome.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sight Project--Day Five
There really wasn't supposed to be a day five. But, the English teacher set aside the last twenty minutes of class for students to begin silent reading on their new novel. She decided to give students the option of using that time to finish up and save their Photo Stories since most students would have to read at home one way or the other.
The bulk of my job for the last day of this project was saving projects to my jump drive. Photo Stories take a very long time to save. They take even longer when students decide that having five or six different music tracks is a good idea. I'm curious to see some of the ones that took so long to save. I often lament at the general lack of aesthetic sense among students. I somehow imagine I will be lamenting again soon.
But, hodgepodge of poorly selected and erractic music aside, I think most students had fun with this project. We are showing them in class tomorrow. I've offered to help the teacher work on a rubric, and have sent her a link for rubistar. I don't want to step on toes or be too pushy, so I'm not going to be any more insistant that I be let in on the rubric. But I do worry. A lot of teachers are still in the "oh wow" factor when it comes to grading digital stories. I hope that she includes the use of the technology--making it flow, having good design--as part of the rubric. After all, a student essay with no flow or logical organization would not get a high grade, so why should a Photo Story?
And, that goes back to my point from my last post. If students were working with this same project on multiple projects, they would get used to it. They would get used to having an audience. And, they would get used to being an audience. The students would develop a sense of connoisseurism and would start to differentiate between what they thought was good or bad. That might help them to determine if their own stories were well put together, interesting, and well designed. And, with enough time to get past the bells and whistles, and time to figure out how long doing certain things takes, they would be able to make stronger stories.
The bulk of my job for the last day of this project was saving projects to my jump drive. Photo Stories take a very long time to save. They take even longer when students decide that having five or six different music tracks is a good idea. I'm curious to see some of the ones that took so long to save. I often lament at the general lack of aesthetic sense among students. I somehow imagine I will be lamenting again soon.
But, hodgepodge of poorly selected and erractic music aside, I think most students had fun with this project. We are showing them in class tomorrow. I've offered to help the teacher work on a rubric, and have sent her a link for rubistar. I don't want to step on toes or be too pushy, so I'm not going to be any more insistant that I be let in on the rubric. But I do worry. A lot of teachers are still in the "oh wow" factor when it comes to grading digital stories. I hope that she includes the use of the technology--making it flow, having good design--as part of the rubric. After all, a student essay with no flow or logical organization would not get a high grade, so why should a Photo Story?
And, that goes back to my point from my last post. If students were working with this same project on multiple projects, they would get used to it. They would get used to having an audience. And, they would get used to being an audience. The students would develop a sense of connoisseurism and would start to differentiate between what they thought was good or bad. That might help them to determine if their own stories were well put together, interesting, and well designed. And, with enough time to get past the bells and whistles, and time to figure out how long doing certain things takes, they would be able to make stronger stories.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sight Project--Day Four
Day four was much better than day three. I was really impressed by how well the students from the class that had all of the issues got over it. I've seen in the past that if something goes wrong with a project, students can write that project off all together and adopt a very negative attitude. But, at the beginning of class, they all got out their computers and started working. This is either a resilient class, or a class that really likes this project.
There were significantly less technical issues overall. That made the creating process go much more smoothly. And, I was better prepared to deal with the few issues that did come up.
I was impressed by students awareness of one another. After it was clear that some students were beginning to record, everyone automatically switched in to careful whisper mode without being told. A few students preferred to be out in the hallway to record (probably more from being embarrassed about talking to themselves in class than concerned about background noise.) And I was pleased to see students helping one another out. A few kids did figure out some parts of the program I hadn't shown them and, not only did they use them, they helped other students figure them out as well.
There were varying degrees of planning for narration. A few of them used the notes section on the recording page to plan out their narration. Some of them wrote scripts. A few decided to ignore all advice and wing it. I am curious to see how the presentations compare.
And that idea also ties in with something I overheard later in the day. I'll come back to that.
This was the last time the students had inclass time to work on their projects. As a result, a lot of extra kids showed up to the study hall later in the day. It was so packed that kids were sitting on the floor. Quite a few students even elected to stay afterschool to work on the program.
The teacher and I both stayed about a half hour past our contract hours. I don't know if this was something she was upset about or if she was okay with it. She didn't seem particularly put out, though. I was very tired by the end of the day, but more than happy to stay and help the kids out. I knew that, to some extent, they didn't get enough class time for the project. If I knew that all of the kids had access to Photo Story at home, and could have planned out their narration while watching their videos, even if they couldn't record, I would feel differently. But, I know that for most students, they weren't able to work on it at all outside of class. So I was happy to stay and give them the extra time they needed.
I was a little dissapointed by one comment I overheard. A student had just finished the narration for one slide--describing what she would do with her very last day of sight--and turned to the girl beside her and said, "not that I'd actually do that." I felt that she had missed a large part of the point. This project was supposed to be about her, and she just made it about the pictures she happened to have on her camera at the time.
In the future, I would like to introduce this project to students earlier, and give them time, outside of class, to collect pictures of things they would miss if they went blind. I might start having them do this at then beggining of readin "The Miracle Worker." That way, they would have time to think about what was important to them, and to find pictures of it. I might even start encouraging them to find and download internet pictures of things they couldn't acutally take pictures of. That way, studnets would be better prepared for the project, and it would have more of a connection with Helen Keller.
Another interesting twist might be to have them collecting these photos and images while reading the play, but with a different objective. Instead of collecting what they would want to see with three days of sight, they could collect what they would want to show Helen if she got her three days to see. That way, the students would not only have a personal connection with the project, but with the play, and would have to reflect on themselves in a different way. I'll have to share that thought with the teacher. The idea of more prep work ahead of time will probably appeal to her. I'm not sure how she'll feel about alterin the purpose of the project though.
And now back to the comment I over heard. This was either afterschool or in study hall--for some reason I can't remember which. One student basically said that the had really disliked this project, but now thought Photo Story was really cool. He wants to use it for a project he's doing in his bio class.
The reason seems fairly simple. Students don't know how to use these programs. They get frustrated. They want someone to take them by the hand and give them all the answers. But, if forced to figure some things out--or led through some problem solving--they will slowly get it. Once they get it, then they can focus on the project and not the tech.
I've been eager to get teachers to use tech in an appropriate way--in a way that supports their learning goals. I'm rethinking. I shouldn't focus on "which tech can achieve this for you" but on "how can the tech your students are familiar with achieve this for you." I would like to see teachers doing more projects, using the tech more frequently. If they started the year with an easier project--a learning goal that was simpler for students to achieve--the students could focus on learning the tech without loosing sight of the context of the project. As it stands, some students lost this project while trying to make Photo Story work.
For the rest of the year, and next year, I will beging talking with my teachers about this idea. I hope that they will see it and understand. I think it will also help with the teachers learning the tech. As much as I enjoy being in the classroom with the students, I know that the teachers are not becoming as comfortable with the tech as I want them to be. I we focused on one or two programs, and made them fit the learning goals, then the students and the teacher would have time to learn the programs and become comfortable with them. Then, by the time harder projects came around, the teacher wouldn't even need me any more.
Hmmm...a very smart man once said to me that his goal was to be obsolete. Funny. Guess it took me this long to really understand what he was saying. We had different learning objectives for our students, but the same goal for ourselves.
There were significantly less technical issues overall. That made the creating process go much more smoothly. And, I was better prepared to deal with the few issues that did come up.
I was impressed by students awareness of one another. After it was clear that some students were beginning to record, everyone automatically switched in to careful whisper mode without being told. A few students preferred to be out in the hallway to record (probably more from being embarrassed about talking to themselves in class than concerned about background noise.) And I was pleased to see students helping one another out. A few kids did figure out some parts of the program I hadn't shown them and, not only did they use them, they helped other students figure them out as well.
There were varying degrees of planning for narration. A few of them used the notes section on the recording page to plan out their narration. Some of them wrote scripts. A few decided to ignore all advice and wing it. I am curious to see how the presentations compare.
And that idea also ties in with something I overheard later in the day. I'll come back to that.
This was the last time the students had inclass time to work on their projects. As a result, a lot of extra kids showed up to the study hall later in the day. It was so packed that kids were sitting on the floor. Quite a few students even elected to stay afterschool to work on the program.
The teacher and I both stayed about a half hour past our contract hours. I don't know if this was something she was upset about or if she was okay with it. She didn't seem particularly put out, though. I was very tired by the end of the day, but more than happy to stay and help the kids out. I knew that, to some extent, they didn't get enough class time for the project. If I knew that all of the kids had access to Photo Story at home, and could have planned out their narration while watching their videos, even if they couldn't record, I would feel differently. But, I know that for most students, they weren't able to work on it at all outside of class. So I was happy to stay and give them the extra time they needed.
I was a little dissapointed by one comment I overheard. A student had just finished the narration for one slide--describing what she would do with her very last day of sight--and turned to the girl beside her and said, "not that I'd actually do that." I felt that she had missed a large part of the point. This project was supposed to be about her, and she just made it about the pictures she happened to have on her camera at the time.
In the future, I would like to introduce this project to students earlier, and give them time, outside of class, to collect pictures of things they would miss if they went blind. I might start having them do this at then beggining of readin "The Miracle Worker." That way, they would have time to think about what was important to them, and to find pictures of it. I might even start encouraging them to find and download internet pictures of things they couldn't acutally take pictures of. That way, studnets would be better prepared for the project, and it would have more of a connection with Helen Keller.
Another interesting twist might be to have them collecting these photos and images while reading the play, but with a different objective. Instead of collecting what they would want to see with three days of sight, they could collect what they would want to show Helen if she got her three days to see. That way, the students would not only have a personal connection with the project, but with the play, and would have to reflect on themselves in a different way. I'll have to share that thought with the teacher. The idea of more prep work ahead of time will probably appeal to her. I'm not sure how she'll feel about alterin the purpose of the project though.
And now back to the comment I over heard. This was either afterschool or in study hall--for some reason I can't remember which. One student basically said that the had really disliked this project, but now thought Photo Story was really cool. He wants to use it for a project he's doing in his bio class.
The reason seems fairly simple. Students don't know how to use these programs. They get frustrated. They want someone to take them by the hand and give them all the answers. But, if forced to figure some things out--or led through some problem solving--they will slowly get it. Once they get it, then they can focus on the project and not the tech.
I've been eager to get teachers to use tech in an appropriate way--in a way that supports their learning goals. I'm rethinking. I shouldn't focus on "which tech can achieve this for you" but on "how can the tech your students are familiar with achieve this for you." I would like to see teachers doing more projects, using the tech more frequently. If they started the year with an easier project--a learning goal that was simpler for students to achieve--the students could focus on learning the tech without loosing sight of the context of the project. As it stands, some students lost this project while trying to make Photo Story work.
For the rest of the year, and next year, I will beging talking with my teachers about this idea. I hope that they will see it and understand. I think it will also help with the teachers learning the tech. As much as I enjoy being in the classroom with the students, I know that the teachers are not becoming as comfortable with the tech as I want them to be. I we focused on one or two programs, and made them fit the learning goals, then the students and the teacher would have time to learn the programs and become comfortable with them. Then, by the time harder projects came around, the teacher wouldn't even need me any more.
Hmmm...a very smart man once said to me that his goal was to be obsolete. Funny. Guess it took me this long to really understand what he was saying. We had different learning objectives for our students, but the same goal for ourselves.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sight Project--Day Three
I think yesterday might have been one of the most hectic in classroom days I've had in a while. It just felt like everything that could go wrong did. But really, it was only one class out of three.
The first and third classes went fine. There were a few issues here and there, but nothing major. The middle class was a nightmare.
In all of the classes, the students were left to their own devices to continue working on the project. The teacher went back on her plan and told them at the beginning of class they would have one more day to finish. This hurt the hoped for sense of urgency. But, students still did work continuously for the most part. Some wasted valuable class time trying to edit music to add to the stories. Some who did not construct a good plan were still hunting up images. But most kids were working on editing and arranging images. A few tried out recording themselves, but very few had anything keepable by the end of class.
The middle class had its fair share of problems throughout. An inexplicably high number of students had to keep restarting because they could not connect to their student drives. This took up a lot of valuable work time. Then, several students were having trouble saving their work. It didn't take me long to realize it was students who had imported images straight from memory sticks or jump drives. The easy fix was to make sure the sources was in the computer before saving, so the file could be accessed. However, this was a problem for students who used multiple memory sticks--since only one could be in the computer at a time. I had to have kids drag and drop the images to a folder in their personal drive, delete the images, and then reimport them. This was horrible, because I had to walk each kid through it one by one. It was one of those days when it seems that the students just didn't have the ability to follow directions without me over their shoulders. And I was sympathetic. I think for most people this would be considered a complicated problem.
To make matters even worse, at the end of class, some students suddenly lost their network connections and couldn't save to their student drives. Once again I attempted to give general directions for this: save to your desktop, restart, move to your personal drive. But, I kept getting students raising their hands with the same question. I was becoming frustrated with the technology, my inability to effectively address all of the students at once (students who didn't yet realize they had this problem were still working and not paying any attention despite my telling everyone that I had something very important to say), and the impatience of students who seemed to think they took precidence over someone I was already helping because they were suddenly having problems, too. Massive problems in the last five minutes of class are exponentially more frustrating than massive problems at any other time.
Needless to say, I started the last class of the day explaining, once again, to save frequently. Saving frequently will not only prevent the loss of ALL work in the case of some failure, but it will also alert students to network issues earlier. I explained that, in the last five minutes of class I would not be able to help everyone, so if everyone had an issue at then end of class, most of them would lose work. It was not the best or most helpful tone to take, and it was largely colored by my multiple frustrations from earlier.
Many students do not have basic trouble shooting, or problem solving skills when it comes to technology. They encounter a problem, and thier first and only reaction is to shout to anyone who knows how to use computers. (I eventually told students that those politely raising their hands would probably get my attention sooner than those shouting my name). They do not have the ability to assess the causes or work through possible solutions to a problem. Quite a few needed help saving to their own jump drives. I'm not entirely sure that they weren't capable of doing it. After all, they had saved images to the drive to bring them to school. But, at school, they only saved to their personal drives. I fear that yesterday, in my frustration, I fell back into the trap of enabling learned helplessness.
I was very focused on technical issues yesterday. My reflection doesn't seem to have anything but them. That's a shame.
The first and third classes went fine. There were a few issues here and there, but nothing major. The middle class was a nightmare.
In all of the classes, the students were left to their own devices to continue working on the project. The teacher went back on her plan and told them at the beginning of class they would have one more day to finish. This hurt the hoped for sense of urgency. But, students still did work continuously for the most part. Some wasted valuable class time trying to edit music to add to the stories. Some who did not construct a good plan were still hunting up images. But most kids were working on editing and arranging images. A few tried out recording themselves, but very few had anything keepable by the end of class.
The middle class had its fair share of problems throughout. An inexplicably high number of students had to keep restarting because they could not connect to their student drives. This took up a lot of valuable work time. Then, several students were having trouble saving their work. It didn't take me long to realize it was students who had imported images straight from memory sticks or jump drives. The easy fix was to make sure the sources was in the computer before saving, so the file could be accessed. However, this was a problem for students who used multiple memory sticks--since only one could be in the computer at a time. I had to have kids drag and drop the images to a folder in their personal drive, delete the images, and then reimport them. This was horrible, because I had to walk each kid through it one by one. It was one of those days when it seems that the students just didn't have the ability to follow directions without me over their shoulders. And I was sympathetic. I think for most people this would be considered a complicated problem.
To make matters even worse, at the end of class, some students suddenly lost their network connections and couldn't save to their student drives. Once again I attempted to give general directions for this: save to your desktop, restart, move to your personal drive. But, I kept getting students raising their hands with the same question. I was becoming frustrated with the technology, my inability to effectively address all of the students at once (students who didn't yet realize they had this problem were still working and not paying any attention despite my telling everyone that I had something very important to say), and the impatience of students who seemed to think they took precidence over someone I was already helping because they were suddenly having problems, too. Massive problems in the last five minutes of class are exponentially more frustrating than massive problems at any other time.
Needless to say, I started the last class of the day explaining, once again, to save frequently. Saving frequently will not only prevent the loss of ALL work in the case of some failure, but it will also alert students to network issues earlier. I explained that, in the last five minutes of class I would not be able to help everyone, so if everyone had an issue at then end of class, most of them would lose work. It was not the best or most helpful tone to take, and it was largely colored by my multiple frustrations from earlier.
Many students do not have basic trouble shooting, or problem solving skills when it comes to technology. They encounter a problem, and thier first and only reaction is to shout to anyone who knows how to use computers. (I eventually told students that those politely raising their hands would probably get my attention sooner than those shouting my name). They do not have the ability to assess the causes or work through possible solutions to a problem. Quite a few needed help saving to their own jump drives. I'm not entirely sure that they weren't capable of doing it. After all, they had saved images to the drive to bring them to school. But, at school, they only saved to their personal drives. I fear that yesterday, in my frustration, I fell back into the trap of enabling learned helplessness.
I was very focused on technical issues yesterday. My reflection doesn't seem to have anything but them. That's a shame.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sight Project--Day Two
Day two was a very productive work day for the kids.
A few kids needed some technical help. A few kids have decided to make collages in paint and transfer them into Photo Story. Some students still needed help with figuring out how to save files to a specific place, figuring out why they couldn't just paste a picture into the insert picture dialogue box, or selecting multiple pictures at once. For the most part students worked diligently throughout the class period finding and importing pictures. No one has started narrating yet.
I am a little worried about the three day timeline. Students were not given any set limit to how many or how few pictures they need, and so some have about thirty. I wouldn't be as concerned if the program was internet based. As it is, though, we gave students the url where they could download Photo Story, but not everyone has internet access, and not every parent is going to let kids randomly install software.
I talked with the teacher about the time. She asked my opinion. I told her that the kids were making good use of the time (better on day two than on day one), and that I didn't think most of them would get finished in time. The projects are due Friday, so they will have two days to work on them outside of class, but not everyone will have access to the software at home (and most probably don't have microphones). She agreed. She decided to continue telling students that they only have one more work day, but to give them a fourth day. That way, the will continue to work during day three, believing its their last chance, but they will have the needed fourth day.
Most students are still in the process of finding and importing pictures. Some have started to plan or put their actual stories together--thinking about what they want to say. I find that they want to get instant feed back before committing to anything. But they aren't looking for teacher feed back. They are looking for peer feedback. Its been a noisy project, but most of the conversations are about what they picked and why. I don't think most of them realize that these conversations are part of the planning process. By explaining what and why to classmates, they are preparing to record those same thoughts.
A few kids needed some technical help. A few kids have decided to make collages in paint and transfer them into Photo Story. Some students still needed help with figuring out how to save files to a specific place, figuring out why they couldn't just paste a picture into the insert picture dialogue box, or selecting multiple pictures at once. For the most part students worked diligently throughout the class period finding and importing pictures. No one has started narrating yet.
I am a little worried about the three day timeline. Students were not given any set limit to how many or how few pictures they need, and so some have about thirty. I wouldn't be as concerned if the program was internet based. As it is, though, we gave students the url where they could download Photo Story, but not everyone has internet access, and not every parent is going to let kids randomly install software.
I talked with the teacher about the time. She asked my opinion. I told her that the kids were making good use of the time (better on day two than on day one), and that I didn't think most of them would get finished in time. The projects are due Friday, so they will have two days to work on them outside of class, but not everyone will have access to the software at home (and most probably don't have microphones). She agreed. She decided to continue telling students that they only have one more work day, but to give them a fourth day. That way, the will continue to work during day three, believing its their last chance, but they will have the needed fourth day.
Most students are still in the process of finding and importing pictures. Some have started to plan or put their actual stories together--thinking about what they want to say. I find that they want to get instant feed back before committing to anything. But they aren't looking for teacher feed back. They are looking for peer feedback. Its been a noisy project, but most of the conversations are about what they picked and why. I don't think most of them realize that these conversations are part of the planning process. By explaining what and why to classmates, they are preparing to record those same thoughts.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Sight Project--Day One
The sight project got off to a slightly rocky start. The teacher and I weren't on exactly the same page about the path the project was going to take.
Students have to decide what things that want to see with their last three days of sight. I was under the impression that students had already been told to start gathering pictures (bringing them from home) and thinking about what they wanted. The teacher was under the impression that students would start planning out their projects on the first day in class.
Basically, the first class was instructed on how to use Photo Story, and then told to start planning things out before going on a hodge podge truck through google images, searching for anything that popped into their minds. So, they rather predictably put aside paper and pencil that were meant for planning, and started going searching and saving, and importing photos. During class, I wrote an "order of operations" for the project on the board:
I can't say that I'm 100% satisfied with that order of operations. Again, though, it comes down to not necessarily knowing the class as well as I would like. For some students, especially less organized students, this is probably great structure. For others, its going to be restrictive. I don't think kids need to find ALL pictures before importing, but it might help them stay organized. I don't think that all students need to import ALL pictures before creating--creating covering all aspects of using the program, including scripting, ordering, etc. I think for some kids, it would be good if they felt that they could do a little--write a note or a caption, befor they forget some good idea they had.
I do think, however, that some students will do things in their own order despite what was on the board. So, again, I think that the organization will help some students, and I hope that it won't hinder others. I do agree with the teacher that having kids plan out WHAT they want before beginning an image search will prevent them from being wasteful with their time. However, I hope that students who have an idea or two know that they can still go back and add it, even if the've moved on to import or create.
For the rest of the classes, I went through the "order of operations," as I for some reason insisted on calling it, before showing them how to use Photo Story.
I was rather pleased with how my intro went. I think Photo Story is very easy to use, and most students could have picked up on it without much help. However, I took the opurtunity to go over some other computer basics. I stressed the importance of checking for network drives before beginning any work. I don't know if it is a laptop issue or a wireless issue, but frequently, students cannot connect to their network drives. They work half the class, and then can't save. Sometimes they end up saving to the desktop without telling anyone, and lose their work. So I stressed that, if they do work, they deserve to have something to show for it.
Then, when going over saving photos, I went over file organization. I talked about putting things in folders, putting things where you will remember them, and naming things with some amount of logic. I'm sure a few kids already knew what I was talking about, but my experience tells me that most of them didn't. I think we live in a world where kids have always had the latest technology, and we assume they can use it. Largely that is true. But that doesn't mean that we don't have to take a minute to teach them old time skills like organization. Most teachers know student folders end up a mess, with papers sticking out, for a majority of students. I don't think its safe to assume their computer folders look any different. I probably didn't win any converts to the cause of hyper organization, but I think I opened a few eyes to the idea that they don't have to have one giant folder full of files they can't recognize.
I also focused on the idea of this being a story telling project. I talked about how, if they scripted themselves, they would sound better. I talked about giving the narration some interest. I tend to get a little sarcastic in front of classes. So to demonstrate what I wanted, I demonstrated what I didn't want. I started with "this is a...um...a picture of my friend Janet. I would want to see her...uh...be-uh-cause...she's my friend...and, uh, yeh...that would be good to see." Then, in a monotone: "This is the ocean. It's pretty. This is a flower. It's pretty. This is my mom. She's pretty." The kids laughed--which was the point--but I think they got it. Modeling is important. A lot of times things seem obvious to teachers, and we are frustrated by students who "don't have any motivation." But, I've found that modeling will improve student outcomes significantly. Just because its obvious to a teacher, doesn't mean its as obvious to a 14 year old who is going to be a bit less self aware. And, humor sticks with people better. I think just showing them a well put together example would have been good, if I'd had one (this is the first time doing this project, so I don't), but showing them what not to do--and making it funny--is also helpful in terms of modeling.
After going through the intro, I let students get started on the project. A few kids have photobucket accounts and were looking through them for photos. Others pulled out cameras. Many went straight to google images.
I did see a few lists started. The teacher instructed students to break their project into 3 days, since it is the last three days of sight. They have to specify what they will see on day one, day two, and day three. For the most part, I saw lists for day one. This is not exactly the amount of planning the teacher wanted--she wanted full lists that could be divided by days later--but at least it is something.
One thing I noticed during class was that a few students had lists that made it look like they were going to die, not go blind. I told the teacher, who laughed, and said she'd make a small announcement tomorrow.
Since the students didn't have a full day to work, most of them focused on pictures that came easily to mind--friends and family. I'm curious what they will think of after they get past the familiar.
Students have to decide what things that want to see with their last three days of sight. I was under the impression that students had already been told to start gathering pictures (bringing them from home) and thinking about what they wanted. The teacher was under the impression that students would start planning out their projects on the first day in class.
Basically, the first class was instructed on how to use Photo Story, and then told to start planning things out before going on a hodge podge truck through google images, searching for anything that popped into their minds. So, they rather predictably put aside paper and pencil that were meant for planning, and started going searching and saving, and importing photos. During class, I wrote an "order of operations" for the project on the board:
1. Plan
2. Find
3. Import
4. Create
I can't say that I'm 100% satisfied with that order of operations. Again, though, it comes down to not necessarily knowing the class as well as I would like. For some students, especially less organized students, this is probably great structure. For others, its going to be restrictive. I don't think kids need to find ALL pictures before importing, but it might help them stay organized. I don't think that all students need to import ALL pictures before creating--creating covering all aspects of using the program, including scripting, ordering, etc. I think for some kids, it would be good if they felt that they could do a little--write a note or a caption, befor they forget some good idea they had.
I do think, however, that some students will do things in their own order despite what was on the board. So, again, I think that the organization will help some students, and I hope that it won't hinder others. I do agree with the teacher that having kids plan out WHAT they want before beginning an image search will prevent them from being wasteful with their time. However, I hope that students who have an idea or two know that they can still go back and add it, even if the've moved on to import or create.
For the rest of the classes, I went through the "order of operations," as I for some reason insisted on calling it, before showing them how to use Photo Story.
I was rather pleased with how my intro went. I think Photo Story is very easy to use, and most students could have picked up on it without much help. However, I took the opurtunity to go over some other computer basics. I stressed the importance of checking for network drives before beginning any work. I don't know if it is a laptop issue or a wireless issue, but frequently, students cannot connect to their network drives. They work half the class, and then can't save. Sometimes they end up saving to the desktop without telling anyone, and lose their work. So I stressed that, if they do work, they deserve to have something to show for it.
Then, when going over saving photos, I went over file organization. I talked about putting things in folders, putting things where you will remember them, and naming things with some amount of logic. I'm sure a few kids already knew what I was talking about, but my experience tells me that most of them didn't. I think we live in a world where kids have always had the latest technology, and we assume they can use it. Largely that is true. But that doesn't mean that we don't have to take a minute to teach them old time skills like organization. Most teachers know student folders end up a mess, with papers sticking out, for a majority of students. I don't think its safe to assume their computer folders look any different. I probably didn't win any converts to the cause of hyper organization, but I think I opened a few eyes to the idea that they don't have to have one giant folder full of files they can't recognize.
I also focused on the idea of this being a story telling project. I talked about how, if they scripted themselves, they would sound better. I talked about giving the narration some interest. I tend to get a little sarcastic in front of classes. So to demonstrate what I wanted, I demonstrated what I didn't want. I started with "this is a...um...a picture of my friend Janet. I would want to see her...uh...be-uh-cause...she's my friend...and, uh, yeh...that would be good to see." Then, in a monotone: "This is the ocean. It's pretty. This is a flower. It's pretty. This is my mom. She's pretty." The kids laughed--which was the point--but I think they got it. Modeling is important. A lot of times things seem obvious to teachers, and we are frustrated by students who "don't have any motivation." But, I've found that modeling will improve student outcomes significantly. Just because its obvious to a teacher, doesn't mean its as obvious to a 14 year old who is going to be a bit less self aware. And, humor sticks with people better. I think just showing them a well put together example would have been good, if I'd had one (this is the first time doing this project, so I don't), but showing them what not to do--and making it funny--is also helpful in terms of modeling.
After going through the intro, I let students get started on the project. A few kids have photobucket accounts and were looking through them for photos. Others pulled out cameras. Many went straight to google images.
I did see a few lists started. The teacher instructed students to break their project into 3 days, since it is the last three days of sight. They have to specify what they will see on day one, day two, and day three. For the most part, I saw lists for day one. This is not exactly the amount of planning the teacher wanted--she wanted full lists that could be divided by days later--but at least it is something.
One thing I noticed during class was that a few students had lists that made it look like they were going to die, not go blind. I told the teacher, who laughed, and said she'd make a small announcement tomorrow.
Since the students didn't have a full day to work, most of them focused on pictures that came easily to mind--friends and family. I'm curious what they will think of after they get past the familiar.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Sight Project
Another new English Project.
I always complain about my "office" having the only printer on the hall. I should stop complaining about that. I think this is the third project I've gotten by talking to a teacher who was waiting for something to print.
I was just making small talk, and the teacher was leaving. But, I had been working on a wiki that was up on my screen. She actually started to leave, and then said that she wanted to ask me something.
Her kids have been reading about Helen Keller. One of the things the read was what Keller said she would want to see if she could have three days of sight. The teacher than was going to have the students put together a poster/scrap book page about what they would want to see if they only had three days of sight left. She wanted to know if there were any programs like that.
Of course I instantly thought of glogster. But, I wasn't 100% sure about if students could make their glogs private. And, I think we were both a little leary about having the kids have to give the teacher permission to see the project. And, the teacher was not that comfortable with putting pictures of students online (most will likely use pictures of family as part of this project.)
I then thought of Photo Story as a possible offline option. I explained that it was very easy to use. Also, I had just made printable directions at the request of another teacher. She decided that Photo Story fit her needs well.
The students will bring in photos and/or search for photos online. I will show the class the basics of using Photo Story. Students will then create Photo Stories using their pictures, describing them, and explaining why they are significant things and why they would want to see these things if they only had three days of sight left. This allows students to work at their own pace. Those who learn Photo Story more quickly will have the oppurtunity to use more advanced features, or use photo editing software to make their stories more visually interesting. At the end of the project, students will share their projects with the class.
I like this project because it allows students to connect with the class content in a meaningful way. They will also have chance to not only be creative, but show something about themselves. I believe that students do want to feel like they matter as people in school. This project gives them the chance to show who they are to their teacher and their classmates. It will also force them into self reflection. They won't have to write a formal reflection, but they will have to consider what is important to them and why, and what life would be like without sight.
I always complain about my "office" having the only printer on the hall. I should stop complaining about that. I think this is the third project I've gotten by talking to a teacher who was waiting for something to print.
I was just making small talk, and the teacher was leaving. But, I had been working on a wiki that was up on my screen. She actually started to leave, and then said that she wanted to ask me something.
Her kids have been reading about Helen Keller. One of the things the read was what Keller said she would want to see if she could have three days of sight. The teacher than was going to have the students put together a poster/scrap book page about what they would want to see if they only had three days of sight left. She wanted to know if there were any programs like that.
Of course I instantly thought of glogster. But, I wasn't 100% sure about if students could make their glogs private. And, I think we were both a little leary about having the kids have to give the teacher permission to see the project. And, the teacher was not that comfortable with putting pictures of students online (most will likely use pictures of family as part of this project.)
I then thought of Photo Story as a possible offline option. I explained that it was very easy to use. Also, I had just made printable directions at the request of another teacher. She decided that Photo Story fit her needs well.
The students will bring in photos and/or search for photos online. I will show the class the basics of using Photo Story. Students will then create Photo Stories using their pictures, describing them, and explaining why they are significant things and why they would want to see these things if they only had three days of sight left. This allows students to work at their own pace. Those who learn Photo Story more quickly will have the oppurtunity to use more advanced features, or use photo editing software to make their stories more visually interesting. At the end of the project, students will share their projects with the class.
I like this project because it allows students to connect with the class content in a meaningful way. They will also have chance to not only be creative, but show something about themselves. I believe that students do want to feel like they matter as people in school. This project gives them the chance to show who they are to their teacher and their classmates. It will also force them into self reflection. They won't have to write a formal reflection, but they will have to consider what is important to them and why, and what life would be like without sight.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Creek Project
One of the science teachers is having students create a creek project.
This is based on year long research that the students do in this class. The collect data on the creek, and do research based on it.
In April, students from all over the state meet to share and discuss their data, research, projects, and experiments. The Science teacher takes several of her classes every year.
This year, she wants to have the students have a little more freedom in what types of projects they do. She has given them the option of creating a photo story, running an experiment, creating and recording music, making a website, or coming up with their own project.
I like this project a lot because it involves creativity and student choice. It also has a ready made audience that students know they will be sharing their work with.
I'm starting working with the teacher today. I will be visiting her classes at the end of the period today, after she has given the assignment. Students will be working with their groups and discussing what types of projects they want to do. By being on hand, I'll be able to help students come up with ideas, understand the work involved in using certain tools, and recommend tools that they might not be familiar with.
This is a long term project that students will mostly be doing outside of class. Because of that, I will not be working with the students much during class. However, the teacher asked if I would work with them during their study hall. I feel that I'm supposed to be working more with the teacher than the students, but this is a way to help students strengthen their tech skills. Also, because there will be so many different tools being used, I'm hoping for the chance to work with the teacher, so she will have a better grasp of those tools, and how to assess these projects.
This is based on year long research that the students do in this class. The collect data on the creek, and do research based on it.
In April, students from all over the state meet to share and discuss their data, research, projects, and experiments. The Science teacher takes several of her classes every year.
This year, she wants to have the students have a little more freedom in what types of projects they do. She has given them the option of creating a photo story, running an experiment, creating and recording music, making a website, or coming up with their own project.
I like this project a lot because it involves creativity and student choice. It also has a ready made audience that students know they will be sharing their work with.
I'm starting working with the teacher today. I will be visiting her classes at the end of the period today, after she has given the assignment. Students will be working with their groups and discussing what types of projects they want to do. By being on hand, I'll be able to help students come up with ideas, understand the work involved in using certain tools, and recommend tools that they might not be familiar with.
This is a long term project that students will mostly be doing outside of class. Because of that, I will not be working with the students much during class. However, the teacher asked if I would work with them during their study hall. I feel that I'm supposed to be working more with the teacher than the students, but this is a way to help students strengthen their tech skills. Also, because there will be so many different tools being used, I'm hoping for the chance to work with the teacher, so she will have a better grasp of those tools, and how to assess these projects.
Independant Novel Project
I'm very excited about this project, because it involves a lot more student choice than anything I've been involved with yet.
One of the English teachers has her students select a novel to read for class. Each student picks his own novel. Then, instead of having them do book reports, she wants to have them do projects to show that they have read and understand the main points of the book.
We worked together to bring some of her projects into the 21st centurty. By the end, we had a list of about ten options. This seemed a bit much--too many choices will overwhelm some students, and it certainly would have made grading far more difficult and time consuming. So, the teacher too my suggestions into consideration, and narrowed the list down to five projects that the students can do. This way, students have a chance to play to their strengths and be creative, while being as out there or as conservative with the assignment as they want.
As part of making this assignment more 21st Century, the teacher wanted to let students use web 2.0 and other technology tools. I showed her some options. Some of these tools are things she is very unfamiliar with. Others she is more comfortable with. I suggested that students who know these tools, or feel comfortable learning them on their own, have the option to choose them. She is a little more conservative, and does not want students to be left to their own devices of learning these tools as they go. However, it would have been unreasonable to have me take as much class time as I would have needed to show all of these tools, when kids will be using only one or two at most. As a compromise, I am providing typed overviews with images that will help students learn the basics (I used word and screen captures to create these). My hope is that students who are ambitious or creative will be able to take the basic instructions I provide and then discover some of the more advanced functions of the programs.
The current five projects are:
*Storyboard: You will choose three different, important scenes
throughout the novel that represent your story. You can either take
still-life pictures or create still-life photos in an online program
called bitstrips (like a comic-strip) to show the progress of the
action. You will then write two paragraphs why you chose those scenes
and their significance. The other paragraph will be a reflection on the
process.
*Day-in-the-Life: You will pretend you are the protagonist in the book
in the situations that he/she encounters by creating a "My-Space" type
website. One section will be posted journal entries in the perspective
of that character. You will also include necessary "wall updates" to
show the protagonist's experiences.
The written component will be a two-paragraph "extra ending" or "where
are they now" to your novel.
*Event Location Map: You will use the Inspiration program to represent
the different, essential locations and events in the novel. You should
have ten-twelve selections. You will choose images and labels with a 3-4
sentence description about the location/event.
*Brown Bag: You will choose eight to ten "items" to place in the bag to
represent significant events, situations or characters from the book.
You can use either PhotoStory in which you can take pictures or use
stock images or Jog the Web in which you would select web-sites/images
online. You will provide a 3-4 sentence description of the objects.
*Interview: You will write and record an interview with the protagonist
in your story. It must have ten-twelve in depth questions/answers to
demonstrate all of his/her major situations and experiences. You can
complete this with audio or video.
One of the English teachers has her students select a novel to read for class. Each student picks his own novel. Then, instead of having them do book reports, she wants to have them do projects to show that they have read and understand the main points of the book.
We worked together to bring some of her projects into the 21st centurty. By the end, we had a list of about ten options. This seemed a bit much--too many choices will overwhelm some students, and it certainly would have made grading far more difficult and time consuming. So, the teacher too my suggestions into consideration, and narrowed the list down to five projects that the students can do. This way, students have a chance to play to their strengths and be creative, while being as out there or as conservative with the assignment as they want.
As part of making this assignment more 21st Century, the teacher wanted to let students use web 2.0 and other technology tools. I showed her some options. Some of these tools are things she is very unfamiliar with. Others she is more comfortable with. I suggested that students who know these tools, or feel comfortable learning them on their own, have the option to choose them. She is a little more conservative, and does not want students to be left to their own devices of learning these tools as they go. However, it would have been unreasonable to have me take as much class time as I would have needed to show all of these tools, when kids will be using only one or two at most. As a compromise, I am providing typed overviews with images that will help students learn the basics (I used word and screen captures to create these). My hope is that students who are ambitious or creative will be able to take the basic instructions I provide and then discover some of the more advanced functions of the programs.
The current five projects are:
*Storyboard: You will choose three different, important scenes
throughout the novel that represent your story. You can either take
still-life pictures or create still-life photos in an online program
called bitstrips (like a comic-strip) to show the progress of the
action. You will then write two paragraphs why you chose those scenes
and their significance. The other paragraph will be a reflection on the
process.
*Day-in-the-Life: You will pretend you are the protagonist in the book
in the situations that he/she encounters by creating a "My-Space" type
website. One section will be posted journal entries in the perspective
of that character. You will also include necessary "wall updates" to
show the protagonist's experiences.
The written component will be a two-paragraph "extra ending" or "where
are they now" to your novel.
*Event Location Map: You will use the Inspiration program to represent
the different, essential locations and events in the novel. You should
have ten-twelve selections. You will choose images and labels with a 3-4
sentence description about the location/event.
*Brown Bag: You will choose eight to ten "items" to place in the bag to
represent significant events, situations or characters from the book.
You can use either PhotoStory in which you can take pictures or use
stock images or Jog the Web in which you would select web-sites/images
online. You will provide a 3-4 sentence description of the objects.
*Interview: You will write and record an interview with the protagonist
in your story. It must have ten-twelve in depth questions/answers to
demonstrate all of his/her major situations and experiences. You can
complete this with audio or video.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
