Final Project Idea (a rough sketch)

For my final project I am envisioning stories. Stories written by, illustrated by, and told by students. The process by which students will create and present their stories to a wider audience is where the tech piece comes in. I see a lot of possibilities with having kids create stories using the Common Craft style. I've asked my 5th graders if they would be interested in creating stories using this method and they all shouted "¡Sí!". That was encouraging.

I found an educator out of Hong Kong who is creating Common Craft style videos in the classroom with her students. Donna Ellery who teaches at Discovery College in Hong Kong. Here is an example of one of her students who created a Common Craft video on "How to Make a Microphone".

After reading over the Utech tips for creating these videos in the classroom, I'm a bit intimidated to say the least. The method that Donna and her students used to create these videos was using iMovie for post production/editing and then importing the videos into Garage Band in order to do add the audio track (the kids used microphones they created in science class to do this which REALLY sounds intimidating). I know I've been taking this course for almost a year now, but the truth is I'm still not all that tech savvy. I've only used iMovie once and I've never used Garage Band. And that's just the technology piece, I still need to consider how the project will be organized, time lines, grading, etc. I have a lot to think about. The project seems gigantic and complicated and may give me a tech headache... but what I'm most grateful for is that I have the opportunity to work with students who are excited to create and tell stories in new and interesting ways. This may be challenging and my learning curve may be the size of Everest, but I expect it will be a fun, interesting, and learning centered journey getting to the final product.

To be continued.... stay tuned!

Technology: Solution or Problem?

UGH! I've been annoyed with technology lately. I know it motivates and engages students. I know that it can literally open up the world and brings it to their fingertips. I know that using technology in the classroom gives students skills that they need for the digital world. I know that students ask me on a weekly basis, "Can we use the computer?". They love it, they crave it, they would probably marry it.

So why am I so frustrated? Last week, I planned lessons that incorporated technology and the technology failed to work properly.... again. When I only see kids every other day for 45 minutes and we spend 10 minutes trying to figure out technology, I see it as wasted time. I have an amazing tool that can help student learning if it works properly, but 7 times out of 10 it doesn't. The website I'm referring to is Lingt Language. It was created by an MIT student who was studying Mandarin and wanted a better way to learn. It's an amazing tool when it works. Teachers can tailor make activities that have students reading, writing, listening, and speaking on the computer. Here is an example of one activity that I created.

The problem is that the listening portion and the voice recording portion works sporadically. You can't always hear the questions being asked and the students aren't always able to record their voices and play it back so they can hear their own language learning. Students are still able to read and write, but the strength in this website is in the ability to listen to speech and use oral language to express oneself. I really want to use this technology and the students want to use it too, but when technology fails to work so much of the time, I begin to lose faith in the power of technology.

There is one simple solution. Turn off the computer and talk face to face. Remember that? The way we all learned to speak language is still the best (and most reliable) way. ¡Vamos a hablar!

What Kind of Learner are You?

We all have a mix a learning styles and so do our students. Below is my learner profile. I like to hear and see while I'm learning.

Click here for a glimpse at your own learner profile.

2010 through the eyes of Google

I definitely googled, "Thailand Political Crisis" a time or two.