And Now the End is Near

Different song snippets keep popping into my head, like Frank Sinatra singing, “And now the end is near…”, or “We’ve only just begun...” by the Carpenters. While the class is ending, I am just beginning to bring more technology tools to my students. After completing EDU 776, I definitely feel more prepared using technology to teach students. All semester long, I have tried new things, with varying degrees of success. It was helpful to learn in class from the instructor and from my classmates who researched and presented various topics about just some of the countless apps and websites available. 

When you visit my professional website or read previous blog posts, you can see examples of some of the work that my students did this semester. From making word clouds into Thanksgiving cards, to learning about the government from a Thinglink, to making iMovie book trailers, technology provided a fun learning tool. I learned all about Khan Academy and presented it. My students enjoyed using it, but I also learned that Zearn is an app that ties closer than Khan Academy to our Engage New York-based curriculum.  One of the highlights for me, was doing a live tweet with two classes, one from Florida and one from Alaska. We played a game of Kahoot about the Global Read Aloud book, Pax. I never would have met those teachers, or introduced my class to other classes in other states, had it not been for Twitter.

Making the iMovie was quite an accomplishment for me. It took a long time to plan and execute, but the final result was worth it. It also made me realize that I could teach kids how to use the iMovie trailer as well as the iMovie. Working on the webquest with a fellow teacher and classmate was fun and educational. Now that I have tried various apps and programs, I feel more comfortable using technology. There are always some frustrating moments, when I can’t figure out something, or when something doesn’t work like I think it should. On the flip side, I like the creativity it offers to someone like me who does not draw, but likes to be creative using pictures, words and now video. Technology is a tool that allows me to do more than I could without it. Its origin is comprised of words that mean art, craft, and systematic treatment, which makes sense, when you think about the endless possibilities it offers. 

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So while I began the course with a technological base, it was on larger IBM systems, that bear little or no resemblance to the MacBook Air that I use for school. One similarity is that my Mac probably has as much storage as the giant machines that I used to install. Technology is making a huge difference in how kids learn, and I am glad that I can use my new knowledge of it to help them succeed. 

Not a Thingamajig but a Thinglink

Thinglink

In this application, the user add dots to a photo which are links to other sites. This application is great for highlighting information in a fun and easy way to access it. It was easy for me to create a thinglink, and it lent itself perfectly to the government unit that we were doing in Social Studies. The students thought it was a lot of fun to click on the different links of the picture of the White House and play games, see videos, and read about the White House and the president. They were very engaged. Reflecting on their experience, it was good because they could click on the activities which interested them, and play the games that they wanted to play. Choice is important for engagement, and this app offers choice. I think it might be difficult for third graders to find the links to put a thinglink together safely by themselves, which may be the reason why D90 has it on its not safe list for students. This application can be used for other topics in Social Studies and in Science. We will be studying Native American tribes next and making a thinglink for a specific tribe would be a great way to provide additional research materials.

Not only movies get trailers

Book Trailers

For a culminating project for our fall novel studies, I thought it would be engaging for the students to create a book trailer using iMovie trailer. In iMovie trailers, you choose a theme and add pictures that you have taken with your iPad, modify the text to fit your book, and edit it. I made a sample, using Pax, the Global Read Aloud book for third grade, which I have embedded on myTech Tac Toe page of my website, so that I could teach them how to do it. I learned that in a movie trailer on the iPad that once you choose a theme, there is no turning back. So theme selection is important. The students read one of three different books. In one of the books, there were very few pictures, so I asked for Creative Commons to be added to our third grade websites page. Students used this link to add pictures for their trailers. 

The book trailers were a big success. The students had fun figuring out how to create and edit them. They loved making them, and could share their knowledge about the theme and mood of their novels in a new way. One of the things I noticed while the students were working is that using technology in this way gives all students a chance to excel. I shared my book trailer with my third grade teammates, and I shared the book trailers created by the students with the parents at conferences. The parents and I were very impressed with the kids' efforts. This is another project that I will be repeating. You can see my trailer below. For more information, please click here to visit my website. If you are interested in purchasing Pax, please click on the caption. It is a GREAT book!

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Hey! That Cloud Looks Like a Group of Words

Word Clouds

There are many different apps in which students can create word clouds. A word cloud is a cluster of words that the students type into the app. They can edit it to choose font, style, shape, color, and size. Some of the word cloud apps are Wordle, Tagxedo, and Tagul. I learned that Tagul works on the iPads and learned how it worked so I could teach my students. Then, I found out from our D90 tech site that the abcya.com word cloud was the only safe app for our students to use to create word clouds. Since it is very simplistic, another element was needed. 

So, after the students added text about all of the people and things for which they are thankful during our social emotional learning time, I took their pictures in front of a green screen. Next time, I will use their iPads to take the photos. Using Do Ink, the pictures of the students and the word clouds were merged, and then printed. The students cut out the pictures and glued them on the front, and wrote notes of appreciation to their families and pasted them inside in what became a Thanksgiving card. Not only does this give them experience tap typing on their iPads which they need to learn how to do as we take PARCC tests on iPads, it gives them the opportunity to be creative. This is a project that I will definitely do again. If you would like to see more examples, please click here for a link to my website.

Educational Technology Research: Don't Blink

Just as processor speeds increase exponentially, educational technology trends change rapidly. It is important to stay current on what will happen next. When given the option to check out various websites containing educational technology research, I checked out Pew Research first. I had used data from Pew Research in previous graduate work research and I like the fact that they call themselves a non-partisan “fact tank” based in Washington, D.C. I read a presentation called Reading, writing, and research in the digital age by Kathryn Zickuhr. She included this slide in her presentation:

I think we, as teachers need to teach our students about where to find reputable sources. Note that 52% check social media and 42% check with their peers. It is amazing that we have so much information at our fingertips. We just need to look at it objectively and academically.

Horizon Report: In reading the big picture NMC/CoSN Horizon Report 2016 K-12 Edition, I looked closely at the Students as Creators, a short-term trend topic. What stood out for me was this, “Educators can more comfortably design creative environments if they feel supported by school leaders in their capacity to experiment, improvise, and innovate. School curriculum structured around high-stakes testing often does not build in time, space, or flexibility for teachers to experiment with creative project ideas.” I connected this to what I have read elsewhere about the push to add A for Art/Creativity to STEM, calling it STEAM. I agree with this concept. Creativity needs to be a part of a school’s curriculum, and time should be devoted to it. Since I teach third grade, I was also interested in this finding, “A recent study of third grade students at an elementary school in Arkansas found that student-led lesson planning was a successful tool for promoting creativity and engagement, while bolstering student understanding of complex concepts.” It would be interesting to visit schools where this type of learning is taking place. If you would like to read more on this subject click here. 

Project Tomorrow: Lastly, I reviewed Project Tomorrow’s annual Speak Up Research Project, which I was curious about when it said that its data comes from students themselves about how they use technology, and how schools and communities can serve them. I like that they go right to the source, but at the top of the web page it states that you must get permission to cite the Speak Up findings. So if you want to check it out here is the website. Teachers should stay current on educational technology. It is changing education, and you don’t want to be left behind holding a pile of floppy disks, unless of course, you love technical history. 

Digital Tattoos and Data Mining: Digging for Dirt and Diamonds

Data Everywhere: Wow! There is a lot of data out there on all of us. I worked on the data mining assignment, and quickly found all sorts of information on our assigned person. Of course, my “assignment” was a stand-up guy with many talents and interests. Then, I started data mining my own name. Granted, I was awarded the Goodie Two Shoes Award my senior year in high school, and haven’t changed much, so I wasn’t too nervous. After checking a couple of websites, I found out that the whole world knows how old I am. Oh, well, I think of age as experience. There are also some omissions. For instance, a couple of my children were listed, but not all. Several did not list my most recent master’s degree. One site said that I had worked at Idyllwild Arts Academy, which I have never heard of, but it sounds like a nice place. This extraneous information presents another problem. Some people believe information is true if it is on the internet, and it is not the case.  

Data Mining History: I have always been aware of leaving a trail of words. When I worked at IBM, I was told that the administrators had access to all of my emails. I have always lived by the adage, never put in writing what you wouldn’t want printed on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. When social media became popular, I wanted to be a part of it. I joined Facebook. I told my kids that they could join if they would friend their grandmother. If a post could pass the grandma test, it was okay for the rest of the world. I do remember warning them not to post or to get tagged in any pictures where they could be accused of wrongdoing. One of my friend’s daughter’s had a red Solo cup in a photo taken at a high school party, contents undetermined, and got suspended from her high school sports team for a week. My kids friended me when they went to college, which was great, because I could see the pictures from dances in which they were tagged. My Facebook posts are pretty innocuous. I post Chicago Cub pictures, social emotional articles, charity events, and patriotic posts, etc. I am pretty much “baseball, hotdogs, apple and Chevrolet”. Here is what you get when you google me. If you go to images, the first picture that you see of me is the picture below. It is a District 90 picture of the new teachers who joined D90 in 2014. 

Photo by Dawn Simmons, D90 Communications

To teach or not to teach: I think digital tattoos are a topic that teachers need to explain to their students. Most kids do not understand the web, let alone the permanence of a digital tattoo. Unfortunately, there are people who will use this online information for bad purposes, hence my title digging for dirt. Kids also need to know that it is good to have a positive web presence, my digging for diamonds reference. It is good to share what you have learned and read with others. So as with most things, you need a balance, of what you share and what you don’t, because unlike footprints, what you leave behind digitally is permanent.  

Scorsese Need Not Worry

I made my first iMovie! It will not win an Oscar, but when I sent a text to our tech specialist saying it was completed, she sent me a congratulatory note, including a burst of confetti. To choose my theme, I thought about all of the different photos on my laptop and most of them are my family, friends, and flowers. The number of photos of flowers was startling. So one morning before school, I spent two hours pouring through my photos, two at a time, trying to choose the best ones. Then, I had to cut the pictures down to fit into the 4 minute timeframe. Out went the marigolds, the petunias, the hydrangeas, literally on the cutting room floor. 

Less is more:

Then I still had to cut down the remaining photos from the original set time of four seconds to two or three seconds. Ones with people in them got to keep all four seconds. After seeing my fellow classmates’ videos, I really should have cut out even more photos and lingered on them longer. Next, I tried to figure out how to put it to music. I discovered that my iTunes account on my phone is a different account number than on my school laptop. I wanted soft piano music, and through Google, I found a pianist, Michael Silverman. I listened to several of his performances before settling on Pachelbel’s Canon in D. I put the music down. I even figured out how to repeat it for the last part of the video. Woo hoo! When I played it with the music, it actually looked like a video. 

Tell the Story, Morning Glory:

Then, I sat down and wrote the narration. I had to lengthen it, then shorten it, and then practice it. I also kept track of my sources for placement in the credits. After several rehearsals, I recorded it. Then, I deleted it and started again. I made one pause in the wrong place, but decided to leave it in, just like a weaver who intentionally leaves in a flaw to let you know that it is hand-made. I was so happy to complete it. I get a great deal of happiness from accomplishing goals. I really like the iMovie and I think my family and friends will like it as well. As far as being a student, the project was overwhelming at first. The basic directions on google were not that hard, but there were so many decisions to make, and things to figure out. Some parts of iMovie were intuitive and some were not. I was disappointed that the computer at Dominican could not play vimeos full-size. Here is a photo that I took from my movie. You can see the whole movie here. I hope you like it. 

What Next?:

I will be teaching my students how to make movie trailers for their fall book selections as a culminating project. I made one this afternoon about Pax, our global read aloud book as a sample. After making a movie, it was a lot easier!  

From my personal collection