Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Green Screen Practice

As part of our Narnia blogging experience, we wanted to give the students an option to create a vlog entry as well.  So, the other day, I asked for volunteers.  "I need two students who are done their assignment for the day and are ready to do something crazy."  (Amazing how that motivates kids. "Something crazy" has to be a good thing. Right?!?!)

I took my two students in the hall and explained what they were doing, and almost immediately one of them commenting about the background.  After all, cement blocks painted white is not a Narnia-inspired look.  So, I started exploring the options of using a green screen.  

As it turns out WeVideo has a green screen feature, AND our school owns a small green screen! It was a match made in heaven! 

Last year in my previous school, I co-taught a couple media production classes for middle and high school.  But, by saying "co-taught" it just meant I helped by managing and organizing the courses.  I actually had no idea how to do half the stuff the students were doing.  So, I missed the green screen lesson completely.  Fortunately, WeVideo makes it super easy.  

Below are two promos that I created for the entire vlog experience.  The first was shot with my iPhone 6 (front camera) and the second was shot with my Chromebook webcam.  




We showed the first video to the students today, and they were pumped! They were certainly excited to see me with the mountain background AND they can't wait to start using the green screen.  This will be fun!

Now, I'm experimenting with using (finding) lights to make a more consistent green color on the screen.  While the phone camera did a better job, I'd much rather not use it for all 50 videos.  So, I want to make things work on the webcam for a usable video experience.

Stay tuned.  Good things to come.  Of course.

And, if you want to watch 27 seconds of utter cuteness, you need to watch this...

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Show Me How

I stepped into Ms McGuire's room to help with their blogging project, and it didn't take long for the students to start asking me questions about how to do things on their blog posts.  After a few minutes, I realized there were going to be a lot of questions about text wrapping -- something I don't really do on my blogs.  I just plop a picture down in my post and don't worry too much about the aesthetics of the page.  (Who knows? Maybe that's why I don't get a lot of hits.)

I explained to the class that I would start googling that question and we'd deal with it by the end of class.  Then Lindsey popped up.  "You mean, you want to do this?"  I looked at her computer and -- by golly -- she was doing text wrapping with her picture.  "Lindsey! How did you do that?!? Show me how!"

It may seem like a little thing, but when the dust settled I realized how that attitude feeds into a blended learning concept.  Back in 1994, when I started teaching, I was the final source of knowledge.  Well, the textbook and me -- we were an ugly tag-team match up.  If I didn't know the answer to a question, I would get all red in the face and flustered. It was like the deodorant commercial -- never let them see you sweat. I never wanted to show any mental weaknesses.  Not knowing was akin to not being qualified to be the teacher.

So much has changed now, and I feel completely comfortable not knowing something. In fact, I'm cool with asking a 10 year old how she accomplished something I can't.  Cause it's all about learning and growing, and I'm glad I could model that for 25 fifth graders.

And, just to show you I can now text wrap.... here's proof.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Blending Narnia...

What is it about your job that geeks you out? For me, it's those moments when a teacher invites me into her room and gives me carte blanche to do something cool.  I'm still quite new at this school and in this role, so I get excited when doors fly open for me.

This happened for me about a week ago, when I popped my head into Ms. McGuire's 5th grade room.  She pointed at her stack of new copies of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and said, "Get thinking about how you can help us with these." WHAT?!?!

Let's back up a few decades to my formative years.  I was never into reading as a kid.  I read what I had to read for school and occasionally found books that I liked to read.  But I was never what I would consider a reader all through my childhood.  That changed during college in my Children's Lit course.  One of our required readings was The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and my eyes were opened to the awesomeness of books.  I have never been the same since.  Because of that trip to Narnia, I have battled for Middle Earth, lived through numerous national dilemmas, and solved countless murders, not to mention exploring the human mind, educational philosophy, and human nature through non-fiction.  Would I like to help with this class's trip to Narnia?  I couldn't sign up fast enough!!!!

The problem really boils down to how to use technology when teaching such an epic novel.  Since Google searches weren't much help, I had to come up with my own epic idea.  After pondering for a while, it finally hit me!  The students could blog the journey through the wardrobe as one of the Pevensie children!  

From there the idea moved pretty quickly.  I read the first couple chapters and created my own blog as Tumnus the Faun to give the students an example to work toward.  It was fun to design the blog as if a faun was writing it, keeping the focus of the book in mind.  I'm still toying with the idea of continuing the blog throughout the course of the book or just keeping up one post as an example for future years.

Yesterday, the students started their blogs, and I'm just geeking out over bringing my passions of reading, blogging, and edtech together as we read one of my favorite books.  Stay tuned, and I'll have student examples soon.  


Monday, November 21, 2016

Kentucky and WeVideos

Riding the wave of success that was the 2nd grade rainforest videos, I realized that this would apply well to a project that our fifth grade was doing.  In their social studies class, they were researching Kentucky to determine which region of the country it belongs in.

(Quick aside: I was born and raised in Philadelphia and always considered Kentucky part of the Deep South.  It wasn't till I moved here 20 years ago that I realized I live on roughly the same latitude as my parents. Do I really live in the South?) 

Students wrote a script and found images with their teacher, then I stepped in armed with WeVideo.  The students were tasked to create a video in which they read their scripts and showed some pictures to back up their thoughts.  I showed them some extras but really left those up to the students.  With that said, I was super impressed how students explored the many visual and audio options within the software.

WeVideo is not hard to learn, and it's almost as easy to teach.  One thing that amazed me is how students took leadership and ownership of this project.  I literally taught a handful of kids how to work the software, but 50 kids created a video worth being proud of.  How does that happen?  Those who finished turned around and helped others.  In fact, it was common to see one student help three or four classmates at a time.

My principal noted that she saw kids working in the hallway.  She asked them "Are you working on this in groups?"  The response always came back as something like, "No.  We're each doing our own, but I'm struggling with editing the sound and he's really good at that.  So he's helping me."  Boom! How awesome is that!?!!?

Here are a couple of the best videos from the project.




Thursday, November 10, 2016

ThingLink and the 13 Colonies

I recently had the opportunity to work with some of our fifth-grade team to help students create ThingLink images about the 13 colonies. I had never seen ThingLink in action before but I was amazed at how easy it was to create with and learn how to use.  I created the image below to practice how it is was done.






When it was time to talk to students about ThingLink, I showed them another practice image and we let them run with a practice ThingLink. They were allowed to select any topic they wanted but had to include a few different media to practice the process.

On Day Two, we gave them the learning requirements, their randomly selected colony them set them off on a new adventure. The next few days involved a lot of learning about colonies and how to utilize the technology of ThingLink.  Then it was time to present their learning to their classes.

Almost as an afterthought, it hit us that presenting these would cause some problems. It takes time to log out of a website so someone else can log in, and no one wants that kind of lag time in their classrooms.  I quickly created a spreadsheet with the names of all 100 5th graders and shared them with the teachers. The teachers dumped that spreadsheet into Google Classroom... and viola! We had a means of turning the project in and a quick link to all images.

I thought you might like to see some of the ThingLink images our students created.  Here are a few of the best.  Let me know how you are using ThinkLink in your school. 



WeVideo in the Rain Forest

Our second graders are creating their own rainforest in their hallway.  It's a sight to behold to watch the trees and foliage spring up from linoleum floors.  And mixed into the canopy and forest floor are animals peeking out with -- what's that?!? -- paragraphs written about those animals too!


I worked alongside Mrs. Zuerick, one of our second grade teachers, to help students create videos about their chosen rainforest animals.  

We selected WeVideo as our video creation tool, which was is an amazingly simple editing tool.  I worked with small groups of students at a time in my lab. Students had to select three pictures of their animal, record an intro with the webcam, insert transitions between visual elements, and their voice reading the paragraph, and wrap it up with background music.  Believe it or not, we were able to get 3-5 videos done in about 40 minutes.  When all the videos were completed, I created QR Codes for each, and those will be added to the paragraphs.  

Enjoy some of my favorite videos...



Thanks for watching! How have you used WeVideo in the past? 

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Orange Frog: A Book Review

Title: The Orange Frog
Author: Shawn Achor
Review:

What makes someone happy? Is it a result of what you accomplish? What you think? Is your happiness a result of your circumstances or your reaction to your circumstances?

The Orange Frog is a parable that takes a look at these questions and nails down the concept that "happiness is a choice." Now, that might seem like a no-brainer to you. It was to me.  But how does that play out in your normal day to day life?  Are you happy in your work? Are you a positive-thinking person? Do you take joy in helping others? Do you look for the positive in your circumstances? Do other people see you as a happy person or do they hear you complain all the time? How does this affect your productivity as well as those around you?

In this parable, one frog is an outlier. While the social norms tell him to conform to the other frogs, the more of an outlier he is, the happier he becomes. As time goes on, we start to see him as a positive agent of change for the other frogs.  As a team, they become more productive, more happy, more... well, don't let me spoil it all for you.

The bottom line of this parable is that you can be happy.  You can be a positive outlier. You can choose to improve your attitude and in turn help others improve as well.  The big question is HOW you continue to find the good in life and make happier choices.


Monday, September 26, 2016

Picasso Head

I spent last week as a fifth grade art teacher.  I suppose it's more accurate to say that I team-taught fifth grade art with our art teacher.  My lesson was an activity culminating an entire unit about Picasso. During this unit, they looked at Picasso himself and studied artwork from his various periods.  To be honest, I had no idea that Picasso had various phases: realism, cubism, blue, and rose.  The abstract artwork us non-artsy people assign to Picasso was actually just a small fraction of his repertoire.  These students knew all that before coming to me to do some "Picasso art" on their computers.

We focused on creating abstract art, like Picasso's, using www.picassohead.com, a drag and drop art site. The site is user-friendly enough that a kindergartner can see success with it. (Seriously, I used it in kindergarten the last couple years.) All you need to do is drag and drop facial features into your canvas.  From there you can increase or decrease your feature sizes and mess around with colors. Of course, since this is Picasso art, it was never intended to be realistic. The more abstract the better. Mrs. Rigg, our art teacher, wasn't just content with students creating a simple head.  She wanted multiple faces and she wanted them anchored to the bottom of the canvas as well.

Overall, the students created some incredible artwork with very limited options.  It was great fun to work with another teacher and find myself in a place I never thought I'd be... teaching art.


Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Blended: A Book Review

Title: Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools
Authors: Michael B. Horn and Heather Staker
Review:

I could be wrong, but I think most schools and districts jump into a blended learning model (or what they would call blended learning) without a lot of planning about how it will work.  They buy the hardware, ramp up the wifi capabilities, and figure that teachers will work out the rest of the details.  While it's true there are teachers who will make it happen, the harsh reality is that most teachers are too busy to use the technology effectively.

Blended is a book that can help solve that problem.  Horn and Staker think through all the ramifications of what administrators and teachers should consider before launching a blended learning program.  And, believe it or not, they spend very little time talking about technology itself.

The true focus of this book -- and consequently, blended learning itself -- is in the subtitle: disruptive innovation.  If we continue to teach like we've always taught we will never truly see blended learning work effectively.  If we make our blended learning about technology, we will never truly see blended learning work effectively. Instead, we need to put our attention on the way teaching and learning happen in our schools.  (Spoiler Alert: It no longer looks anything like the way we were taught as kids and probably not how we were taught in college.)

While the text of the book was helpful, the best part of the book for me was the video links weaved into the book.  This gave me a look into what other schools are doing so I could see it in action.

Perhaps my biggest takeaway came from Chapter 3: "Start with the Rallying Cry." "The most successful blended-learning programs are much more deliberate and generally share a common starting point: they begin by identifying the problem to solve or the goal to achieve. They start with a clear rallying cry." (page 98) I think the number one important idea is to ask your principal why are we attempting a blended learning program, then run with that goal in mind.

While Blended is a book meant to be read and absorbed by administrators and lead teachers before blended learning is implemented, I also think it would be a great book to be read in those schools where computers or tablets were dumped in teachers' laps with little training or planning.  It's time to put some serious effort into a sustainable blended learning model in our schools.




Thursday, September 1, 2016

Google Classroom

Back in 2012, I went to a Google Summit in Columbus, Ohio. When I arrived at the convention center I had never heard of Google Apps.  I drove home that night a believer. I used all things Google whenever possible and tried my best to convince my school to take the plunge into GAFE. It took a painstaking year till the decision was made to go...Microsoft.

I'll admit I was disappointed, but once the decision was made I strove to be the best OneDrive user the school would ever have.  I attended (and even presented at) a Microsoft Symposium and put a lot of time into training my computer students on how to best use Office 365 products. If you were a reader of my old blog, you may remember how I experimented with various Office products to find the best fit for certain aspects of school.  (If you are an Office 365 user, please do yourself a favor and learn everything there is to learn about OneNote Class Notebook and use it religiously in your classroom. You won't be sorry!)

When I started interviewing for Kentucky public schools, I knew that this Office 365 background would be super helpful for me.  You see, all Kentucky public schools are Microsoft schools -- so I thought.  I was surprised when in my first Boone County interview to hear them mention Google Classroom.  In fact, I was so surprised I didn't even think about it till after the interview was over.  I did ask about it in my second interview (for another position).  Apparently, Boone County made the decision to go with Google even though Microsoft was available to them.  By my third interview (for yet another position), I made sure I had more Google knowledge under my belt.

Great for Boone County!  Better for me.  I'm back where I want to be.

So that leads me to today.  I'm coming from an iPad/Office 365 background and sitting in a Chromebook/GAFE school.  My job is blended learning, which means I need to help my colleagues navigate the Google waters as they figure out how to infuse digital learning into their instruction.  Good stuff, but I have a lot to learn.

Back in 2012, when I threw myself wholeheartedly into Google Apps, Classroom didn't exist. While I feel proficient in the basic apps (Docs, Slides, Sheets), I have no idea how to proceed with Classroom.  It's taking a lot of reading, piggybacking off other teachers' classes, and observation.  It's going to be a wild ride, but I'm looking forward to the end product -- what things will look like come May when we know what we're doing around here.

I'd love for you to read about the adventures as I blog about them and please... give me whatever ideas you happen to think of yourself.  For instance:

  • Who is a GAFEr I should follow on Twitter?
  • Whose Classroom blog should I be reading faithfully?
  • What is the best book on the subject? 
Thanks for reading along!

Friday, August 26, 2016

Chrome Camps

There is such excitement in the air this year as our students are walking into a really sweet deal.   Every third, fourth, and fifth grade student gets their own Chromebook to use in school.  And they are (literally) squealing with delight.

My job this week has been to run "Chrome Camp," where I go into each of the twelve classes using the Chrome books and to teach them the ropes.  It's been both fun and exhausting!  It's great to joke with them, walk through all the icky rule stuff, and help them get started.  I've also enjoyed photobombing their profile pictures.  The great thing is that these kids see me as "the keeper of the Chromebooks," so I walk into their room as a superhero before I even open my mouth.

However, it's exhausting work too. I'm not used to not having my own classes.  I'm really just a visitor in these classrooms.  I don't know the kids, their teachers, or the class culture yet. And I'm well aware that there is more on display than the wonderful Chromebooks I'm talking about.  There have been numerous with login info, and it's been hairy getting the students off and running

Overall, it's been awesome to get into classrooms and start the process of moving my school toward blending learning.  Setting up the Chromebooks is understandably one small step in the process but it's been an important one.  And I'm feeding off the students' enthusiasm.



Here are some main themes of my Chrome Camp talk.
  • What 1:1 means and who really owns the Chromebook.
  • How to take care of your Chromebook.
  • Things to do and not to do with your Chromebook (both the physical machine and digital content).
  • Parts of the Chromebook.
  • Log in and make a profile picture.
  • Sign the Chromebook Contract. 
The contract is a Google Form where students read and agree to statements about treating the Chromebook correctly while being good digital citizens.  This can be used if a student displays improper use of the technology and we need to have "an uncomfortable conversation" with them.

Since I am not the originator of the presentation or the contract, I need to create an original version of these before I can post them on the blog.  Hold on tight.

How are you kicking off your year with Chromebooks?

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Starting Out

I was told that we would get a slow start to the year.  While I fully believed that statement, I had no idea how slow the start would be.

Like most teachers, I'm used to the first few days of school being exhausting.  You're on your feet more than you're used to.  You're talking more than you're used to.  You're thinking more than you're used to.  Then you go home and collapse.  This year... not so much.

The first three days consisted of impromptu meetings with my RTI and blended learning teams and projects that came out of those meetings.  I never thought I would become adept at stringing power cords in charging carts, but after three Chromebook carts and one iPad cart, I feel like I could do that in my sleep -- over and over again.  I helped out with first grade math screenings, and I got to know my team members.

I have to laugh, because people will ask me how I like my new job.  "So far, I haven't done anything.  I like it a lot!" I laugh then add that things will start to pick up soon.

Wait... Let me back up a bit for those of you who don't know who I am or what I'm doing.

I am a 22 year teaching veteran.  For those first 22 years, I taught in three different private schools in three different states.  I have taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grades and spent a good chunk of time as a computer teacher and tech lead in a PreK-12 setting.  My main foci were on iPads, OneDrive, and Renaissance Learning.

For Year #23, I am in my first year at Yealey Elementary School in Boone County School District (Kentucky).  I am the blended learning teacher. My main thrust will be helping third through fifth grade teachers and students learn to use Chromebooks in their classrooms.  I will certainly help in other capacities, like iPads in 1st grade or collaborating with our art teacher, but the Chromebooks are what got me here. I certainly hope to post often and show you what we are learning here at Yealey and how we can incorporate these machines into a PBL setting.

It's going to be a long process, changing the trajectory of a school, but I'm excited to see what's going to happen around here.  But for now, I should take a stroll down the hall to try to figure out more teacher names.

  

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