I am a geography teacher and have been looking for a way to tie everything in that we learn about during the year into one big final project. I have always enjoyed the Zeitgeist videos that Google produces that highlight the most searched stories/events of each year. I decided to incorporate that concept into our class by having students chronicle the major current events worldwide from the start of school to the end, basically Aug-May. They had to pick events each month that they felt should be included in their final video. They needed to explain why they were choosing to highlight a particular event, what made that event more worthy to be chosen than other events. In the end they used the Video Editor to find images and video that showed their view of the past nine months of the major world, national, and local events.
There are many reasons that I think the Video Editor is worthwhile. First off the students get to create a project that they can show the world. Most projects end up being viewed by the student, parents, and teacher, maybe the class, but that is usually it. Using YouTube really does open it up to the world. Secondly students get a project that they can keep. In the past posters have been an acceptable medium, meaning as soon as project is over it goes in the garbage, plus there is only so much you can do with a poster. Next point is copyright infringement. I think the YouTube editor does a great job teaching how to be a responsible creator in digital age. Because you are limited to copyright free images, music, and videos students learn that if they are publishing worldwide they need to make sure they are following the rules. Finally and perhaps most importantly is the ability to create. I allowed my students a lot of freedom in this arena. They could add anything to their video that meant something to them which I felt was important from a creative stance as well as it meant I didn't have to watch the same video 150 times. Each one would be as unique as the students themselves. Students have really enjoyed this aspect of the video editor. They make the final call on edits, clips, and anything they put in or leave out of their video. They also love that others can see their video and they can view what the rest of the class has done. They will do a good job for you, if they know it will be published for the world to see they will make sure it's worthy of that as well.
I have included a few of the videos so you can see what students are able to produce. I consider creation the peak of critical thinking and the YouTube video editor really allows for something special.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
What did you do in class? Nothing, we just took notes
One of my biggest pet peeves about much of professional development in our profession is that instructors talk about best practices and then lecture the whole time and go through a bunch of bullet points. The classic do as I say not as I do. I have considered this in my own teaching. I have realized at times I can launch into lecturer mode and students become passive learners who just write down everything on the screen or board. They are dispassionate hearers trying to determine what to write down as I move from point to point. A while back I overheard students in the hall ask what we were doing and one said, "Nothing really, we just took notes." I thought about this again and again and realized there had to be a better way. I began to consider this a put down, it became a battle cry for me to find a better way. Over the past few years in my attempt to hit at higher levels of thinking I have changed the way I do notes in my class.
I think back to when I took notes as a student and spent time writing away and not listening to what the teacher had to say. I mean who cares what is being said when there are notes to be taken? All that mattered to me then was making sure I wrote down every important thing that the teacher had put up on the board. I became a great note taker as a student, I figured out what was important, used my own system for shorthand, highlighted important details, and then forgot everything as soon as I wrote it down. It is this last thought that is the most troubling to me. As a student I took organized and well composed notes and then did little else with them. Before exams I looked through them with varying degrees of success trying to decipher why I thought these notes were so important that I had highlighted them. I had notebooks full of notes that ultimately did little more than give me reference for what I was supposed to be learning. A bunch of facts is really all notes were to me. Some useless some more important but basically just a bunch of facts that I tried to regurgitate and then forgot as quickly as I had written them down.
I don't want my students to be fact reciters that forget as soon as they recite. I want them to be critical thinkers. I changed the way I did things and have never looked back. It has made me a better instructor and my students active and critical learners. Here is the basis of what I have done:
First off I don't have my students take notes. Groundbreaking right, I will explain what they do instead.
Second I layer my lesson out and consider where to add different levels of critical thinking. There is starting point with everything where lower levels of critical thinking are essential. We can't talk about the Arab/Israeli conflict without some basic understanding of the background. Each lesson is designed to go from lower levels like knowledge and comprehension, then go to application and analysis, and then finally synthesis and evaluation. Recently there has been a shift to add creation as the top layer. This is definitely a place a try to get to with each lesson.
Third after explaining a topic I have them do something with the information. I might have them list items, draw a diagram, rank, or predict something with the information. The important thing is they don't just take notes and not use the information. They have to make sense of what we are discussing and then do something with the information. This is where you find out if they get it. If you are just having them take notes you usually accept the blank stares as understanding and move on. By having them do something you find out real quick if they got it or not.
Fourth I don't ask questions in the traditional sense. For instance there is no who, what, when, where, why, and how. I have them describe, compare, explain, categorize, defend, rank, predict, etc...
Fifth I have them share. This is where you really find out if they get it.
Finally I have them create. It might be a persuasive essay, it could be website, a video, a presentation. It can be whatever you conceive is the best way to show your mastery of the subject.
Here are some examples of going from lower level to higher level thinking and how I would design a lesson.
(We are currently studying Korea so I will use some of the material)
On your map label North and South Korea, the 38th parallel, Pyongyang, Seoul, etc...
Explain why the Korean War is considered part of the Cold War
Support or argue against the US involvement of maintaining the DMZ
Explain the hero worship of the Kim family and the effect this has on the citizens
Evaluate the effect of not having freedoms such as religion, press, and speech and how this can keep governments in power.
Compare Korea's situation to that of the US after the Civil War how are they alike/different?
Finally the build up is to have students work together and create an action plan for five scenarios(coup d'etat, mass defection, natural disaster, foreigners held hostage, and weapons of mass destruction) that the US and ROK have planned for. (PS these are actually real scenarios that have been planned for) They will need to show how to best handle each of the situations.
In the end I don't believe my students need to take notes in the traditional sense. They have already proven they understand the material as we go through the lesson. They have a firm understanding of the material. It has been a mind shift for me, but I can tell you it has made me much better at what I do, and more importantly it has made class more engaged, and hit at all levels of critical thinking. No one ever leaves class anymore and says we just took notes. No one ever says we do we have to learn this. They are all engaged learners critically thinking about the material, how it applies to them.
I think back to when I took notes as a student and spent time writing away and not listening to what the teacher had to say. I mean who cares what is being said when there are notes to be taken? All that mattered to me then was making sure I wrote down every important thing that the teacher had put up on the board. I became a great note taker as a student, I figured out what was important, used my own system for shorthand, highlighted important details, and then forgot everything as soon as I wrote it down. It is this last thought that is the most troubling to me. As a student I took organized and well composed notes and then did little else with them. Before exams I looked through them with varying degrees of success trying to decipher why I thought these notes were so important that I had highlighted them. I had notebooks full of notes that ultimately did little more than give me reference for what I was supposed to be learning. A bunch of facts is really all notes were to me. Some useless some more important but basically just a bunch of facts that I tried to regurgitate and then forgot as quickly as I had written them down.
I don't want my students to be fact reciters that forget as soon as they recite. I want them to be critical thinkers. I changed the way I did things and have never looked back. It has made me a better instructor and my students active and critical learners. Here is the basis of what I have done:
First off I don't have my students take notes. Groundbreaking right, I will explain what they do instead.
Second I layer my lesson out and consider where to add different levels of critical thinking. There is starting point with everything where lower levels of critical thinking are essential. We can't talk about the Arab/Israeli conflict without some basic understanding of the background. Each lesson is designed to go from lower levels like knowledge and comprehension, then go to application and analysis, and then finally synthesis and evaluation. Recently there has been a shift to add creation as the top layer. This is definitely a place a try to get to with each lesson.
Third after explaining a topic I have them do something with the information. I might have them list items, draw a diagram, rank, or predict something with the information. The important thing is they don't just take notes and not use the information. They have to make sense of what we are discussing and then do something with the information. This is where you find out if they get it. If you are just having them take notes you usually accept the blank stares as understanding and move on. By having them do something you find out real quick if they got it or not.
Fourth I don't ask questions in the traditional sense. For instance there is no who, what, when, where, why, and how. I have them describe, compare, explain, categorize, defend, rank, predict, etc...
Fifth I have them share. This is where you really find out if they get it.
Finally I have them create. It might be a persuasive essay, it could be website, a video, a presentation. It can be whatever you conceive is the best way to show your mastery of the subject.
Here are some examples of going from lower level to higher level thinking and how I would design a lesson.
(We are currently studying Korea so I will use some of the material)
On your map label North and South Korea, the 38th parallel, Pyongyang, Seoul, etc...
Explain why the Korean War is considered part of the Cold War
Support or argue against the US involvement of maintaining the DMZ
Explain the hero worship of the Kim family and the effect this has on the citizens
Evaluate the effect of not having freedoms such as religion, press, and speech and how this can keep governments in power.
Compare Korea's situation to that of the US after the Civil War how are they alike/different?
Finally the build up is to have students work together and create an action plan for five scenarios(coup d'etat, mass defection, natural disaster, foreigners held hostage, and weapons of mass destruction) that the US and ROK have planned for. (PS these are actually real scenarios that have been planned for) They will need to show how to best handle each of the situations.
In the end I don't believe my students need to take notes in the traditional sense. They have already proven they understand the material as we go through the lesson. They have a firm understanding of the material. It has been a mind shift for me, but I can tell you it has made me much better at what I do, and more importantly it has made class more engaged, and hit at all levels of critical thinking. No one ever leaves class anymore and says we just took notes. No one ever says we do we have to learn this. They are all engaged learners critically thinking about the material, how it applies to them.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Teaching organization in writing
Teaching students how to write is never easy. There are so many different things you can focus on, reading 150-200 papers is time consuming, and let's face it each student is unique and will need individualized feedback. For these reasons and others many teachers just don't do it, or at least don't do it as often as they could or should. Leave it to the English department to teach students writing. There have been times I've been guilty of this thinking. Our administration asked all teachers to focus on writing this year, so I have been trying to incorporate more opportunities and more effective ways of teaching writing in a social studies course. After our study of the Middle East and especially Israel, students had to compose an essay on the one or two state solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict. I was pleased with most of the writing and thought it was a good assessment. However, I still noticed that students struggled with organization and this guided my thinking to our latest writing assignment.
China's controversial one child policy would become our next good opportunity for an essay. I thought about the best way to teach organization. I think when it comes to teaching writing it requires as much focus from the teacher as it does the students. I decided that the best way to proceed was to begin with the topic of unintended consequences. I found some great examples worldwide showing how a government policy that intends to do one thing may have hidden or unintended consequences. I introduced the 'Cobra Effect' from India where city officials worried about deaths as a result from bites from the snakes gave a reward for everyone who brought in a dead cobra. Good idea right, turn the problem over to the citizens and involve them in eradicating the problem and pay them for their efforts. It all sounds great, but what ended up happening was people saw the opportunity to make money and began farming cobras themselves. The result was more cobras, not less. Indian officials had never considered that their citizens would act in such a way and the result was they were paying people to increase the problem. A similar occurrence took place in Vietnam except it was with rats. Yea its gross but totally captivating.
After that we delved into the policy. We started with a discussion on population and resources and then looked at the implementation of the policy itself. I must admit that as versed as I am in the policy there are nuances that make it complicated and students can usually come up with a question that is hard to answer. Such moments can become a nice time to have students delve deeper and realize the complications of such a policy. After a thorough introduction to the policy we looked at results. First the overall data which government officials will use to claim its effectiveness and necessity. Then we looked at unintended consequences.
We watched a 10 minute film which shows many such consequences and then discussed them in greater detail. The discussion was important because it allowed students to state their opinions and a chance to give voice to their thinking that they would later be using in their paper. After our discussion I gave out a list that had consequences, intended or unintended, with information about each one. Students then read through the list and ranked them in order of what they felt were the strongest for against the policy. Little did they know that they had decided on what their body paragraphs would be in their essay.
I then gave them the prompt "Do the ends justify the means?" We discussed what that meant and then how they were to organize their essay. The introduction would briefly explain the who, when, where, what, why, and how of the policy and then the results. Students could either agree or disagree and use their rankings from the previous exercise to guide them with their body paragraphs. It was almost magical when I pointed out that they had already decided what they were going to use as their body paragraphs based on what ranking they had given each consequence. When I set them loose the students began immediately and had no trouble deciding what to write about or where or how to include information.
The final product was the best writing I have seen all year. It was thoughtful, organized, and to the point. Students that normally would struggle with such a task wrote nice balanced essays and finished in a timely manner. Now I understand you can't always do this, but for this subject it worked better than I even expected and in the end I think they have a sound understanding of the topic and the complexities in creating a 'simple' solution to such a complicated issue.
China's controversial one child policy would become our next good opportunity for an essay. I thought about the best way to teach organization. I think when it comes to teaching writing it requires as much focus from the teacher as it does the students. I decided that the best way to proceed was to begin with the topic of unintended consequences. I found some great examples worldwide showing how a government policy that intends to do one thing may have hidden or unintended consequences. I introduced the 'Cobra Effect' from India where city officials worried about deaths as a result from bites from the snakes gave a reward for everyone who brought in a dead cobra. Good idea right, turn the problem over to the citizens and involve them in eradicating the problem and pay them for their efforts. It all sounds great, but what ended up happening was people saw the opportunity to make money and began farming cobras themselves. The result was more cobras, not less. Indian officials had never considered that their citizens would act in such a way and the result was they were paying people to increase the problem. A similar occurrence took place in Vietnam except it was with rats. Yea its gross but totally captivating.
After that we delved into the policy. We started with a discussion on population and resources and then looked at the implementation of the policy itself. I must admit that as versed as I am in the policy there are nuances that make it complicated and students can usually come up with a question that is hard to answer. Such moments can become a nice time to have students delve deeper and realize the complications of such a policy. After a thorough introduction to the policy we looked at results. First the overall data which government officials will use to claim its effectiveness and necessity. Then we looked at unintended consequences.
We watched a 10 minute film which shows many such consequences and then discussed them in greater detail. The discussion was important because it allowed students to state their opinions and a chance to give voice to their thinking that they would later be using in their paper. After our discussion I gave out a list that had consequences, intended or unintended, with information about each one. Students then read through the list and ranked them in order of what they felt were the strongest for against the policy. Little did they know that they had decided on what their body paragraphs would be in their essay.
I then gave them the prompt "Do the ends justify the means?" We discussed what that meant and then how they were to organize their essay. The introduction would briefly explain the who, when, where, what, why, and how of the policy and then the results. Students could either agree or disagree and use their rankings from the previous exercise to guide them with their body paragraphs. It was almost magical when I pointed out that they had already decided what they were going to use as their body paragraphs based on what ranking they had given each consequence. When I set them loose the students began immediately and had no trouble deciding what to write about or where or how to include information.
The final product was the best writing I have seen all year. It was thoughtful, organized, and to the point. Students that normally would struggle with such a task wrote nice balanced essays and finished in a timely manner. Now I understand you can't always do this, but for this subject it worked better than I even expected and in the end I think they have a sound understanding of the topic and the complexities in creating a 'simple' solution to such a complicated issue.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
TED Talk
Recently Jared Covili from UEN participated in Canyons district TEDx Event. In his talk he spent a few minutes highlighting a few of things I have done. Here is the TED talk
Sunday, April 27, 2014
In the news
I was contacted by a reporter, Louise Shaw about a month ago. She said she was doing a story on what students were learning in their classes and had contacted the district and my name was given to her. She came into the class for a period, interviewed students, took a few photos, and wrote an article about my interview with Mahmoud. Without a doubt it is nice to get recognition for the positive things we do in our classes. This project is of great personal value for me since it took so long to come to fruition. I love the fact that I was able to connect with Mahmoud and then have a meaningful interview that I could show our class, it means a lot to me and to them.
As far as being in the paper I am glad that she interviewed members of the class and that they were prominent in the article. Sure it's nice to see your own name in the paper for good things, but this was about sharing with my class and I am pleased that they are able to share in the moment as well. We read the article in class Friday, it was a neat moment to share in with them. They were pleased to see the article, especially those that saw their names in print.
Here is the article:
WEST POINT — It’s a problem that has deep roots in history and seemingly no viable solution.
It’s a problem that has stymied U.S. presidents and world leaders.
And it’s a problem students at West Point Junior High are taking on as well.
The conflicts that have divided Israelis and Palestinians revolve around land and authority.
Students in Jared Fawson’s World Geography classes were introduced to those problems by viewing the documentary, “Promises,” that follows the lives of children very close to their own ages.
Children in the documentary are both Palestinian and Israeli. One Jewish child is the grandchild of a Holocaust survivor and is a secular Jew, one is the child of a rabbi. The Palestianian youths lived in refugee camps. One had a father in prison at the time.
Though the children lived within 20 miles of each other, “they exist in completely separate worlds,” according to a review on promisesproject.org.
“They possess an acute awareness of the political reality that surrounds them,” it said, “and have a freshness of expression that is inspiring, in contrast to the entrenched and often embittered opinions of adults.”
The students in Fawson’s class could be said to have the same attributes.
“They just need to be more willing to cooperate,” said Chenille Morris, a ninth grader at West Point, of the two parties staking claims in Israel. “They don’t see each other as human. They hate each other. Both sides have in mind what they want, but they’re not willing to give.”
A fellow student, Harlee Sorrells, said it’s wrong when, because of the past, people won’t work together for their future.
The documentary was filmed between 1997 and 2000, with a follow-up segment added in 2004.
During those seven years, the youths in the documentary share what they’ve learned from their parents and from their own personal experiences and fears.
To add to their stories, Fawson was able to connect with one of the youths in the documentary last month, 10 years after it was filmed.
Now 26, the youth answered Fawson’s questions about what he sees as the problems and solutions to the Middle-East conflict.
His responses have been shared with students in subsequent classes, further shaping their views.
“We need to wake up and to think in a very positive way,” said the Palestinian, who the Clipper was asked not to name.
The young man spoke in favor of a one-state solution and of the region becoming a “100 percent democratic place.”
With one state, elections would determine representation and whoever won would have responsibility for the people, who would all have rights.
“We don’t need walls and stupid check points,” he said.
That was also a conclusion ninth graders were reaching.
“Both sides want Jerusalem, the Red Sea and the resources,” said Chenille. “ There’s no way to split them up. They already live together ... they should elect representatives from both sides.”
Fawson led a discussion on what happens when a group like Hamas “continues to sow discord and chaos.” He pointed out that public opinion and support shifts away from a group when it changes from what might be considered freedom fighters, to being more like terrorists.
Several students referred to the positive effects of the nonviolent protests in America relating to race relations as proof change that can be positive.
“Peaceful protests ended with integration of schools,” said one, adding that Israel could do the same.
“They could be all one nationality but have religious diversity,” said another.
“It’s complicated,” said Fawson.
Listening to the young man who had grown up with the conflict and was now an adult gave students “a personal connection to the conflict ... one that helped break down barriers and open the world up in a way that it couldn’t get in any other way.”
Student Mike Nash said the study of the conflict in the Middle East has helped him realize what’s going on, how bad it is and what really needs to be fixed.
“If kids could get along and make friendships,” he said, “the kids could teach their kids and it would eventually come to them not being enemies anymore.”
Read more: The Davis Clipper - International issues tackled by local students
As far as being in the paper I am glad that she interviewed members of the class and that they were prominent in the article. Sure it's nice to see your own name in the paper for good things, but this was about sharing with my class and I am pleased that they are able to share in the moment as well. We read the article in class Friday, it was a neat moment to share in with them. They were pleased to see the article, especially those that saw their names in print.
Here is the article:
WEST POINT — It’s a problem that has deep roots in history and seemingly no viable solution.
It’s a problem that has stymied U.S. presidents and world leaders.
And it’s a problem students at West Point Junior High are taking on as well.
The conflicts that have divided Israelis and Palestinians revolve around land and authority.
Students in Jared Fawson’s World Geography classes were introduced to those problems by viewing the documentary, “Promises,” that follows the lives of children very close to their own ages.
Children in the documentary are both Palestinian and Israeli. One Jewish child is the grandchild of a Holocaust survivor and is a secular Jew, one is the child of a rabbi. The Palestianian youths lived in refugee camps. One had a father in prison at the time.
Though the children lived within 20 miles of each other, “they exist in completely separate worlds,” according to a review on promisesproject.org.
“They possess an acute awareness of the political reality that surrounds them,” it said, “and have a freshness of expression that is inspiring, in contrast to the entrenched and often embittered opinions of adults.”
The students in Fawson’s class could be said to have the same attributes.
“They just need to be more willing to cooperate,” said Chenille Morris, a ninth grader at West Point, of the two parties staking claims in Israel. “They don’t see each other as human. They hate each other. Both sides have in mind what they want, but they’re not willing to give.”
A fellow student, Harlee Sorrells, said it’s wrong when, because of the past, people won’t work together for their future.
The documentary was filmed between 1997 and 2000, with a follow-up segment added in 2004.
During those seven years, the youths in the documentary share what they’ve learned from their parents and from their own personal experiences and fears.
To add to their stories, Fawson was able to connect with one of the youths in the documentary last month, 10 years after it was filmed.
Now 26, the youth answered Fawson’s questions about what he sees as the problems and solutions to the Middle-East conflict.
His responses have been shared with students in subsequent classes, further shaping their views.
“We need to wake up and to think in a very positive way,” said the Palestinian, who the Clipper was asked not to name.
The young man spoke in favor of a one-state solution and of the region becoming a “100 percent democratic place.”
With one state, elections would determine representation and whoever won would have responsibility for the people, who would all have rights.
“We don’t need walls and stupid check points,” he said.
That was also a conclusion ninth graders were reaching.
“Both sides want Jerusalem, the Red Sea and the resources,” said Chenille. “ There’s no way to split them up. They already live together ... they should elect representatives from both sides.”
Fawson led a discussion on what happens when a group like Hamas “continues to sow discord and chaos.” He pointed out that public opinion and support shifts away from a group when it changes from what might be considered freedom fighters, to being more like terrorists.
Several students referred to the positive effects of the nonviolent protests in America relating to race relations as proof change that can be positive.
“Peaceful protests ended with integration of schools,” said one, adding that Israel could do the same.
“They could be all one nationality but have religious diversity,” said another.
“It’s complicated,” said Fawson.
Listening to the young man who had grown up with the conflict and was now an adult gave students “a personal connection to the conflict ... one that helped break down barriers and open the world up in a way that it couldn’t get in any other way.”
Student Mike Nash said the study of the conflict in the Middle East has helped him realize what’s going on, how bad it is and what really needs to be fixed.
“If kids could get along and make friendships,” he said, “the kids could teach their kids and it would eventually come to them not being enemies anymore.”
Read more: The Davis Clipper - International issues tackled by local students
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Student Projects: Zeitgeist 2013-14 using YouTube Video Editor
Earlier in the year I came up with my genius idea to have students create their own zeitgeist video. You can read more about that here. (Note: If you haven't seen the Google zeitgeist videos that they create every year featuring their most searched stories they are both linked in that post.) I had all sorts of ideas as to how we were going to pull this off, but nothing was really coming together the way I had envisioned it. I wanted them to create something similar to what Google does in both spirit and in quality. Yea I know we are at a severe disadvantage when competing with Google for the 'cool' factor. We finally got to the point where we had to start actually making something. I tried a lot of ideas, none really fit what we needed. Then someone mentioned the YouTube Video Editor. It makes sense that if you are going to try to make a project like Google that you would use their help.
One of my issues with student projects is that they work hard and the only people who see it are their parents, and the teacher. A few rare, great ones are seen by more. Using this allows for a true worldwide audience. The goal is to create their own video that is good enough to put on display for the world.
Here is why we are using the video editor. Students can create and edit their own videos the way they want to; the project becomes an extension of how they see the world. You can upload your own videos, but most students don't have footage of the Winter Olympics or the Ukraine conflict. This is the real genius of the video editor. You can search the creative commons videos, copyright free, and get footage of what you are looking for. You can also add images (my students have become quite versed in creative commons image search), text, music (the editor allows for copyright free music and has an extensive database), and transitions. One of the nice things about using this is students can work on it at home or where ever they may be. They just log into their Google account and then into YouTube. Changes are saved automatically like on docs or blogger. A true worldwide audience. A project they can be proud of and show off and keep. No worries about using images, video, or music that is copyrighted and they could get in trouble for using.
I spent a day in the computer lab working with each student making sure they knew what they were doing. Some figure it out quickly, some needed more help, all realized how using the video editor would allow their voice to come through and make something worthwhile. They are not due for another month but I feel like we now have the right tool for the job.
FYI each week from now to then they have to write up the events they are adding to their video. Explain what the event is and why they are adding it. Events should reflect what has happened globally since the start of school, with a topics from each region we have covered as well as any local events they feel were significant to the community, school, or themselves. One of the nice things about this project is students will include events like the Olympics, but show it from their perspective. Obviously many events will be in every video, but each student will put their own spin on the event. No two videos will be exactly alike. Each one will have its own voice and individuality.
One of my issues with student projects is that they work hard and the only people who see it are their parents, and the teacher. A few rare, great ones are seen by more. Using this allows for a true worldwide audience. The goal is to create their own video that is good enough to put on display for the world.
Here is why we are using the video editor. Students can create and edit their own videos the way they want to; the project becomes an extension of how they see the world. You can upload your own videos, but most students don't have footage of the Winter Olympics or the Ukraine conflict. This is the real genius of the video editor. You can search the creative commons videos, copyright free, and get footage of what you are looking for. You can also add images (my students have become quite versed in creative commons image search), text, music (the editor allows for copyright free music and has an extensive database), and transitions. One of the nice things about using this is students can work on it at home or where ever they may be. They just log into their Google account and then into YouTube. Changes are saved automatically like on docs or blogger. A true worldwide audience. A project they can be proud of and show off and keep. No worries about using images, video, or music that is copyrighted and they could get in trouble for using.
I spent a day in the computer lab working with each student making sure they knew what they were doing. Some figure it out quickly, some needed more help, all realized how using the video editor would allow their voice to come through and make something worthwhile. They are not due for another month but I feel like we now have the right tool for the job.
FYI each week from now to then they have to write up the events they are adding to their video. Explain what the event is and why they are adding it. Events should reflect what has happened globally since the start of school, with a topics from each region we have covered as well as any local events they feel were significant to the community, school, or themselves. One of the nice things about this project is students will include events like the Olympics, but show it from their perspective. Obviously many events will be in every video, but each student will put their own spin on the event. No two videos will be exactly alike. Each one will have its own voice and individuality.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
UCET 2014 Thoughts
Here are my thoughts from UCET 2014
Loved the keynotes. Couldn't have had better speakers than the Canadian duo of Dean Shareski and George Couros.
Dean had five main points: Be aware of wonder, be interesting, share your joy, be grateful, and just do it.
Here are my notes from his presentation.
1. Wonder: opposite of boring Find the I'm bored video. Be aware of wonder, remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup.
Find video on awe. We have a responsibility to awe. Take a photo everyday. Be mindful.
How often do you get your students to wonder? Find a photo
2 be interesting. Best thing you can do for your students is to be an interesting adult. Gary Stager
We need to deliver something more as the educator. What makes it interesting to come to your class? Share what its like to be a learner.
And this is all we know so far...meddler in the middle. Be in the middle learning with them.
What are you learning right now? Do your students know it?
3. Share it
We are connected and so is our joy. Video of baby ripping paper. Contagious joy
Video newsletter
When we find interesting cool stuff we share it.
4 be grateful.
5. Just do it. Direct correlation between happiness and silliness in ones life.
When was the last time you did something where the primary purpose was to bring joy? Adults need to have fun so children will want to grow up.
I have been a big fan of George since I got on Twitter a couple of years ago. Was glad I got to hear him in person as well as have a few minutes to chat during the conference. Here are some images from his presentation.
George told a story about his dad learning how to read and write well on in his life because he wanted to connect with his sons using email and facebook. Very powerful story. Also told a story about an assembly in which a girl tweeted out beforehand that she didn't want to hear more of what they aren't supposed to do on the internet. George could have been upset at this tweet, but he let it go and presented and told the story of his dad. It happened to be the one year mark of his father's death. He was emotional in the presentation, she tweeted out that she was glad he came out on such a hard day for him. He stopped the presentation and her stand up. She came and gave him a hug. I was impressed with how he handled this situation and that this young lady walked out with a great feeling about herself and the assembly. Could have gone much differently, I know many people that would not have handled this the same way and allowed for such an outcome.
In his presentation he discussed blogging as portfolio which I thought was the idea of the conference for me. I changed the design of my blog to fit this and tagged posts with ties to the standards that I get evaluated on by administrators. Students would use blogs to show their learning and create a powerful, positive digital footprint. Thought this was great and am incorporating this into my class.
Tools
Doctopus- Great way to use google docs to get one out to all your students and not have to worry about sharing and getting it back to you.
Pechaflickr for spontaneous student presentations
Daily Create: small daily activities that get students to be creative
Creative commons search for images: don't have to worry about copyright and appropriateness.
Ideas
Use blogs in class
Have students use 5 mins of creativity a day
Be interesting to students
Presenation
I decided to present this year and hopefully add to the conference. I did a presentation on using Twitter for personalized professional development. You can access the presentation here I thought it went well. Had a packed room, met a lot of great educators, even the mom of one of my former students.
I also presented on purposegames.com. We use this in my class to learn place name geography. It has become a fun tool for learning and competing.
Was nice to feel like I gave back some to the conference that more than any other had helped me out. One day maybe I can be as smooth as Dean or George.
Loved the keynotes. Couldn't have had better speakers than the Canadian duo of Dean Shareski and George Couros.
Dean had five main points: Be aware of wonder, be interesting, share your joy, be grateful, and just do it.
Here are my notes from his presentation.
1. Wonder: opposite of boring Find the I'm bored video. Be aware of wonder, remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup.
Find video on awe. We have a responsibility to awe. Take a photo everyday. Be mindful.
How often do you get your students to wonder? Find a photo
2 be interesting. Best thing you can do for your students is to be an interesting adult. Gary Stager
We need to deliver something more as the educator. What makes it interesting to come to your class? Share what its like to be a learner.
And this is all we know so far...meddler in the middle. Be in the middle learning with them.
What are you learning right now? Do your students know it?
3. Share it
We are connected and so is our joy. Video of baby ripping paper. Contagious joy
Video newsletter
When we find interesting cool stuff we share it.
4 be grateful.
5. Just do it. Direct correlation between happiness and silliness in ones life.
When was the last time you did something where the primary purpose was to bring joy? Adults need to have fun so children will want to grow up.
I have been a big fan of George since I got on Twitter a couple of years ago. Was glad I got to hear him in person as well as have a few minutes to chat during the conference. Here are some images from his presentation.
to inspire meaningful change, you must first make a connection to the heart before you make a connection to the mind.
George told a story about his dad learning how to read and write well on in his life because he wanted to connect with his sons using email and facebook. Very powerful story. Also told a story about an assembly in which a girl tweeted out beforehand that she didn't want to hear more of what they aren't supposed to do on the internet. George could have been upset at this tweet, but he let it go and presented and told the story of his dad. It happened to be the one year mark of his father's death. He was emotional in the presentation, she tweeted out that she was glad he came out on such a hard day for him. He stopped the presentation and her stand up. She came and gave him a hug. I was impressed with how he handled this situation and that this young lady walked out with a great feeling about herself and the assembly. Could have gone much differently, I know many people that would not have handled this the same way and allowed for such an outcome.
In his presentation he discussed blogging as portfolio which I thought was the idea of the conference for me. I changed the design of my blog to fit this and tagged posts with ties to the standards that I get evaluated on by administrators. Students would use blogs to show their learning and create a powerful, positive digital footprint. Thought this was great and am incorporating this into my class.
Tools
Doctopus- Great way to use google docs to get one out to all your students and not have to worry about sharing and getting it back to you.
Pechaflickr for spontaneous student presentations
Daily Create: small daily activities that get students to be creative
Creative commons search for images: don't have to worry about copyright and appropriateness.
Ideas
Use blogs in class
Have students use 5 mins of creativity a day
Be interesting to students
Presenation
I decided to present this year and hopefully add to the conference. I did a presentation on using Twitter for personalized professional development. You can access the presentation here I thought it went well. Had a packed room, met a lot of great educators, even the mom of one of my former students.
I also presented on purposegames.com. We use this in my class to learn place name geography. It has become a fun tool for learning and competing.
Was nice to feel like I gave back some to the conference that more than any other had helped me out. One day maybe I can be as smooth as Dean or George.
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