Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
War in Afghanistan Prezi
So, I've been introduced to the program Prezi! It's a lot of fun. Like Wordle, it's a great program for teachers to use to introduce a new topic, do a middle of a unit review of check point, or a reflection at the end of a unit! My kids have recently been working on learning about the Middle East. We focused a bit on Afghanistan and the war, but not the war the troops are fighting. We looked at the children that are there. The average age of people in Afghanistan is 17 (male and female). It is a country with a very young average population that has little educational resources. We looked at the environments and the resources that are available and how the children of Afghanistan risk many things to gain an education. If you are feeling reflective, check out the presentation and reflect on the questions yourself.
The War in Afghanistan Prezi
The War in Afghanistan Prezi
Friday, April 23, 2010
Chinese Video Projects
Well we all survived! I'm so proud of my students! They did such a great job through all the obsticals and technology headaches, standardized tests that got in the way which made us reschedule things and absences of group memebers. Such perserverance, patience, flexibility, problem solving, caring and effort was shown by my students.
Here is the link to my channel on YouTube where most of the videos are uploaded. There are two that have been place on their with audio-disabled due to copyright infringement.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eaddlema&aq=f
The project revolved around Ancient Chinese History. Each group had to make a 4-6 minute video on a topic they drew out of a hat including The Great Wall of China, The Silk Road, Marco Polo, Chinese inventions, The Terra-Cotta Soldiers and the Mongolian Invasion into China. They had to include 10 historical facts, no speaking, props and the video to music. Using digital cameras and movie maker, we were able to make this possible!
This was the first time I ever did a project like this before with my students and you can be rest assured that I WILL be doing it again! We had SOOOOOO much fun! There were definately groups that shined through as excellent, but most groups were able to get a good portion of the requirments finished. How they created the video was all up to them. I gave them what needed to be in there and the "how" was up to them!
I really recommend trying something like this with your classrooms. I think it something any age could accomplish. Granted, how much an adult will aid will decrease for older students and increase for elementary age such as holding the camera.
I had the students bring in their own cameras for this assignment. This is one area that was troublesome for myself and the students. Some of the camera were not compatable with the technology we possess. For example, the FLIPcameras that are ever increasing in popularity because of their resonably priced market, did not make it easy for us to edit using Movie Maker. We had to convert many of the group's footage to other types of files to make it work. Some camera would upload just fine, and some would upload the footage into QuickTime which is not compatable with Movie Maker. However, we made it through it all!
Here are a few that stood out as exceptional!
Here is the link to my channel on YouTube where most of the videos are uploaded. There are two that have been place on their with audio-disabled due to copyright infringement.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eaddlema&aq=f
The project revolved around Ancient Chinese History. Each group had to make a 4-6 minute video on a topic they drew out of a hat including The Great Wall of China, The Silk Road, Marco Polo, Chinese inventions, The Terra-Cotta Soldiers and the Mongolian Invasion into China. They had to include 10 historical facts, no speaking, props and the video to music. Using digital cameras and movie maker, we were able to make this possible!
This was the first time I ever did a project like this before with my students and you can be rest assured that I WILL be doing it again! We had SOOOOOO much fun! There were definately groups that shined through as excellent, but most groups were able to get a good portion of the requirments finished. How they created the video was all up to them. I gave them what needed to be in there and the "how" was up to them!
I really recommend trying something like this with your classrooms. I think it something any age could accomplish. Granted, how much an adult will aid will decrease for older students and increase for elementary age such as holding the camera.
I had the students bring in their own cameras for this assignment. This is one area that was troublesome for myself and the students. Some of the camera were not compatable with the technology we possess. For example, the FLIPcameras that are ever increasing in popularity because of their resonably priced market, did not make it easy for us to edit using Movie Maker. We had to convert many of the group's footage to other types of files to make it work. Some camera would upload just fine, and some would upload the footage into QuickTime which is not compatable with Movie Maker. However, we made it through it all!
Here are a few that stood out as exceptional!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Emerging Technology 4: Animoto
Oh my goodness! I think I just found my new best friend. After seeing several of my classmates use this website to create short videos, I had to try. Please, watch my video that I made for a class project that I am going to introduce. My plan is to use this video as the introduction!
I found this site so easy to use. There are several options. You may make free 30-second videos anytime you desire. They are perfect for introducing projects to students, adding a little flair to any blog, summarizing a topic or concept learned or taught in school and more! I really like how the website took you step by step through the creation of your video. There are several things you can choose from their image and musical library when creating your video. You can also use pictures and music from your own library as well and it is easily uploaded.
It would also be a nice tool to have for administrators for team building activities in staff meetings to present a topic or ask the teachers to think about something for the meeting. I personally would find it very creative on their part if they were to use Animoto in a meeting! It took me honestly about 10 minutes to make my video especially when I was inspired! I didn't have any pictures nor did they have any I wanted to use, so I simply went to Google Images and saved several that I wanted to use to my computer and was able to upload them from there. Piece of cake!
Not only can you make videos and use them for educational purposes, Animoto provides the opportunity for you to create and send personal videos to family, friends, and loved ones. What a nice idea for a birthday or a holiday! It is very personal and the person receiving your creation will know you spent time and energy to make it personal!
The only thing I didn't like was that if you wanted to create a video beyond 30 seconds, you had to pay. One full-length video costs $3. However, if you plan on using the website often, you can by an "All Access Pass" for one year for $30. That's at least 10 videos if you think about it, which again isn't bad if you were to use it more often that that.
Link to Animoto.com
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
I found this site so easy to use. There are several options. You may make free 30-second videos anytime you desire. They are perfect for introducing projects to students, adding a little flair to any blog, summarizing a topic or concept learned or taught in school and more! I really like how the website took you step by step through the creation of your video. There are several things you can choose from their image and musical library when creating your video. You can also use pictures and music from your own library as well and it is easily uploaded.
It would also be a nice tool to have for administrators for team building activities in staff meetings to present a topic or ask the teachers to think about something for the meeting. I personally would find it very creative on their part if they were to use Animoto in a meeting! It took me honestly about 10 minutes to make my video especially when I was inspired! I didn't have any pictures nor did they have any I wanted to use, so I simply went to Google Images and saved several that I wanted to use to my computer and was able to upload them from there. Piece of cake!
Not only can you make videos and use them for educational purposes, Animoto provides the opportunity for you to create and send personal videos to family, friends, and loved ones. What a nice idea for a birthday or a holiday! It is very personal and the person receiving your creation will know you spent time and energy to make it personal!
The only thing I didn't like was that if you wanted to create a video beyond 30 seconds, you had to pay. One full-length video costs $3. However, if you plan on using the website often, you can by an "All Access Pass" for one year for $30. That's at least 10 videos if you think about it, which again isn't bad if you were to use it more often that that.
Link to Animoto.com
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Module 4-2: Digital Literacy
"The biggest question about technology and schools in the 21st century is not so much "What can it do?" but, rather, "When will it get to do it?" We all know life will be much different by 2100. Will school? How close will we be to Edutopia?"
This quote from Shaping Tech for the Classroom by Marc Prensky caught my eye immediately when I was choosing an article to read. I hear this so often among teachers in my building! It seems like there is always a new program, software, hardware or social forums that we are supposed to be linked to....It makes you want to pull out your hair!!!
Prensky speaks about the steps a typical school takes to integrate technology into their school. He begins by talking about how schools start with "doing old things in new ways" such as passing along documents, announcements, invitations, letters home in electronic form. Nothing new, but in an old way. Electronic documents are honestly a thing of the past now. Using word is very elementary and doesn't include the students in deep technology education
The next step up would be a school that tried "doing old things in new ways." Using simulations and interactive models online are a newer way of showing the old thing. No more plastic model in the classroom to show you how the organs fit together, but still the same old thing.
The next step would be a school that does "new things in new ways," but Prensky talks about several factors the render most schools to enter into this final stage of supporting our digital learners. One of those factors are "digital immigrants." These would be the teachers who resist change. They like what they've been doing for many year because it works for them, they know what to expect, and generally have the feeling that this is just another fad or program that they won't be held accountable for and it will just fall to the way side like everything else that has come and gone through a school. All the social reforms that never take hold. Prensky states it perfectly in my opinion when he writes "...resisting today's digital technology will be truly lethal to our children's education." He goes on to give examples of how our current student's lives are very fast-paced and full of technology. It hurts the child because they shut-down at school due to boredom. Do you really want that for you students? He challenges teachers and schools to experiment with the "new" and watch the students take hold and responsibility for their own education while WORKING, LOVING, and LIVING the edutopia of a digital learner.
Where does your school fall into Prensky's scheme?
Link to the article
This quote from Shaping Tech for the Classroom by Marc Prensky caught my eye immediately when I was choosing an article to read. I hear this so often among teachers in my building! It seems like there is always a new program, software, hardware or social forums that we are supposed to be linked to....It makes you want to pull out your hair!!!
Prensky speaks about the steps a typical school takes to integrate technology into their school. He begins by talking about how schools start with "doing old things in new ways" such as passing along documents, announcements, invitations, letters home in electronic form. Nothing new, but in an old way. Electronic documents are honestly a thing of the past now. Using word is very elementary and doesn't include the students in deep technology education
The next step up would be a school that tried "doing old things in new ways." Using simulations and interactive models online are a newer way of showing the old thing. No more plastic model in the classroom to show you how the organs fit together, but still the same old thing.
The next step would be a school that does "new things in new ways," but Prensky talks about several factors the render most schools to enter into this final stage of supporting our digital learners. One of those factors are "digital immigrants." These would be the teachers who resist change. They like what they've been doing for many year because it works for them, they know what to expect, and generally have the feeling that this is just another fad or program that they won't be held accountable for and it will just fall to the way side like everything else that has come and gone through a school. All the social reforms that never take hold. Prensky states it perfectly in my opinion when he writes "...resisting today's digital technology will be truly lethal to our children's education." He goes on to give examples of how our current student's lives are very fast-paced and full of technology. It hurts the child because they shut-down at school due to boredom. Do you really want that for you students? He challenges teachers and schools to experiment with the "new" and watch the students take hold and responsibility for their own education while WORKING, LOVING, and LIVING the edutopia of a digital learner.
Where does your school fall into Prensky's scheme?
Link to the article
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Welcome to the Digital Generation
This video shows from a kids perspective why technology is so important to the, how they use it. and how it changes their view on school. This video and the others also in the module make me aware of how much kids use technology that isn't necessarily school related from texting, making videos on the weekends with their friends to their iPods. Why wouldn't we want to use more technology in the classroom? Do we really want to seem that boring to our students? I have already made a goal this year to incorporate more technology in my classroom. I have done just that and the students are so engaged. We will be finishing a video project before spring break. Stay tuned for blog posts with their videos!
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