by DLCoach Melodie Dewsbury, Belmont elementary
As DL coaches we help teachers use technology to take lessons into a new realm where previous barriers and frustrations can often be eliminated. We can give students the opportunity to augment their reality and open up magical portals to pass through and demonstrate learning in the digital realm. Let’s face it, much of reality can be mundane and that’s a good thing. This mundanity allows us to spend time in contemplation. If beeps and buzzes were constantly going off around us our brains would not have time to rest and we’d turn into a society with attention deficit disorder always needing to be entertained by some new shiny object. Can you imagine?! Crazy right. Using technology well in the classroom gives us the opportunity to take the possibilities we want our kids to think about and show them to us in new ways. Take stop motion video for example. With an iPad and a free App (Stop Motion), we can take something as mundane as a video introduction to a DL coaches blog and turn it into a journey into Lego land where Darth Vader of all people just happens to stop by. Or better yet, Lego Lara can build a monster truck! In the classroom at HD Stafford Middle, Mrs Welsh took a topic like "Road Safety,” which rarely gets taught unless someone gets hit by a car, and turned it into a stop motion project that had kids excited to explain the rules of the road. It was hands on with simple tech to figure out and the results were pretty funny. Better yet, the students will remember they had a fun time learning in Mrs Welsh’s class. Here’s another example of a rather humdrum topic where the reality of reading a user agreement is augmented by technology and pushed into the digital realm. In Lara's class, students discussed their favourite social media tools and were asked to delve deeper into what those User/Privacy Agreements really say. What’s interesting is that the only tech needed is the camera and iMovie; the rest is low tech. There’s no computer graphic skills needed, but the video option gives students a way to share their creative ideas in the digital realm. Now students are interested in the Instagram user agreement fine print which no one reads and everyone agrees to (note to self: check those Conference pics that were posted!). Stafford Middle teachers met on the October Pro D for a Learning with Tech session where a group of us shared a variety of resources that are simple and effective. The room was packed which demonstrates how interested teachers are in augmenting their teaching with technology and shows the wealth of resources teachers have to share with each other. From Flipquiz to Weebly websites, there are all kinds of resources teachers, with little to loads of tech knowledge, can use to augment, modify and redesign their lessons. It is important to have variety in the classroom and particularly at the middle school level. Changing things up every 15 minutes or so is essential to keeping students engaged. Again, this does not mean we throw in a gadget just because; it means we use a Kahoot Quiz to reinforce terms from a story we were just reading or use a short TED talk on leadership to broaden our discussion on why Alfred the Great was a great leader in his time. We can do much with little and sometimes the tech will fail us. We can make 10 iPads work with 550 students and we can push through when the new and improved wifi struggles with what the single Apple Express port could - but that’s okay. We will keep pushing on and using what we have to give students the magical portals to walk though and make visible what they know in new and creative ways. Having said all of this … we could really use some more tech! By clicking on the images listed below, you can learn more about the apps/tools that we have been using at HD Stafford: by Blacklock FA's DLCoach, A. Mitchel Since making those videos, I have allowed the kids to use iMovie for a variety of other projects. The more comfortable they are with the program, the more creatively they are able to experiment with it. I am very excited to mentor their creativity throughout the rest of the school year! As an intermediate teacher at Blacklock Fine Arts, I often experiment with integrating technology into my drama classes. One natural connection for this is iMovie. In the past I have had my students create videos for various curriculum connections: to teach crosswalk safety, to demonstrate the science concepts on their invented instruments, to present news reports as if they are weather reporters from various countries around the world, etc. For Remembrance Day this year I wanted to use iMovie on our iPads to combine voice, pictures, and music to display mood. My class of 4/5 students has also been learning how to use powerful words to capture mood in our writing. Their task was to use these elements in a video project that juxtaposed war and peace and explored the purpose of Remembrance Day. Throughout this entire project I encountered many wonderful teaching moments such as discussions of appropriate use of technology, internet safety, and digital citizenship! We began this project by collecting images of war and peace from the internet. This led to some necessary discussions about selecting images that hold powerful emotion yet would still be appropriate to show younger kids in the school. We also talked about what to do if an especially disturbing or inappropriate image accidentally popped up on the screen. As students collected their photos, we paused to talk about copyright and how to know if a photo is protected. This was the first time this group of kids had used iMovie this year, so I stopped them at various points along the way to demonstrate various elements of the program and how to fix various problems that they might be having (for example, if the music was sounding much louder than their recorded voices). At the end of their project we had a viewing time where students were able to respectfully critique one another’s projects. All of the students were very proud of their work, and I selected three of the videos to show during transitions in our Remembrance Day Ceremony. Since making those videos, I have allowed the kids to use iMovie for a variety of other projects. The more comfortable they are with the program, the more creatively they are able to experiment with it. I am very excited to mentor their creativity throughout the rest of the school year! by DLCoach, Victoria, from James Hill elementary Check out the YouTube video that goes with this post: ________________________________________ The Jackson Five said it well when they sang, “ABC is like 1, 2, 3!” James Hill Elementary has gone through many changes in the last school year. In this post we celebrate Digital Literacy, and continue to celebrate our progress with integrating technology into classrooms. As a tech coach, it has been truly amazing to see how the staff and students have used technology for exploration, refreshment and to ignite their passions. From using their projector; to iPads; to creating iMovies; to networking with colleagues at Tech Lunches on Fridays, we have hit every letter of the alphabet. So if you only have 2 minutes, check out my homemade YouTube video made through iMovie. Grab a seat for 2 minutes and enjoy “The Digital Literacy ABC’s of James Hill Elementary” at http://bit.ly/DigitalLiteracyABCs If you have more than two minutes, you can grab a coffee and read the details of all those images from the YouTube video. A – Apps Apps have been a part of our school now for just a year, as we got our new iPads in the Spring of last year. Some of our students have challenges that make it very difficult to speak and present their learning to their teacher and classmates. Mrs. Laird and Mrs. Biddle have been working with students to create their own presentations using the iPad app “Pictello” which allows the students to add photos and text and have the text spoken for them by the app. This is yet another way that technology can enhance the learning experience for our students. Our Special Needs District program also uses apps to assist in learning. B – Buddies Buddies are important for helping the integration of technology into our classrooms. Either the little or big buddies learn a Digital Literacy skill and then teaches the other buddy that skill. A great example is Mrs. Giddings and Mrs. Peck’s class buddied up to hone their skills by using literacy and numeracy apps on the iPads. Another example (without technology) is Mrs. Hobbs’ class also buddied up with grade 9 students from Mrs. Gill’s class from Langley Secondary a couple times. In one session, they played the salmon game and learned more about the salmon life cycle. Buddies are a great way to build skills in so many areas for both the big and little buddies! C – Class Websites Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Kazakoff’s classroom website is an excellent example of how class websites can be used to communicate encouragement, classroom activities and more! Check out their website. In addition to websites at a recent in-service Pro-D, Ms. Juzkow and Ms. McColl were learning together how to create blogs. D – Document Camera Currently we have one document camera to share between 2 to 3 teachers at the school. They are used regularly and are a great asset to many teachers for displaying, showcasing and teaching lessons. An example would be Mrs. Peck’s Grade 1 class recently have been working on geometric shapes and discovery, by using elastics on the geo boards. In addition, the students have used document cameras to present their findings to their peers. E – Mr. Etheridge Mr. Etheridge was at our school for many years and retired in December. He drove a vision into our school to keep our technology up to date and thriving. Without his vision and his drive we would not have the technology we have today. He has left an astounding legacy at our school. To him we are grateful. Check out his letter to our school family. F – Fun iMovies In December, when Mr. Etheridge retired, there was a retirement iMovie that was created for him called “The Mystery of the Missing Letters”. If you are interested in viewing the video come visit. G – Google Most classes in the school, if not all have used Google to research and find information. Mr. Maines’ classes learned how to drop documents through Google Apps through Google Drive. With the influence of West Langley Elementary – Shawn Davids, Lexi Leguidden and Victoria Olson - and Lochiel Schools – Sarban Sangha and Lorrie Burnham - using Google Apps for Education, we are so excited at James Hill to learn more about Google and we intend to use the apps more in the coming years. H – Happy PAC If it wasn’t for the PAC’s support and help we would not have the technology we have currently. Their support to help and assist in the funding of projects has been amazing. They paid for half of our iPads, and also contributed MacBooks to our staff and COWS (Computers on Wheels) when we needed them. I – Informational iMovies Using our MacBooks to create Word Processing documents is an important skill. We have also used our MacBooks to create informational iMovies. One example is students in Mr. Maines’ class have been using technology to document their learning in the areas of Reading and Writing. The students had to design an interview that found a way to tease key parts of a book reflection out of their interviewee. They wrote the script, practiced it, and recorded it with video cameras. They then transferred the video to the laptops and edited the interview on iMovie. After all of this effort, they came away with a great video archive of their reading and writing that goes well beyond surface level knowledge. There are always wonderful things you can do with iMovie software and/or the iMovie app! J – Just Dance 3 Thanks to some great dance YouTube videos we have been able to dance up a storm in different classes. Rumor has it that Mr. SIdhu’s, Mrs. Rahal’s, Ms. Hall’s and Mrs. Woelders’ classes have all be dancing it up to some great dance videos. Check them out! K – Kidblog Ms. Meiners used Kidblog this year to let the kids explore showcasing their ideas. Kidblog is a great way to get kids blogging in secure and safe for only students, parents and the teacher to see. We are so excited about blogging and we hope to use blogging more next school year. L – Library Online There are many resources online to find information and Ms. Hall’s class took time to do research on World Book Online. Students were learning from Ms. Hall how to research using World Book, but this is a whole lot different than our days at school with these books. Remember the days of the bookshelf of encyclopaedias (and the salespeople that used to come by the house)? Through a district license, we can now access all this information plus videos, images, and activities that are safe and updated regularly online using World Book for Kids. There are countless other classrooms, such as Mrs. Lambert’s and Mr. Lee's class who have taken the time to use online resources. M – Minecraft (Mathcraft) In the Fall, Sheena Gervan – our Library Tech at the time – worked with students at lunch hour to work with iPads. One thing they did was create using Minecraft. Minecraft – which some students call it Mathcraft – is a wonderful tool that can be used to enhance learning on Math concepts and other curricular topics. I have also worked with Minecraft in my class, please check our YouTube channel out, as there will be more examples in the coming weeks. N – New Fundraising Opportunities Free the Children and Run for Water are two fundraising campaigns we have helped through our school. The first, was led by Mrs. Giddings, who went to Africa last summer and created a slideshow through iPhoto to share with the rest of the school. I absolutely love the soundtrack that was found from the YouTube tracks! Check out her slideshow through YouTube at http://bit.ly/MrsGiddingsiPhotoSlideshow. If it wasn’t for technology as a medium, it would have been challenging to communicate the heartfelt message to our students, staff and parents the importance of helping those in need. O – Own Domain Name In the Fall, we decided to buy our own domain name. We used Wordpress as the platform, and created a website that would communicate our school vision and passion. I had the privilege to build and structure the website, which was tons of fun. Come check out our website. P – Virtual Playground Our PAC is currently fundraising for new playground equipment. My students in my class were learning about Perimeter and Area last term, so the class designed playground platforms using particular dimensions for perimeter and area. They then used manipulatives (math blocks) and used this to guide the process on the Minecraft apps on our iPads. Students are now calling this “Mathcraft”. You can check out their playgrounds: http://bit.ly/mathcraftplaygrounds. Q – QR Codes QR Codes are always so fun to work with. Ms. Anderson’s students had to take their iPads, find the QR code in the hallways and then collaborate with each other to solve their numeracy problems. A great way to get kids moving, connecting with each other, and learning! R – Reflector Software There are about 5 classes now with the Reflector Software. This software by Air Squirrel was installed on our MacBooks, then the software allows for our iPads to be projected onto the classroom screen. You can have multiple iPads showing, unlike Apple TV. We have enjoyed using this software to demonstrate activities (i.e. as in the YouTube video) and use it as a document camera. The example in the YouTube video, is of a presenter who came in to show students how to create a Ukrainian Easter Egg. She wanted the students to see the details of her drawing an eight pointed star. She used Reflector to show her working on an egg. It was fantastic. S – Super Staff Our staff continues to learn, and work together to help each other. All staff have been a part of the use of Digital Literacy in the classroom and we look forward to the journey ahead. T – Tech Lunches We started Tech Lunches on Friday with inspiration from Ms. Hall. We were also inspired by Kat Mulski at Alex Hope Elementary and how she has worked with staff for over 2 years on Thursdays after school. We have talked about everything from apps; to Word Processing on Microsoft Word; websites to use; Outlook; Reflector software and more! U – Using Technology We also have Smart Boards in two of our classes, as well as a third that is rolled. We have projectors in every classroom, a few that are mounted. In addition, we have 30 iPads that are shared between 300 students. The Resource Room also has a handful of iPads and iPad Minis they use with their students. We have one cart of cows that are very popular, and recently we bought touch screen cameras to assist in videoing kids. It is an exciting time here at James Hill! V – Virtual Moving from physical to virtual can be challenging and we have moved into virtual communication to present our information to our community. Since January, we now have a Twitter feed and Facebook page. Please come check them out. W –Mr. Wejr In January Mr. Wejr joined our school family. His positive vision and energy for community, education and connection has been apparent since his arrival. As per the YouTube video, you can see that Mr. Wejr joins in all the activities of the school. You can see him regularly interacting with the kids and staff, as well as virtually through Social Media outlets. If you are interested in learning more about his philosophy and who he is check out his blog. Y – YouTube We recently had a inservice Pro-D day where Mrs. Takasaki and Mrs. Peck used YouTube to teach about Ready to Read. We have used YouTube to showcase our school and The Digital Literacy ABC’s of James Hill is a good example of how we are proud of the staff, students and parents that make our community amazing! Feel free to check out our channel. Z – Zip File Whether it is transferring movies, report cards or documents, zip files are important to us! ________________________________________ It’s been such a wonderful journey filled with amazement, and one that I am very grateful to be part of. Thanks for joining me in the review of our year . . . in an alphabet kind of way! Victoria Woelders by DLCoach, Cindy, from Langley Fundamental elementary When it comes to “technology” I have to say that I am a wee bit challenged in this department. I know I would like to be more tech-savvy but getting from tech-challenged to being more tech-savvy is a pretty big step! When I signed up to be our school’s digital literacy coach I had no idea, really, about what that actually meant but thought it would be a step in the right direction. Time to step out of the ol’ comfort zone. Sign me up! However, at our first digital literacy coach meeting Sandra told us that as coaches we would get TOC days to help our staff with technology. Well, I kind of freaked out because I didn’t know what I would be able to help any of my staff with as far as technology goes! Suddenly the road leading from tech-challenged to being more tech-savvy was under heavy construction! Then we had a couple of evening Engaging the Digital Learner sessions with lots of great speakers and time to converse with colleagues! I learned a lot from these sessions (like that small steps were what I would be taking on my “being more tech-savvy road”.) The evening sessions were really great opportunities to talk and share with colleagues in a very motivational and like-minded environment. I learned that moving along the more tech-savvy road is one that is going to take some time and that made me feel a lot better about signing up. My road to wanting to be more tech-savvy started with a conversation a colleague and I had around the idea of having a class website. “You should try weebly.com,” she said, “I just went to a workshop and they showed us how to set up your very own website, for FREE!” Then she said… “It was really easy!” Ahhh…the old “it is easy” trap! “Yeah, sure,” I said, and thought to myself…there is no way it is easy to put a website together, especially for this technologically challenged teacher. NO WAY! I asked her a few more questions and then she convinced me to “just take a look” at the website she was working on. Well, it was adorable! And after showing me a few things I decided it was time to step out of the “I don’t know how to get started” zone and step into “I am going to give this a try!” zone. It was time to get on with it and time to get myself a website! The first thing I had to come up with was a PURPOSE for having a website. I decided that having a website had to make my life easier NOT more work so as a Kindergarten teacher my main purpose of the website is information for the parents of my Kindee students. Next I came up with a name for the website that the parents would be able to remember (Cindy’s Kindees) and then I sorted through the many, many themes weebly.com has ready to go. Once I started I really got hooked on putting a website together. When I finished I was very excited and quite proud of myself, and even felt a bit tech-savvy! My Kindee parents really like the website and I have even heard them talking about it to each other. I receive less emails from parents now as parents can visit for the website for loads of information, calendars, newsletters, etc. I know the whole process took me longer than a tech-savvy person (one day I would like to be a fully fledged member of this club) but, for me, Weebly.com made the experience quite painless and easy…and there’s that word, yes, I said, easy. (This technologically challenged teacher also has a QR code in my window so that my “parents in the know” can use it to get to the website…now that’s pretty tech-savvy…I think.) This past ProD Day I actually got to help my colleagues get started on putting together their own websites. So in the end I really did get to help my colleagues with a wee, a weebly, bit of technology.
by DLCoach, Sheila, from Alice Brown elementary When teaching with the COWs in the past, one of the problems I always had was how to connect what we were doing in class to my student’s real world experiences with technology. Many students are not Mac users at home, and even those that are, are rarely using programs such as Kidspiration outside of the classroom. The result was that my students were learning how to use a program in order to complete a class assignment, and then not using that program again until the next class assignment. Compounding this problem is the time restriction when booking COWs for a single block that creates an environment in which all students are expected to complete their work in the same amount of time. Throw in the iPads, and now there is the question of how to save student work when they are being shared by multiple classes and are constantly being synced. One possible solution – web-based applications. Web-based applications are software programs that run in a web browser rather than needing to be downloaded and stored on a computer. One of the main advantages of a web-based application is that it is accessible from anywhere so long as you can access the internet. Another advantage is that, due to their online nature, it is very easy for students to share their work and interact either through comments or collaboration features depending on the application. Web-based applications run equally well on Macs or PCs and many even have apps are available on phones and tablets as well. Thus, students are able to login and access their projects outside of the scheduled COW block, allowing students who need more time to complete assignments and giving students who like to go the extra mile the opportunity to do so. This year, I have made an effort to use more web-based programs with my classes and what I have experienced is that my students see value in the programs beyond using them once to complete an assignment. My students now regularly request to use these programs even when technology is not required for a project and students have found and introduced me to new web applications that I wasn’t aware of. My students have been engaged working with web based applications and have made connections to how they could use these programs in their lives outside of school and in their future education. Some Examples: Google’s suite of online applications and Kidblog have already been covered in previous blog posts so I will skip over those excellent web-based applications and share some others that my students have had success with this year. Haiku Deck– This slide presentation program started as an iPad app but they now also have a web app as well. Their user friendly interface makes them a great place to start for those new to creating web-based presentations. Students select a layout, add their text, and even search creative commons images within the app to add to the presentation. Prezi– Another online presentation app, Prezi is slightly less user friendly than Haiku Deck, but it’s non-linear style allows for more student creativity. Prezi’s pre-built templates make a good starting point to learn the app. Popplet – Popplet allows users to create mind maps or information webs using text and images. PowToon – Create short animated slideshows or videos incorporating text, sound, animated icons and pictures. This program has lots of features and therefore takes a bit of practice to become familiar with, but it allows students to create dynamic presentations. GoAnimate - Create short animated clips choosing from various cartoon styles. The free account limits video clips to 30 seconds, but even at that length this app allows for all kinds of fun and creativity. This is just a small sample of applications available, and really you need to decide what is going to be useful and engaging for your class, but I hope that this inspires you to give web-based applications a try! by DLCoach, Troy from Langley Secondary school Throughout the last year I have been personally changing many of the way that I deliver and conduct my classroom. I was first intrigued by the idea of the flipped classroom as a way to have students have meaningful discussions regarding the material covered in my classes. In too many instances the students would work well in class and then something sinister would happen when they left, either they would encounter a problem and just give up or they would not do it. I saw the opportunity to correct these issues and tried flipping things around. Now just to be clear it has not been all nice things and the flipped room is not perfect, but it does allow for a change. Now with the word change being used I must discuss one of the issues that I had with students is getting them to actually change the way they do things. There were two camps to this: one camp hated it (students at either end of the achievement bar) and one group loved it (the average students). Some of the reasons students disliked it was:
What I have been doing upon reflection is a mixture of flipped and traditional learning. I still use the videos to pass along information to my students; however, students are given their assignments (group or individual) when they arrive in class and are given time to work on it. Those who watched the video can work on the assignment and those that did not watch the video can then take the time to watch it and begin. I usually have my class discussions halfway through or at the end of the class, this way I know the students have seen the video and also had time to begin looking deeper into the assignment. Students usually have a higher participation at this point because they know the information from the video and have been working on the assignment. It is during this time that I am getting more meaningful discussion and students are able to lead the discussions with myself guiding them. More higher level questions are being asked and students are gaining a better understanding of the material. Now is this system perfect, no, but it allows more learners to demonstrate their skills throughout the semester. By James Ribeyre, Glenwood Elementary Having supported technology in various elementary schools over the past few years I have had many amazing, and frustrating, experiences. In a time when students are more familiar with technology than most of their teachers by grade 4 it is becoming increasingly urgent that teachers are able to at least incorporate some technology into their classroom. As teachers we are so used to having (or wanting) complete control over everything in our classes. Lessons are supposed to be carried out in a structured, predictable way. This is what scares so many teachers about technology; it can be unpredictable. People become more concerned with “What can go wrong?” rather than, “This could really energize our learning”. So what do we do about this??? As DL Coaches it is our goal to share our enthusiasm for learning with technology, and in order to do this it is important to look back at our own growth over the years. When faced with learning how to use a new technology it can be daunting. I first received a SMART board six years ago as part of a program sponsored by the school district. I was so excited to get it, but I quickly lost enthusiasm when I started to encounter the pitfalls and glitches that come with this technology. As a result it ended up sitting in my room for two months without being used. Eventually, I realized that it was going to have to start with me. I had to let go of my anxiety about a lesson crashing and burning, and start using this great tool. Over time it became one of the best teaching tools that I have used. I did not have someone to go to for help in my school; I was the help! But that is what is so great about having DL Coaches. Not only can we network to support each other, we are there to support those teachers who want to start using technology but are afraid to. We can create situations for teachers where they feel supported enough to take those first tentative steps. In my experience I have used a multi-stepped process that seems to work well: 1 – I have interested staff members observe me teaching with technology in my class 2 – I teach a similar lesson to their class so they can see how it works with their group 3 – I team-teach a lesson (or two) with the teacher in their class 4 – I help them to plan/create more lessons for them to do on their own 5 – I provide ongoing support; if they encounter a problem mid-lesson they can always send a student to get me. This system my not work for everyone but it is a good place to start. Once people start to become more confident on a staff it is like a snowball going down hill. Other staff members will take note and before you know it change will start to occur. We are in a very exciting time for education, one where change is happening rapidly. DL coaches are in a unique position where we can support the staff and students around us, creating situations where people can feel safe to let go of their fears around technology and embrace the potential. Hobbits, Dwarves and the Magic of Movies: Educating Students to be Screen Literate in a Digital Age4/9/2014 By Aaron, DLCoach at HD Stafford Middle School How do you make a novel come to life in the digital age? Better yet, how do you teach an appreciation of text and reading when the book is a movie? If you were to ask a random sampling of teenagers if they know the story The Hunger Games, will they reference the book or movie? In Stephen Apkon’s The Age of Image: Redefining Literacy in a World of Screens, the author writes about being screen literate as mandatory for people in the 21st century in order for us to read the messages and ideas bombarding us by the gig every day. “Heck ya!” I said as I read this, (well, I most likely said something else but this is a family blog right?), because Apkon was speaking my language and my teaching language from my first day 13 years ago when I had to drag an old TV and VCR into the classroom. I received many strange and disapproving looks when I showed "The Simpsons" to teach satire or questioning stares when I explain how I teach the movie version of the novel with the same rigour as I teach the novel. I’m sure many of you get the same frowns and furrowed brows when you use screens "all the time” but keep at it. If we aren’t digitally literate and are not teaching our students to be the same, we are all at the mercy of the ridiculous messages mainstream media pummels us with. Enough soapboxy ranting. How do we teach screen literacy? We start with Hobbits. At HD Stafford, we burrowed into Middle Earth with the aim of inserting, adapting, creating activities that involved both text and screen as much as possible. We looked to the SAMR model to help us integrate what we had already been doing with the technology we have to see what we could come up with (props to Kat & Victoria, the two DL coaches who presented this model at the last Coaches’ workshop). In a world as image-rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, it only makes sense to use as many visual representations as possible; with Peter Jackson’s films, an entirely new part of the story has been opened to explore. This means that in the classroom, the projector is on most of the time and the iPads and computers are on the desks regularly. I won’t get into all the details of the month-long unit (get ahold of me if you want to talk details) but will instead focus on one project that involved taking all the kids to Colossus to watch the Desolation of Smaug. The question we posed to the students was this: Why does Peter Jackson make changes to the story? More importantly, can you come up with categories for the types of changes he makes then evaluate the effectiveness of these changes? I have always found that kids are quick to point out differences and when you as “what was different” in the film there is a flood of responses. What makes students think more deeply is to get them to come up with categories for these changes. Each class developed 4 or 5 categories then we shared them with another class via FaceTime in order to broaden the audience within the school. Myself and the other DL coach, David Sandquist, used our iPhones to make the class to class call so students could compare ideas. It was quick, easy and helpful for kids to see that what we were doing in our little classroom world was also being done in other worlds. We then took it a step further and had each student write a comment on the class blog identifying one change they thought was significant and why they thought the change was made. Students used iPads to write their comments during class. As we only have a few of these devices my students know this time is precious and they get down to business. Teaching "The Hobbit" was a blast and using the movie to teach story only makes it more magical. I told the students early on that we are going on a journey that will be difficult and exciting and though it is not guaranteed they will make it through, if they do, they will never be the same. What strategies do you use to take young people on adventures to the undiscovered country? |
Langley's Digital Literacy CoachesDLCoaches from each school will be sharing a blog entry about their staff & students' digital literacy experiences. Blogs by Content or by School:
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