Today, I finished my TIP project (at least the first part) at Jack Jouett Middle School. Students were correcting and reviewing some test concepts while I took each group back to the computer lab to finalize their videos and export them as movies. One group actually did export their video correctly and had everything completed yesterday, so I had four groups to work with today. As Deanine went to obtain another microphone, I was left to handout some tests to the students and get them ready to finish their editing.
I took each group back to the computer lab and went through the procedures about saving properly and how to add their sound and any additional transitions or other small details that were left unfinished from yesterday. All groups completed their revisions, then each time I walked them through the procedure to save their narration and background music correctly as well as how to export their entire file as a .wmv file for viewing. Then each group went back through their video once more to be sure that all was as they wanted it.
This process took a bit longer than I thought, leaving only about 15 minutes of class time to view the videos and fill out the rubrics. We really did not have much time to discuss or process them, and I would have liked to have this time back. However, due to the technical and logistical issues, I had to go with the setup as we had it. We did get to view all of the student videos. There were five groups and all but two students participated in the process. These two students were absent during two of the days and helped their respective groups, but were really not able to participate as much as they would have liked. One group even listed one student in the credits as "not here" (much for humorous effect). The groups did get some very creative ideas on film and all did show the use of a digital probe or sensor and a graph. Deanine commented on how they turned out to be a bit more creative than she had expected. However, I had hoped for a bit more of the science to be included in their presentations. Since I introduced this project with a CSI scenario, many of them tended to use this as their background story. While this can be a good idea for some, it was not the best for all of the groups. There were some parts of the stories that were very well done, but others that really focused too much on the creative interaction and not enough on the data and evidence. However, all groups did get a finished product even with the limited amount of time and a couple of technical glitches to work through. In the end, all students did fill out a rubric to evaluate their video and I collected these as they left class.
I plan to go over the videos later and then compute a grade based on their individual rubrics and my assessment of their group products. All groups did well, but none were ideal in their scope or execution. Overall, I think the project worked, but may need a few tweaks and perhaps a better introductory scenario to focus students on the data analysis task a bit better.
One group did a race between students that was measured by a motion sensor. This worked, but since they did not show enough of the details of the data, the audience was not able to really understand their final conclusion. Another group took the temperature of a sick person to confirm that they were ill. They did show the correct use of the temperature probe and included a live-action graph showing the change of the temperature as well as a re-scale of the graph. This gave me an idea for a future part of the rubric to include more details as to what I wanted to observe for data collection from each video. This process was helpful in determining what I can do to both streamline and focus this project for potential future use.
If Deanine has time in her schedule, I may go back in November to help students film their motion sensor vehicle experiments. I think this may provide a good test of how much they learned and how well it is retained from this project to the next.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Editing Lesson
Today, October 12th, 2009, I conducted my third lesson at Jack Jouett Middle School. Today we worked on editing and finishing the video presentations. I started by arriving a few minutes early and worked on converting all videos to .wmv format just in case the codecs for flip were not installed on all of the computers in their computer lab. It appears that all went fine with this. Most students had no trouble finding their videos to use for the projects.
I began with a short run-through of the grade rubric to remind groups of their primary focus for the projects so that they would not spend too much time on the "bells and whistles" of the Windows Movie Maker software and instead focus on their digital story. I highlighted the main points of the rubric including that their story should be understandable and make sense to their audience. I also indicated that they will use this rubric to evaluate their progress in the next class so it should provide a guide to them for assembly of their final video.
I then did a short tutorial on using Movie Maker. A show of hands indicated that most students had used this program previously and so I spent only a few minutes highlighting how to cut, arrange, add effects and titles, and transitions, etc. I answered a couple of questions from students and then we were off to the computer lab.
At the lab, students were eager to work in groups on their projects. They seemed comfortable in collaborating to finish their video. Most groups had positive interactions as they clustered around the machines to view and arrange their clips. Deanine and I rotated around between groups offering help and advice to each group. We also provided some headset microphones for them to do voice-overs for some sections. One group figured out how to do slow motion and another decided to play a short piece of background music for their credit titles. As expected, this had a snowball effect on the other groups as they each wanted to add a short clip of music. This facilitated a short discussion that I led on the use of copyrighted materials and how much they could use according to "fair use". I asked them to limit their song clips to under twenty seconds to insure that they were within the ten percent copyright fair use rule.
As groups worked, a couple of them needed to re-film certain parts of their videos and so Deanine and I traded off going with these groups to help with filming as the others worked in the computer lab. It worked well and all groups seemed engaged and working. All groups completed a project, but one group was not sure if they were finished by the end of the period. We ran into one particular issue when saving. Apparently some groups only saved their projects as Movie Maker files instead of exporting them as movies. This caused some problems as that as we opened them to check them on the server, the program would lose the location of the clips and show a red X on the screen instead of the clips. We then went back and found these clips and Deanine and I worked after class to export all of these videos for backup. We also discovered that all of the groups except one had saved their narration and background music on their desktop, which was erased when they logged off, so I had to go back into their movies, remove this broken link and export their videos again. I also had to re-arrange their video clips so that the clips and their final video were in the same folder on the server. We had considered these issues previously, but I did not check carefully as each group was saving to be sure that they had followed directions exactly, so next time, I should probably have a handout or something to remind them of exactly what to do. However, this was mostly a server issue at the school and if students were saving on a hard drive, they would not have these issues.
After checking over their videos, Deanine and I decided that tomorrow I would take each group one at a time into the computer lab to review their video and add their narration or background music again since it was lost in translation. She has another assignment for them to work on while we are working. After adding their final touches to the videos, we will go back to the classroom to view and evaluate each video.
This class went very well, with groups working, asking questions, interacting with both the technology and each other. As they found various ideas that worked, they shared them with other groups. One group even wrote their own short rap song to include in their video. I look forward to finishing this project with them tomorrow.
I began with a short run-through of the grade rubric to remind groups of their primary focus for the projects so that they would not spend too much time on the "bells and whistles" of the Windows Movie Maker software and instead focus on their digital story. I highlighted the main points of the rubric including that their story should be understandable and make sense to their audience. I also indicated that they will use this rubric to evaluate their progress in the next class so it should provide a guide to them for assembly of their final video.
I then did a short tutorial on using Movie Maker. A show of hands indicated that most students had used this program previously and so I spent only a few minutes highlighting how to cut, arrange, add effects and titles, and transitions, etc. I answered a couple of questions from students and then we were off to the computer lab.
At the lab, students were eager to work in groups on their projects. They seemed comfortable in collaborating to finish their video. Most groups had positive interactions as they clustered around the machines to view and arrange their clips. Deanine and I rotated around between groups offering help and advice to each group. We also provided some headset microphones for them to do voice-overs for some sections. One group figured out how to do slow motion and another decided to play a short piece of background music for their credit titles. As expected, this had a snowball effect on the other groups as they each wanted to add a short clip of music. This facilitated a short discussion that I led on the use of copyrighted materials and how much they could use according to "fair use". I asked them to limit their song clips to under twenty seconds to insure that they were within the ten percent copyright fair use rule.
As groups worked, a couple of them needed to re-film certain parts of their videos and so Deanine and I traded off going with these groups to help with filming as the others worked in the computer lab. It worked well and all groups seemed engaged and working. All groups completed a project, but one group was not sure if they were finished by the end of the period. We ran into one particular issue when saving. Apparently some groups only saved their projects as Movie Maker files instead of exporting them as movies. This caused some problems as that as we opened them to check them on the server, the program would lose the location of the clips and show a red X on the screen instead of the clips. We then went back and found these clips and Deanine and I worked after class to export all of these videos for backup. We also discovered that all of the groups except one had saved their narration and background music on their desktop, which was erased when they logged off, so I had to go back into their movies, remove this broken link and export their videos again. I also had to re-arrange their video clips so that the clips and their final video were in the same folder on the server. We had considered these issues previously, but I did not check carefully as each group was saving to be sure that they had followed directions exactly, so next time, I should probably have a handout or something to remind them of exactly what to do. However, this was mostly a server issue at the school and if students were saving on a hard drive, they would not have these issues.
After checking over their videos, Deanine and I decided that tomorrow I would take each group one at a time into the computer lab to review their video and add their narration or background music again since it was lost in translation. She has another assignment for them to work on while we are working. After adding their final touches to the videos, we will go back to the classroom to view and evaluate each video.
This class went very well, with groups working, asking questions, interacting with both the technology and each other. As they found various ideas that worked, they shared them with other groups. One group even wrote their own short rap song to include in their video. I look forward to finishing this project with them tomorrow.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Video Lesson
Today, October 9th, I conducted my second lesson at Jack Jouett Middle School. Today we were working with digital probes and filming with the flip cameras. We had a cart of laptops to use for the digital probes and each group was able to use one of these for their project. We began with a tutorial on how to connect and use the Vernier digital probes. I started with the temperature probes and demonstrated these for the students by holding the probe in my hand as I went through how to use the Logger Pro Lite software on their laptops. I also demonstrated a light sensor, force sensor and motion sensor. With the motion sensor, we had student move toward and away from the sensor so that we could view the displacement and the velocity of the motion. I also showed them how to re-scale their graphs and how to save their files if they needed them again.
Next, we passed out each probe to the groups one at a time and had them try them out. They were instructed to try each and be sure that they could connect them properly and collect some data with the software. This took a few minutes, but since they had to choose one probe for use in their video, it was good experience to help them decide which one to use. They then made a choice of their probe and worked on their storyboards for their videos. The groups had about fifteen mintues to work on these and some groups had already put in some time to consider what they wanted to do. As they finished a basic storyboard set and showed it to me, I gave them their flip video camera and they were reminded about boundaries, etc. for filming. Groups had from 30 to 45 minutes to film depending on how much time they spent writing and creating their storyboards. As they worked on these, Deanine and I split up between the groups. She had to take some down to the Nurses' office to film one scene and a group to the weight room for theirs. I went outside with a couple of groups working in an amphitheater and a stairway oustide the doorway. Another group used a break room with a microwave oven to check on heating some objects. I took pictures and helped groups get various props, including making some "fake blood" and other types of items for measurement like beakers, etc. I also helped groups to figure out specifics about filming like how far they could be from motion sensors, how to arrange their actors with lighting to get best effect, when to shoot close ups, and several other minor points. The groups were very engaged and all groups finished their shots within the given time. They returned to the class with a few mintues of class left to download and put away all of their equipment. We discovered that even though we could save the files to the server, Windows Movie Maker and viewer would not view the video portion of the mp4 files without the flip codec downloaded first. So, we decided to download as many videos as possible on Deanine's computer, which already had the flip video software. Some of the students helped each other with the downloading, but I don't think all groups downloaded their videos, so we may have to go back and finish some of this on Monday. We also discovered that we may have to convert these video clips to wmv format before we can edit them with Windows Movie Maker on Monday. I will plan on going in a bit early on Monday and do this just in case the Computer lab we are using for editing does not have the flip video codec installed on the computers.
At the end of class, the students cleaned up their props and materials, put up the laptops, and then they each filled out the exit card that I gave them, answering questions about what they learned about filming with the flip camera, what they learned about digital probes, and what they might want to do to edit their video on Monday.
Overall, it was a good class and I think the students did well with the assignment. Monday, we will be editing and I plan to do a short tutorial on Windows Movie Maker for them as well as go over the evaluation rubric for the project with them in more detail. I look forward to working with this group some more.
Next, we passed out each probe to the groups one at a time and had them try them out. They were instructed to try each and be sure that they could connect them properly and collect some data with the software. This took a few minutes, but since they had to choose one probe for use in their video, it was good experience to help them decide which one to use. They then made a choice of their probe and worked on their storyboards for their videos. The groups had about fifteen mintues to work on these and some groups had already put in some time to consider what they wanted to do. As they finished a basic storyboard set and showed it to me, I gave them their flip video camera and they were reminded about boundaries, etc. for filming. Groups had from 30 to 45 minutes to film depending on how much time they spent writing and creating their storyboards. As they worked on these, Deanine and I split up between the groups. She had to take some down to the Nurses' office to film one scene and a group to the weight room for theirs. I went outside with a couple of groups working in an amphitheater and a stairway oustide the doorway. Another group used a break room with a microwave oven to check on heating some objects. I took pictures and helped groups get various props, including making some "fake blood" and other types of items for measurement like beakers, etc. I also helped groups to figure out specifics about filming like how far they could be from motion sensors, how to arrange their actors with lighting to get best effect, when to shoot close ups, and several other minor points. The groups were very engaged and all groups finished their shots within the given time. They returned to the class with a few mintues of class left to download and put away all of their equipment. We discovered that even though we could save the files to the server, Windows Movie Maker and viewer would not view the video portion of the mp4 files without the flip codec downloaded first. So, we decided to download as many videos as possible on Deanine's computer, which already had the flip video software. Some of the students helped each other with the downloading, but I don't think all groups downloaded their videos, so we may have to go back and finish some of this on Monday. We also discovered that we may have to convert these video clips to wmv format before we can edit them with Windows Movie Maker on Monday. I will plan on going in a bit early on Monday and do this just in case the Computer lab we are using for editing does not have the flip video codec installed on the computers.
At the end of class, the students cleaned up their props and materials, put up the laptops, and then they each filled out the exit card that I gave them, answering questions about what they learned about filming with the flip camera, what they learned about digital probes, and what they might want to do to edit their video on Monday.
Overall, it was a good class and I think the students did well with the assignment. Monday, we will be editing and I plan to do a short tutorial on Windows Movie Maker for them as well as go over the evaluation rubric for the project with them in more detail. I look forward to working with this group some more.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Flip Video Lesson
Today, October 7th, I did my first lesson on Flip video cameras and their use with the 8th grade Physical science class at Jack Jouett Middle School. Overall, it went well, although we didn't have enough time to do everything I had planned. Ms Lilley had to go over some review worksheets and answer questions for their test the next day and this took a bit longer than we thought, but I was able to get most of the important parts of this first lesson completed. We had to re-assign some students to groups since Deanine had not finished this from the last class and this also took a few minutes.
After introductions and a brief overview of the project, we began discussing making videos.
I was able to go over quickly the use of the flip camera and then two volunteers did an excellent job demonstrating how to use the camera to take video and download it onto a computer. We played back their video of how to tie your shoe for the class immediately and students seemed to understand the operation well. Most of them had used a flip camera before, so this was mostly review. Then I handed out the CSI scenario and briefly explained the major points and parameters for the assignment. Deanine went over the boundaries as to where they could go outside of class to film their videos for this introductory practice assignment. She also suggested that the students take the first five minutes to plan what they would do and then the last ten minutes to film it. I highlighted some of the options as to props and other items that might be of use and many groups took advantage of these in their video presentations. Then each group went out for 15 minutes and filmed their video. Deanine decided to go out and supervise, I stayed inside to watch a couple of groups and help with downloads. They returned and we had time to download a couple of their videos on the computer to watch and make comments. The other videos were downloaded at the end of class and we will watch them later after all of the projects are finished next week. I asked everyone to take a minute to look over the evaluation rubric, but due to time limits, I asked them to wait and complete it later and we would discuss it on Friday at the beginning of class.
After a brief discussion about what worked in their practice scenarios, I handed out the Digital Probe assignment and went over the challenge and explained what the digital probes were and how they worked. We will go over this again on Friday at the beginning of class to be sure that each group understands how to connect them up to the laptops. (We did not have laptops today, so I held off on demonstrating until each group could do this for themselves as I show the entire class how to connect a probe and start the software.) I highlighted all of the potential roles that they could take: Producer, Director, Videographer, Production Designer, and Actor and then asked them to decide how they would divide up the work between their group. I also showed them the storyboard sheets that they should use to plan out their story for the video. They had only three or four minutes to discuss their ideas in class, so I asked them to be ready to work on these in class on Friday. All groups seem to have a good idea of the project goals, but will have to work on their scripts or storyboards some more on Friday. This means that we will spend the first twenty minutes or so of class Friday working on understanding the probes and writing their stories, then about an hour filming, leaving a few minutes at the end for clean up and exit cards. We were not able to do the exit card today because I wanted to give them enough time to discuss their ideas with their groups before they had to leave for their next class.
As the students left, Deanine finished downloading all of their videos on her computer for later and we packed up the flip cameras and other materials. I left the remaining handouts and extra storyboard sheets along with the AFI storyboard shots manual so that if students have extra time after taking their test on Thursday, they can use these to plan and work on their story ideas for Friday. Overall, it was a bit rushed, but all students were able to use their flip camera appropriately and get at least part of their practice video completed. We discussed a couple of important issues regarding filming that they could use to improve for later. Overall, it was a good lesson considering the limited time I had to get everything complete.
I look forward to working with this group again on Friday.
After introductions and a brief overview of the project, we began discussing making videos.
I was able to go over quickly the use of the flip camera and then two volunteers did an excellent job demonstrating how to use the camera to take video and download it onto a computer. We played back their video of how to tie your shoe for the class immediately and students seemed to understand the operation well. Most of them had used a flip camera before, so this was mostly review. Then I handed out the CSI scenario and briefly explained the major points and parameters for the assignment. Deanine went over the boundaries as to where they could go outside of class to film their videos for this introductory practice assignment. She also suggested that the students take the first five minutes to plan what they would do and then the last ten minutes to film it. I highlighted some of the options as to props and other items that might be of use and many groups took advantage of these in their video presentations. Then each group went out for 15 minutes and filmed their video. Deanine decided to go out and supervise, I stayed inside to watch a couple of groups and help with downloads. They returned and we had time to download a couple of their videos on the computer to watch and make comments. The other videos were downloaded at the end of class and we will watch them later after all of the projects are finished next week. I asked everyone to take a minute to look over the evaluation rubric, but due to time limits, I asked them to wait and complete it later and we would discuss it on Friday at the beginning of class.
After a brief discussion about what worked in their practice scenarios, I handed out the Digital Probe assignment and went over the challenge and explained what the digital probes were and how they worked. We will go over this again on Friday at the beginning of class to be sure that each group understands how to connect them up to the laptops. (We did not have laptops today, so I held off on demonstrating until each group could do this for themselves as I show the entire class how to connect a probe and start the software.) I highlighted all of the potential roles that they could take: Producer, Director, Videographer, Production Designer, and Actor and then asked them to decide how they would divide up the work between their group. I also showed them the storyboard sheets that they should use to plan out their story for the video. They had only three or four minutes to discuss their ideas in class, so I asked them to be ready to work on these in class on Friday. All groups seem to have a good idea of the project goals, but will have to work on their scripts or storyboards some more on Friday. This means that we will spend the first twenty minutes or so of class Friday working on understanding the probes and writing their stories, then about an hour filming, leaving a few minutes at the end for clean up and exit cards. We were not able to do the exit card today because I wanted to give them enough time to discuss their ideas with their groups before they had to leave for their next class.
As the students left, Deanine finished downloading all of their videos on her computer for later and we packed up the flip cameras and other materials. I left the remaining handouts and extra storyboard sheets along with the AFI storyboard shots manual so that if students have extra time after taking their test on Thursday, they can use these to plan and work on their story ideas for Friday. Overall, it was a bit rushed, but all students were able to use their flip camera appropriately and get at least part of their practice video completed. We discussed a couple of important issues regarding filming that they could use to improve for later. Overall, it was a good lesson considering the limited time I had to get everything complete.
I look forward to working with this group again on Friday.
Monday, October 5, 2009
2nd Meeting
Today, I met again with Deanine Lilley from 12 noon until 1 p.m. to finalize plans for the Tip project. We went through the variety of digital probes she had reserved and settled on a set of them that will work with the software and the project. They have the older sets of Vernier data probes with adapters and the Lite version of the Logger software. However, with the GoLink cables, several of the older probes will still work with the new software. We will use the temperature, light, voltage, force, and motion with the possible option of some others depending on what she can find out from another teacher about other options. Some of the older probes are no longer supported or did not work with the new setup including the heart monitor, older style force sensors, barometer, and pH probes, so we will forego these for this project. We discussed logistics of the project including the basics of where and when the kids will be working. On Wednesday, I will get 3/4 of the class time to introduce the project and have kids practice with the Flip cameras, then Friday, they will pitch their project ideas and film them. Deanine indicated that we could use several areas near her classroom for the filming as long as we supervise the kids carefully. There is an amphitheater right behind her room that should have enough space for the kids to space themselves out for the filming, as well as areas in hallways and in the classrooms.
She already has kids grouped in twos or threes for their Experimental Design projects and she will combine some groups for this project as needed. I will leave the grouping up to her since she knows the students and can insure that there are no conflicts between kids in the groups. I also discussed some options for downloading the videos and editing them with the Gifted Teacher. He suggested options for saving them so that the kids could get access into their own folders on the server and how they could save them back for editing. On filming day we will be using a classroom set of the flip cameras and have a laptop cart available for use with both the probes and to download their video clips from the flip cameras. Deanine says that all laptops should have the Vernier probe software loaded onto them, so we should be fine there. In addition, we discussed the props that the students may need for their films. I will get a few of these and curtail what is needed based on their exit cards from Wednesday's class. The classroom has quite a few resources available for the kids to use, but I may bring in a few extra items like plastic bags and q-tips, etc. just in case they are needed.
On the next Monday, we will be in a PC computer lab for editing. They will get one class period of 90 minutes for editing, which should be enough as long as each group uses their time productively. Then on Tuesday, we will show all videos to the class on Deanine's projector in her room, discuss, evaluate and finish up the project. Deanine has another assignment that the kids can work on for Monday/Tuesday if they finish early, so I will not plan an anchor activity for them at this time.
I should have the remainder of the handouts ready to print out by Tuesday, so that all will be ready for the class. The kids will receive the CSI practice assignment, the first copy of the Student Video rubric, and then later a copy of the Digital Probe data collecting video assignment along with some blank storyboard sheets from the AFI curriculum. In addition, I may use a handout on editing and using digital probes for Friday depending on how much more help the students may need with some of their filming.
Overall, the planning seems to be going well and we are all excited about what the students should learn from this experience.
She already has kids grouped in twos or threes for their Experimental Design projects and she will combine some groups for this project as needed. I will leave the grouping up to her since she knows the students and can insure that there are no conflicts between kids in the groups. I also discussed some options for downloading the videos and editing them with the Gifted Teacher. He suggested options for saving them so that the kids could get access into their own folders on the server and how they could save them back for editing. On filming day we will be using a classroom set of the flip cameras and have a laptop cart available for use with both the probes and to download their video clips from the flip cameras. Deanine says that all laptops should have the Vernier probe software loaded onto them, so we should be fine there. In addition, we discussed the props that the students may need for their films. I will get a few of these and curtail what is needed based on their exit cards from Wednesday's class. The classroom has quite a few resources available for the kids to use, but I may bring in a few extra items like plastic bags and q-tips, etc. just in case they are needed.
On the next Monday, we will be in a PC computer lab for editing. They will get one class period of 90 minutes for editing, which should be enough as long as each group uses their time productively. Then on Tuesday, we will show all videos to the class on Deanine's projector in her room, discuss, evaluate and finish up the project. Deanine has another assignment that the kids can work on for Monday/Tuesday if they finish early, so I will not plan an anchor activity for them at this time.
I should have the remainder of the handouts ready to print out by Tuesday, so that all will be ready for the class. The kids will receive the CSI practice assignment, the first copy of the Student Video rubric, and then later a copy of the Digital Probe data collecting video assignment along with some blank storyboard sheets from the AFI curriculum. In addition, I may use a handout on editing and using digital probes for Friday depending on how much more help the students may need with some of their filming.
Overall, the planning seems to be going well and we are all excited about what the students should learn from this experience.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
First Teacher meeting
I met with Deanine Lilley, 8th grade physical science teacher at Jack Jouett Middle School on Monday, Sept. 14th to discuss my TIP placement and project.
We decided that we could split the project into two parts. The first part would focus on using flip video cameras with students to design, create, and film a short documentary tutorial on how to take data using various digital probes from Vernier Software. This project will be done with one of her honors classes in early October. Each group will get to use a flip video camera and be assigned a particular digital probe to explain in a short, under five minutes, presentation.
Deanine is very good to work with. She is going to reseve a set of digital probes from the county, and also can use some of the ones that she has in her lab. This should provide enough different types of probes for each group to hopefully do one of them. Jouett also has a classroom set of flip video cameras, so we are in great shape in getting to use them for this project.
This group is her group with "personality" as she describes them, so they should be very much motivated to be involved with this project. I will work on a lesson plan on this to match with SOL's as well as the Technology standards. I will go in on one day to explain the project, and then we will do the filming that Friday, the first week of October. Then, I will go back the next week and we will edit and show the films to this class. Deanine will then use these for her other classes to introduce data collecting options. I will need to determine some examples of how to use the probes for practical data collecting in reasonable projects that we can do in her class. I have some ideas.
The second part will involve using motion sensors in early November. Again, students will be in groups using the flip video cameras, but they will be investigating various aspects of motion and recording their results for comparison on flip videos. They will be required to record moving objects under different conditions and then compare the displacement, velocity, and acceleration of objects with the motion sensors as well as the video recordings. This will provide visual confirmation of their data, such that they should be able to show a video and a graph of the motion simultaneously on the screen to actually SEE the change in displacement, velocity, and acceleration of different objects in their setups. We will have a selection of objects/vehicles for them to use with the motion sensors so that each group can report on the results of their object to the rest of the class.
These projects should help students understand data collection and motion better, and also provide an opportunity for students to put their own individual or group ideas into action during the videos. The results will then be available to Deanine and other physical science classes in the school for use in explaining these concepts in the future. We are not sure about whether we can post any of these due to AUP guidelines as well as if students think that they will be useful in ways beyond the physical science class. However, the possibility does exist that they could be shared with some other county physical science teachers. We will investigate this, as well as the possiblity that some other teachers may want to replicate this project for their own classes in the future.
It was a good meeting, and we look forward to working together more in the future.
We decided that we could split the project into two parts. The first part would focus on using flip video cameras with students to design, create, and film a short documentary tutorial on how to take data using various digital probes from Vernier Software. This project will be done with one of her honors classes in early October. Each group will get to use a flip video camera and be assigned a particular digital probe to explain in a short, under five minutes, presentation.
Deanine is very good to work with. She is going to reseve a set of digital probes from the county, and also can use some of the ones that she has in her lab. This should provide enough different types of probes for each group to hopefully do one of them. Jouett also has a classroom set of flip video cameras, so we are in great shape in getting to use them for this project.
This group is her group with "personality" as she describes them, so they should be very much motivated to be involved with this project. I will work on a lesson plan on this to match with SOL's as well as the Technology standards. I will go in on one day to explain the project, and then we will do the filming that Friday, the first week of October. Then, I will go back the next week and we will edit and show the films to this class. Deanine will then use these for her other classes to introduce data collecting options. I will need to determine some examples of how to use the probes for practical data collecting in reasonable projects that we can do in her class. I have some ideas.
The second part will involve using motion sensors in early November. Again, students will be in groups using the flip video cameras, but they will be investigating various aspects of motion and recording their results for comparison on flip videos. They will be required to record moving objects under different conditions and then compare the displacement, velocity, and acceleration of objects with the motion sensors as well as the video recordings. This will provide visual confirmation of their data, such that they should be able to show a video and a graph of the motion simultaneously on the screen to actually SEE the change in displacement, velocity, and acceleration of different objects in their setups. We will have a selection of objects/vehicles for them to use with the motion sensors so that each group can report on the results of their object to the rest of the class.
These projects should help students understand data collection and motion better, and also provide an opportunity for students to put their own individual or group ideas into action during the videos. The results will then be available to Deanine and other physical science classes in the school for use in explaining these concepts in the future. We are not sure about whether we can post any of these due to AUP guidelines as well as if students think that they will be useful in ways beyond the physical science class. However, the possibility does exist that they could be shared with some other county physical science teachers. We will investigate this, as well as the possiblity that some other teachers may want to replicate this project for their own classes in the future.
It was a good meeting, and we look forward to working together more in the future.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Technology on a tin roof.
Do we dance to the new tune of the latest technology or not? How quickly should educators plan to integrate new technologies into their lesson plans? What criteria should we use to determine the rate of integration of new technologies? Should we have a scale to judge the possible impact of some technologies and then rate each new technology on this scale?
These are all questions that we currently and will continue to struggle with as educators in the 21st century. It also appears that the rate of new technological breakthroughs may accelerate as well as the need to constantly "re-tool" both ourselves and our students. How, then, can we make wise decisions about what to do in a world that is not only flat, but seemingly racing forward to the next flat area at the same time? We must be perceptively aware and give ourselves opportunities to reflect on the true value of any new technology. Teachers must be allowed the time necessary to work on developing their skills and ideas for integration of many new technologies, if we want them to stay in the profession for any length of time. Now, this also brings up a new point, which is, should teachers remain in the profession for long periods of time without being required to do some "re-tooling"? It appears counter-productive to think otherwise. However, this type of paradigm shift seems extremely problematic when it is so difficult to get quality teachers in the first place and perhaps even more will retire or leave the profession in the near future. Perseverance is, I think, tied to renewal and professional development, yet, many teachers may feel that the lack of time for renewal and the lack of professional respect afforded them are two of the most important reasons to leave the teaching profesison altogether.
What must we do?
It is both quite simple and in many ways a bit complex. Teachers must be given support, proper training, and ample time and incentives to explore new technologies and develop appropriate new types of lessons for their students. The work overload that is often so pervasive for teachers in many schools today must be stopped and re-directed towards higher teacher quality and better student performance. Mandates can not just be given, money directed, and then expectations for higher test scores raised. Teacher time must be MANAGED with the idea of providing both appropriate support and opportunities for exploration to help students perform better. This requires careful goals and planning as well as some leeway for individual teacher goals and interests. Combinations of workshops, seminars, and general teacher to teacher collaboration within both departments and divisions are all key to improvements in these areas. Often teachers would love to implement some new technology, but don't even know of the existence of a program or possible opportunity due to the lack of time to investigate them. Technology coordinators must be reflexive and supportive and keep both a larger view of where new technologies are headed as well as a careful note on how individual teachers are pursuing their own interests. This balance should be a key part of technology support personnel training.
In addition, students may often be more adept at new technologies, so partnerships MUST be made for a community of learners to include student leaders AT ALL LEVELS. Even first graders can be leaders in some new technologies, with careful teacher guidance. This comfort level with being a learning facilitator and providing opportunities for student leadership in the learning process will only become more important in the future. Administrators must find ways to incorporate these opportunities into their goals and plans for their school so that success for some can be translated into greater gains for all.
In the end, those schools that find ways to balance their learning objectives and standards with the opportunities presented by their ENTIRE learning community will have leveraged themselves into positions of maximum efficiency. Will this be enough to keep up with the increasing rate of technological innovation? Only time will tell, but remember we're all in this together. Keep searching for your own answers, and let the rest of us know what you find!
These are all questions that we currently and will continue to struggle with as educators in the 21st century. It also appears that the rate of new technological breakthroughs may accelerate as well as the need to constantly "re-tool" both ourselves and our students. How, then, can we make wise decisions about what to do in a world that is not only flat, but seemingly racing forward to the next flat area at the same time? We must be perceptively aware and give ourselves opportunities to reflect on the true value of any new technology. Teachers must be allowed the time necessary to work on developing their skills and ideas for integration of many new technologies, if we want them to stay in the profession for any length of time. Now, this also brings up a new point, which is, should teachers remain in the profession for long periods of time without being required to do some "re-tooling"? It appears counter-productive to think otherwise. However, this type of paradigm shift seems extremely problematic when it is so difficult to get quality teachers in the first place and perhaps even more will retire or leave the profession in the near future. Perseverance is, I think, tied to renewal and professional development, yet, many teachers may feel that the lack of time for renewal and the lack of professional respect afforded them are two of the most important reasons to leave the teaching profesison altogether.
What must we do?
It is both quite simple and in many ways a bit complex. Teachers must be given support, proper training, and ample time and incentives to explore new technologies and develop appropriate new types of lessons for their students. The work overload that is often so pervasive for teachers in many schools today must be stopped and re-directed towards higher teacher quality and better student performance. Mandates can not just be given, money directed, and then expectations for higher test scores raised. Teacher time must be MANAGED with the idea of providing both appropriate support and opportunities for exploration to help students perform better. This requires careful goals and planning as well as some leeway for individual teacher goals and interests. Combinations of workshops, seminars, and general teacher to teacher collaboration within both departments and divisions are all key to improvements in these areas. Often teachers would love to implement some new technology, but don't even know of the existence of a program or possible opportunity due to the lack of time to investigate them. Technology coordinators must be reflexive and supportive and keep both a larger view of where new technologies are headed as well as a careful note on how individual teachers are pursuing their own interests. This balance should be a key part of technology support personnel training.
In addition, students may often be more adept at new technologies, so partnerships MUST be made for a community of learners to include student leaders AT ALL LEVELS. Even first graders can be leaders in some new technologies, with careful teacher guidance. This comfort level with being a learning facilitator and providing opportunities for student leadership in the learning process will only become more important in the future. Administrators must find ways to incorporate these opportunities into their goals and plans for their school so that success for some can be translated into greater gains for all.
In the end, those schools that find ways to balance their learning objectives and standards with the opportunities presented by their ENTIRE learning community will have leveraged themselves into positions of maximum efficiency. Will this be enough to keep up with the increasing rate of technological innovation? Only time will tell, but remember we're all in this together. Keep searching for your own answers, and let the rest of us know what you find!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
First blog for 545
This is my blog for 545-Teaching with Technology.
I will be posting ideas for Technology projects in science.
I will be posting ideas for Technology projects in science.
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