Monday, April 2, 2018

Video Production

The latest assignment that I have ben asked to complete for my Master's class was a video production task.  My cohorts and I were asked to plan and produce a video that helped relay a message to a certain audience.  As with other projects in course, the assignment was broke into stages.  We had a couple of weeks to set a purpose, create a storyboard, and film and edit a video. 

I am a planner.  I enjoy the planning stage of most anything (vacation, a project, a party, etc.) almost more than the activity itself.  I have experience with storyboards.  This stage of the process enjoyable for me.

The actual production of the video was much more of a challenge for me.  First of all, finding time to stage and tape was an obstacle.  I had a very hard time getting the sound to the quality that I felt comfortable with.  I tried several different tools (iPhone in the pocket, ear buds with a mic, and an echo phone) but I was still not happy.  I decided to be creative and make a video of stills instead.

I was confident that I was still portraying a meaningful message.  I decided the lack of action video was out weighed by the emotion if the images and the music that I chose to accompany it.  This is also a more manageable project for me to use with my 4th graders than a live video would be. 


Monday, February 19, 2018

The Project that Inspired

My most recent assignment that I completed during my course work for my Master's in Instructional Technology was to create an audio recording that told a story.  I really like how this class scaffolds the projects.  For example, for this particular assignment, we began with one week for writing the story.  I decided to write about a personal experience, hoping that would help when I went to "tell" it rather than "read" it.  I would suggest this to future students, as well.  As I wrote, I tried to remind myself that my audience was going to be listeners ONLY.  They would have no prior knowledge of the situation or any visuals to aid in the understanding.  I continued to write making sure that I appealed to the senses, using words that created a scene in the minds of those that were listening.


That's when my inspiration hit me.....I could use this assignment with my 4th grade ELP students when we do the Figurative Language Unit.  I am continually searching for ways for them to show me they can effectively use Figurative Language and this would be a perfect assessment!  I know they could handle a modified version of this step......I am wondering about the next part, though. 


Our next task was to design and produce an audio file using a platform such as Soundtrap or Garage Band.  I worked my way through this step with a little help from my daughter who will soon begin her college career at ISU.  She will be minoring in music technology so I thought this was right up her alley!  I really paid close attention to the difficulty I had as an unexperienced user learning for the 1st time.  She is by no means a certified teacher, but she does know the the technology part.  If I could follow along and learn from her, I was confident my gifted students and I could do the same at school.  


After a few short tutorials, I was well on my way, creating tracks and loops independently.  I spent a good amount of time on the project trying to make it enjoyable for listeners (4 Hours).  I got to a point where I just had to say enough is enough and I submitted it.  I know that the population of students that I work with are characteristically perfectionist, and I could see this being an obstacle for them to get through during this project.

I am excited that I have yet again completed an assignment that I can use in my classroom!  I experienced some struggles (learning something new, knowing when to stop, and applying what I know to a project that I am intimidated by) which will help me anticipate where they may need support.  I can't wait to see what they come up with!




Wednesday, February 7, 2018

It's all in a NAME

The old saying states that a picture is worth a 1000 words......so why do I need to literally put WORDS on my photos?????  Well, for one, that was the assignment that I was asked to complete.  Unfortunately, I am THAT student who doesn't just do things because I am asked to do them.  I try to find meaning and PURPOSE in everything I do.  And for this task, this is what I came up with.....



A photographer can take pictures for many different reasons.  Just like authors, their work can persuade, inform, or entertain.  If I put that together with the fact that a picture is worth a 1000 words, it became obvious that although my photos had a clear message to me, they could be interpreted very differently depending on the audience.  The words that I chose to describe me and the photos I chose to illustrate them made perfect sense to me.  By titling the photos effectively, I gave the audience very little room to image any other purpose for my art.  

Now that I understood my purpose, I needed to execute my titling effectively.  I considered fonts, color schemes, placement, and effects when creating a title for each of my photos.  For each one, I thought I had it nailed from the start...."This is a piece of cake!"  Ummm.....not so much!  I tweaked and edited and polished over and over until I felt the title reflected the word meaning to ME.  My words are HELPFUL and CREATIVE.  I wanted to make sure that the viewer knew what those words meant to me in particular. 

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Digital Photography




This semester, I start two new courses.  One of those is centered around planning and producing instructional media.  Our first assignment challenged us to look at the way we view and take photographs differently.  Personally, the most challenging aspect of this assignment was putting all of the pieces together.  We were asked to look for the Principles of Photographic Literacy while we were searched for stills that represented some of our personality traits.  I tried hard to use naturally occurring scenes for my stills, which got a little tricky when incorporating the Principles as well. 


As I reflect on the process I went through during this assignment, I would definitely read the entire assignment before I began taking pictures.  I was GUNG HO.....immediately taking pictures that exemplified the Principles of Photographic Literacy.  Unfortunately, none of them met the criteria for the second half of the assignment :(




        


I would have found it beneficial if I would have been exposed to some digital photography editing programs beforehand.  I used what I was comfortable with, iPhoto, but I know there are other options that may have given me some more options. 





To the future Cohort Members:  HAVE FUN!!!!  Sometimes we get lost in the hustle and bustle of life.  We don't take time to stop and smell the roses.  This assignment had it's learning goals but it is also exhilarating!  Use this opportunity to look closely at the parts of our lives that create beauty.  Use these things as inspiration for relaying a message or telling a story. 
      

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Global Collaboration: What I have Learned

At the elementary level, we do a great deal of instruction that does not directly involve a reading or math curriculum.  One of the areas we focus on is working collaboratively in a group.  Students as young as kindergarten can state the importance of listening, patience, cooperation, and flexibility when working with a team. 
One would think that if you are teaching and encouraging this on a daily basis, an individual be somewhat of an expert in the area.  After my global collaboration project for a graduate course, I felt like that was not the Image result for frustratedcase for me.

The content was not a challenge for me.  Our topic was one that I am passionate about.  I am comfortable with all of the tools and resources we used.....I LOVE Powtoon!  I found the the hardest things for me were the skills I work on with K-4 kids everyday.......


In order for this project to be successful, I needed to become more regular at checking my UNI email.  I do not check it daily.  Up to this point, I checked it once a week.  That was not enough when it come to collaborating with a team cross-country.  I have added my UNI email to my bookmarks bar so that I see it everyday.  That has been a good reminder when I am on my computer Monday-Friday.


As a working mother that is very involved in the community, my calendar is PACKED!!!!!  Between PTO, band competitions, violin lessons, and teacher leadership, I am gone almost every night of the week.  I have made my Thursday night classes a priority but making time to meet with 2 other groups throughout the week was difficult for me.  I am fortunate enough to have an extremely understanding family, but I felt like I had little flexibility when it came to scheduling group Zoom meetings.  I recognize that this was an area where I let my team down, but I am not really sure how I could have created that flexibility without compromising even more of my family obligations.

My teammates did a great deal of the work for this project.  I know that I was patient and open to any and all of their ideas.  I gave feedback and provided some data that helped guide our process.  I need to be comfortable with the fact that I did not take on a leadership role for this project.  That is outside of my comfort zone.  Historically, I am the member of the group that takes charge.  I feel anxious and often have little faith in the rest of my team to do things correctly on their own.  I see this as an area that I made improvements.  I did not loose sleep at night worrying about the progress of the project.  I was confident that my team was putting together something that we were all proud of.  In the end...I was right!



Monday, October 23, 2017

Team work makes the DREAM work

Collaboration is an educational key word right now.  Wether you are discussing Professional Learning Communities (PLC's), Standards Referenced Reporting (SRR), Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS), or Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) collaboration with team mates and colleagues is present.  Besides helping us manage the alphabet soup of initiatives, collaboration builds relationships and groups that develop into a positive work environment.  All of the collaboration we do within our schools and districts is no doubt beneficial to students and teachers.  Global Collaboration is a tool that teachers rarely use but can be advantageous to teacher and student learning as well as the betterment or society as a whole.

This week, I have embarked on a global collaboration project with some students from the University of Massachusetts.  Technology is a huge component of making this collaboration successful.  We are fortunate to live in a day and age where we can meet through Zoom.  The Google Drive has also been helpful for keeping track of notes and contact information.  I have been named the scheduler of the group so I will use Doodle a great deal.  Our end result will be a professional learning opportunity that can be shared with individuals anywhere in the world.  I am excited to learn more about the gender gap in STEM.  I am also excited to work on this project with students with different life experiences and perspectives.

After a few weeks of collaborating, we have come across some great success and some obstacle as a group.  It has been wonderful to see our team members use their strengths to help the production of the video move forward.  It has also been helpful having 2 professors that we can ask questions or bounce ideas off of.  The UMASS students seem to have a good relationship with their instructor, which has been helpful.  They see her twice a week (face-to-face), so they are able to get real time feedback and clarification for our group.  This is helpful because we only meet once a week in a Zoom setting.  Although I see all of these items as positives, they each have a flip side, as well.

Each professor went into this global collaboration project with the best intentions.  Each of them had their own expectations for the project.  Unfortunately, the expectations that have been passed on to the students has also been a little scattered.  When feedback is coming from two places, the message gets a little fuzzy.  That has resulted in some confusion amongst the groups.  We have found that by letting the UMASS students take the lead, they feel more comfortable with meeting the expectations of Dr. Trust.  This creates some mixed feelings for the UNI Grad students.  I know that personally, I feel like I am sitting back and doing very little to complete this project.  My cohort members have expressed similar frustrations, going so far as to contemplate dropping the course of study.

I appreciate the opportunity to struggle a bit as a student.  It has definitely been a challenge when it comes to scheduling meetings, and understanding expectations.  This project has encouraged me to be flexible, understanding, and open-minded.  So far, I have also developed my skills as a problem-solver.  It would be easy to just quit.  I would be able to throw my hat in with little to no consequences.  But I am persevering.... just like I ask my students to do.   

Monday, October 9, 2017

My Gaming Experiment

Play a video game for 3 hours.  That is the assignment that I have been given for this week.  My 9 year old son would LOVE and assignment of this nature, but me, not so much.  I know that the average gamer is 32 and 1/2 of those playing games are women, but I have never been one to sit and do anything for a large amount of time. 

I am a rule follower, so I choose one of the games, Food Street to play on Sunday.  I chose this game because it reminded me of a show that I watch with my family, The Great Food Truck Race.  If any game could create a FLOW for me, this would be it.  I found a comfy spot and I got started.

To begin, players are walked through a tutorial.  This is helpful but monotonous.  I was soon bored with the slow pace and took a break from the game.  I was not fully absorbed at this point, but I would try again.....

This time I sat down with some goals in mind:

*  How does this game relate to learning?
       -  This simulation most closely connects to mathematics as far as I can tell.  Players use their knowledge of money, estimation, adding, subtraction, multiplication, and division in order to be successful.  There is also a reading component to the game, which I particularly liked because of the relevance it puts on reading and its value beyond school.

*  How does this change my ideas about gaming?
       -Unfortunately, this experience did not change my thoughts about gaming a whole lot.  I have always understood that certain games can be thought of as educational in one way or another.  Minecraft, for example, is a simulation that uses exploration, strategy, and judgement to problem solve.  When putting these components to work, there are consequences, either good or bad.  This follows the the Taxonomy Alignment for Gaming very closely.
And all of that is wonderful and essential, but I have a hard time tying this to my standards and skills for 4th graders.  I DO see a benefit for gaming, I am not sure of its place in the classroom, though. 

*  What are the thought processes I go through to problem solve throughout the game?
       -In order to work my way through this game, I had to analyze the cause and effect relationship of many factors.  Also, I had to prioritize needs and wants.  These are all great practices for people of all ages.

This platform was easy for me, a non gamer, to play.  I teach 4th grade, and I believe that they would agree that this game does not pose much of a challenge.  I know that they would quickly become absorbed in the game because of the real-life connections they can make.  However, I am not sure that they would benefit academically from the experience and they may loose interest quickly.

Video Production

The latest assignment that I have ben asked to complete for my Master's class was a video production task.  My cohorts and I were asked ...