Success

Students always need more time. Especially with video projects, in which I gave them 3 reminders of when they had to have things due. I gave them reminders each class of where they should be at, what they should have done. Come due date, 8 students of 28 had them ready. Two more turned theirs in two days later. It frustrated me that I try many ways to tell them to get work in on time and properly done, yet they still do not measure up.

On the other hand, blogging has been quite successful with my students. My juniors worked hard and were engaged by the discussion and responses of blogging, though it was used more as a discussion forum.

Videos One More Time

I really enjoyed doing the video activity with my students. They were certainly entertained and engaged throughout the assignment. Most finished their videos, while other got stuck at the crucial final editing stage: merging the sound and film. All in all, though, it seemed like a great assignment and I made a much-improved product over years past.

Video Editting!

Here is one example of students all working on the filming portion of my Rwandan Genocide video editing assignment. Students had to choose video clips from stock video and then record their own scripts using Audacity. This class worked really hard on this assignment and I made sure that they would be placed in groups they would be comfortable with. Below is a better example of one such group recording their voiceovers.

Video Editting

I am creating an assignment that involves using clips to be made into a voice-over podcast. PBS had responded to me regarding using their footage, so I need to just crop the clips into small sections and get rid of the sound. This attempt is a complete shot in the dark into how this will turn out, but I am only experimenting with one class. Any advice from my faithful viewers?

So Far, So Good

Thus far into the online conversations in my blog, I have noticed some students really taking off in discussing and arguing their opinions. I had several underachieving students tell me they enjoy blogging and discussing ideas in a non-threatening environment. If you would like to take a look, the blog is http://chsjohnson.blogspot.com

Taking a Stab

I created my own blog for student use, dealing mainly with the use of the Atomic bomb. Students really took to writing their opinions and discussing the ideas. However, some students need to have semantic lessons as they can be pejorative without realizing it with such comments as ", son" or ", pal" etc that, in text, can be taken poorly.

This shows to me that this type of activity is certainly possible and doable as many students were entertained and engaged. I certainly am going to try one for World Geography.

Video Editing

I have been thinking about a project I have done every year that was successful in retention, failure in assignment. It is about the Rwandan Genocide for World Geography. I have done a research paper (all of 1 page), a news article, and last year I tried making a video that bombed as students are horrible at doing things on time and efficiently.

After seeing video editing as a significant part of the video making process, perhaps I can control better the content by having students not film, but voice over stock footage of the genocide. I would find and have available multiple clips and have students order them however they want and tell the story as they see fit.

Wikis and the Classroom

I always think of ways to improve, most of that means in the classroom. I think of what I could have done better, cool games, activities, stupid, funny or critical things kids said; all kinds of stuff. When I was introduced to the Spotsylvania County Online Resource for Education (SCORE), I immediately looked at all the possible things I could do with it. There were crosswords, quizzes, tests, etc. There were also wiki options.

I set up the wiki and have played around with its features, but I have yet to implement it. Thanks to the model set up and the reading, I think I have figured out what I need to do. My biggest stumbling block was figuring out how to set up the wiki. As modeled, the pages were previously set up and then we added to the pre-setup pages. Some people made the links to other posts. Seeing that with basic wiki information, a large group of people CAN make a wiki, why not try it with students?

Now I need to consider actual implementation. I was thinking of taking my mid-term review--a list of geography terms and IDs--and having students choose what they want to post on. If they make the entries in a standardized format, others can edit, hyperlink, and proofread previous posts. Hopefully, students will become possessive and proud of their collected knowledge. I am thinking of doing this for SOL review just before SOL time comes around.

My First Post

One of my first things I did in my anxious weeks before my first teaching assignment, I went on a technology binge of class-specific online resources. I created an AOL instant messenger address for just teaching, I created a wiki for my classes, and I created a class blog. I was very hopeful going into my first year teaching to bring such new technologies into education.... Of course, I walk into my first year teaching and barely am able to keep up with Geography and Government. I quickly forgot about the blog because of my time being used up for lesson planning and other basics.

I see blogging as a potential educational tool. I think I need a little push in the right direction to make it work well in my classroom.