Lesson

My previous attempt to load this did not work.  Here it is in all its glory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M_MN-KXnpA&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

Rubric for project

Making a Postcard Using the Postcard App

Category	5	4	3	2
Required Elements PA.SRW.1.4.8.D	All required Elements are included	Most required Elements are included	Few required Elements are included	Several required Elements are missing.
Content – Accuracy PA.H.8.1.12.D PA.H.8.4.9.A.	All facts presented are accurate and reflect depth of understanding	Most of the facts presented are accurate	Only some of facts presented are accurate.	No facts are presented in the project.
Attractiveness ISTE.NETS.2.B.	The use of media is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness.	The use of media is attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness.	The use of media is acceptable.  Project reflects minimal effort.	The use of media is distracting, messy and poorly designed.
Organization ISTE.NETS.4.B.	Project is well thought out and organized	Project is organized	Project seems disjointed and some of the parts appear unorganized.	Project is not well thought out and appears unorganized.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1CcZDUgi40&context=C2773cADOEgsToPDskLMWQGwFqy5LD5Y_xSuFElv

Link to lesson plan video


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQrVIQlCjOk&feature=context&context=C2773cADOEgsToPDskLMWQGwFqy5LD5Y_xSuFElv

Link to 20% project

The 20% Project - Thoughts and Lessons Learned

I got the idea for my 20% project very early in the semester.  The third week of school I filmed my students performing an in class project.  The idea was that they (the students) were all newscasters from the island of create around the year 1800BC.  At the time they were learning about the Minoans and I thought it was a good project to have them present ideas about Minoan culture.  I filmed the assignment to give the students a sense of urgency and to help foster an atmosphere of professional journalism. 
I am glad I filmed it.

Over the course of the past three months I spent my down time creating and editing a cohesive representation of what the students did.  The entire project turned out to be a crash course on editing.  If I have learned anything in this class it is how to edit film in imove. 

I love the final project.  I will be sharing it with my students on the last day of school before the winter break.  I will be filming several other projects throughout the year and turning them into similar films.  I view these projects as digital year books that I can use both as examples to future classes, but also keep as a personal reminder of the reason I do this job...to watch young people engage in and enjoy the power of eduction.  Though I have wanted to pull my hair out at times when I could not get a piece of video just right or find the perfect song, the end result is something that I enjoyed and am proud of.  Not bad for a self proclaimed techno-phobe.

My continued thoughts about the lesson

As I had mentioned in an earlier blog, I had my students create digital post cards.  I have limited resources and was not sure how this would go over so I selected three students to work on the project, bribing them with extra credit.


The project took my students two class periods to complete.  The first class was story boarding the ideas, writing dialogue and collecting images.  The second class was putting them together in imove.  Though I made a few adjustments to the project once it was submitted, the end result is that of the students. 

I ran in to a few snags along the way.  Getting app loaded onto school computers was a hassle...at least that is what the tech lady lead me to believe. Getting the postcards to imove took some ingenuity, (I had the students save the post cards then email them to me.  I opened them up as a photo and dragged and drooped them into the imove on my computer.  All things considered I believe the project was a success.


I will have the students engage in this type of project in the spring.  This will allow to work with the tech department instead of spring it on them.  The main thing is that the students developed a better understanding of the Persian War and had fun doing it.

Lesson Plan for DST project

Dan Ballinger

Lesson and Rubric

Tuesday 7:15-10:00

Essential Question:  What is the impact of the Persian War?

Concept:  Students will be able to identify all five battles of the Persian War.  They will Synthesis a soldiers perspective through a personal narrative based on analysis of primary and secondary sources.

Standards:

PA.H.8.1.12.D.  Synthesis historical events

PA.H.8.4.9.A.    Analyze the significance of individuals and groups who made major political and cultural contributions to world history before 1500AD

PA.SRW. 1.4.8.D.  Maintain a written record of activities, course work, experience, honors and interest

ISTE.NETS.2.B.  Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.

ISTE.NETS.4.B.  Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.

Format

After reviewing in class reading and participating in a discussion on the Persian Wars, students will create a digital log of the Persian War using the postcard app from the app. Store.  Students will present both images and descriptions of the major events/ battles of the Persian wars through the viewpoint of Greek citizens and soldiers.  Post cards will be emailed to dballinger@havsd.net when completed.

All Post Cards Must Include the Following:

·      The five Major battles of the Persian War

·      A accurate description of what took place during the battle

·      Must be less than three minutes in length

·      Must have five post cards from each perspective

o   5 Persian

o   5 Greek

Closure

Students will share their presentations with the class at the conclusion of the project.

Final thoughts

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Editing

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Background

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post your favorite DST app.

Like many of use, I have gotten a lot out of the technology class this past semester.  I am lucky enough to be employed by a school district that is always seek fresh ideas and believes in the value of technology drive education.  I met with one of the schools technology representatives this past Friday and presented a case for the district to invest in a ipad cart for the middle school for next year.  The cart would be a mobile unit that would contain 20-30 ipads.  The school already uses Macs so the persuasion in investing in a sound piece of equipment is not that much of a heavy lift.  I demonstrated what I was doing for my individual project and the tech lady loved it.  Not that my project was that good, but the potential for using apps in the classroom and the dynamic that brings to what has been an entrenched curriculum, was eye opening to her.  She surprised me by how excited she was about the idea.  I have a follow up meeting in about two weeks were I hope to present a laundry list of great apps that can enhance the classroom experience and bring real meaning to the term, student driven curriculum.

If you have time, post some apps that you have discovered.  I am always looking for great apps but I have become even more focused on the implications this could mean for my classroom and the district I serve. 

Post the name of some apps and talk to the tech person at your school.  Good luck.  

iMove and the door scene project

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Postcard App

I wanted to take a moment to share with all the digital story lovers out in the world this great new app that I have started to use.  The app is called Postcard and as you would suspect, allows you to generate and create Postcards.  I know what you are thinking, how can this be considered a DS app?  Allow me to explain.

As a Social Studies teacher I find myself having students engage in a variety of projects and in class activities.  The first assignment I had students complete was to create a series of postcards from soldiers on Sherman’s March to the Sea during the Civil War.  The idea was that the soldiers would write home about what the experience was like, what they saw and how they felt.  This type of activity is something I have had the students create every year since. 

The Postcard app is user friendly and easy to use.  You can up load images, chose from a liberty of images in the app or draw your own image.  For written text, a person simple types what they want to say and hits return.  I like the typing feature because it is easy to read and allows you the normal features of Microsoft word like changing fonts or text size.

Digital Story telling is about creating a story.  A postcard or a series of postcards is a unique way to develop student understanding of a concept while engaging a student to think critically about the material.  So send a postcard or better yet have a student or children create their own and send it to you.

Door scene project

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door project

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Location:Class

Project 2

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Location:Audio in the classroom

Project Blog

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Reflection on Digital Story

Zamid Al Amin has created a compelling story about the rise and fall of his dream.  The six-minute story weaves a gantlet of emotions, starting off as a triumph of drive and determination to follow his on path, breaking with family tradition and securing a position as a journalist in his home country.  This life long passion enabled Zamid to achieve his goal, only to see his dream of becoming a journalist destroyed in the blink of an eye.  The rise, climax and subsequent fall of Zamid resonates a tone of familiarity.  Similar to popular stories from our youth, the evolution of an event and it is subsequent demise; provide a formula that engages the audience.

The true beauty of Zamid’s story is not the harsh reality of the events, but the tonality of its delivery.  Zamid is viewed as beaten and suppressed not pathetic and weak.  The imagery of flowing water helps the story convey a sense of natural progression, a commentary on the world that Zamid resides in.  Glued together by a musical score that invokes the internal pain and struggle that Zamid must feel, the narration and corresponding imagery presents a strong persona, echoing the initial theme of the story of never give up.

A masterpiece.  Zamid has taken the medium of digital story telling, coupled it with compelling journalism and comprised a commentary on the drive of personal achievement and its relationship with the world around him.