As promised here is the follow up video to the trailer from my previous post Bringing a 1:1 iPad Program to China. I am back in the US now and am trying to sort through and make connections to my experiences from the past 2 weeks.

Taking videos and pictures while we were traveling in China… has helped me tremendously in reflecting on these experiences. Choosing the right images (from over 1000 files between Mike and my Flickr account) and then editing the movie was an integral part of my learning experience.

1:1 iPad Initiative in Wuhan, China from langwitches on Vimeo.

What are your thoughts when viewing the video? What parallels can you draw to education in the US? What implications do you see for the global future of our students?

I can’t stop thinking about Digital Storytelling and its role in schools of the future. Digital Storytelling naturally weaves through so many 21st century upgrades to the curriculum. The importance of being able to tell a story, the skills to be able to tell a story digitally, is increasing with the need to

• disseminate the story further and reach a wider audience
• amplify our voice to an authentic audience
• make our story available in different media channels

As the tools for digital storytelling are becoming more sophisticated and at the same time easier to use, in terms of mobility and price, the opportunity to produce a quality, professional looking story are within the reach of “even” elementary school students.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a Green Screen for under $20 (Chromakey muslin background) and pinned it to the wall in my room.

Students were naturally curious about the green screen and immediately got excited as I showed them what was possible with test recordings of them… sending them to the moon… making them stand in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris… all without even leaving our school campus.

The third grade teacher immediately jumped on board as she was preparing her Social Studies unit on “Our Community”. We decided that students would create another episode of the Seminole Swamp Morning News Show.

In addition to creating a storyboard and writing the script for the show “Jacksonville for Kids by Kids”, students had to think of an appropriate setting by choosing an image that would replace the green screen they would be filmed in front of. Their imagination was not limited by any field trip budgets or time constraints.

Collaborative Storyboarding with Screenshots

We practiced a few times in front of the green screen to show kids how to interact with the “not visible to them” background as I was filming them.  They got the hang of it pretty quick.

Take a look at the final video and pay special attention to the Florida map and the alligator a the zoo. I chose to use the webcam in my macbook to directly record into iMovie in order to minimize any movement while filming. We also tested out different clothing colors on students to see which ones would work best with the green screen. Bright pink, white and purple seemed to be a great combination, while green and blue had some issues to transform students into see-through ghosts.

Take a look at the finished story of our third graders (news show format) to teach others about the community they live in. Remember again, that the green screen and iMovie was just the tool to get the kids excited and motivated while at the same time supporting their creativity in script writing.

I completed the 365/2010 Photo Challenge- My biggest challenge was to upload and name each image correctly in order to be added to my Flickr 365/2010 set. Somehow some images got lost in the shuffle or are out of order. I will need to find a better technique for the next time. I might use a service like Shuttercal for the project.

Here is the video of my year (2010) in images.

I order to save time and space when uploading images to your blog, it is necessary to “RESIZE” your images.

You can download the How-To-Guide to Resizing Images for your Blog here. (pdf)

Like other digital files, images are being measured in bytes

The higher the number of pixels, the sharper the image and the larger you “could” print the image. Since we are uploading the image to the blog, there is no need to upload an image with a pixel size larger than 600 pixels in width. Usually the blog theme will not accommodate a larger pixel width than that. In addition most monitors will not show a difference in the image quality anyway.

How do you re-size an image?

The easiest way is to use a screencapture software, such as Skitch (mac) or Jing Project (PC).

http://skitch.com http://www.techsmith.com/jing/

(For this How-To-Guide, we will be using Skitch)

Once the software is installed on your computer.

1. Open up the image on your screen (with iPhoto, Finder or Explorer) and make sure it shows the exact size you want it to be on your blog.

You might have to use the Command + or – (mac), Ctrl + or – (PC)  or adjust your window to resize the image on your screen.

2. Now open up Skitch

3. Click on “Snap to start.

4. A Crosshair will appear.

5. Place Crosshair in upper left corner and drag a rectangle over the area you want to capture. Let go of mouse or trackpad to snap the image. You will hear a “picture taking” sound.

6. Drag and adjust the lower right hand corner of window to resize the image. Keep an eye out on the dimensions displayed on the lower left hand side.

7. Name the new image

8. Drag the image to your Desktop or to another place in your Finder.

9. Upload image to your blog by browsing to that location.

Aristotle says:

Teaching is the highest form of understanding

Alan November, in the book Curriculum 21 by Heidi Hayes Jacobs,  lists “Tutorial Designers” as one of the six new roles to develop empowered learners.

If these two educators , separated by over 2000 years in history, are right… then we should be pushing students to do just that. We need to give them opportunities to become teachers.

The creation and maintenance of the Math Wiki by our Middle Schoolers was the perfect platform to expose students to an array of design tools to create tutorials for their classmates and other math students around the world.

Take a look at the following tools used and student examples.

Animoto

• Math Music Videos

Microsoft PowerPoint

PowerPoint

SmartBoard Notebook

SmartBoard Notebook

SmartBoard Notebook

• Math Lesson?-Empower Learners?

Skitch/ Jing

• Screenshot software

Using Skitch

Google Docs Drawing

Google Docs-Drawing

Google Earth

Google Earth

iMovie/MovieMaker

Student Created Tutorials from langwitches on Vimeo.

Garageband or Vocaroo (web based recording)

Visual literacy is defined by Wikipedia:

Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be “read” and that meaning can be communicated through a process of reading.

I believe that visual literacy cannot only include the ability of “reading” a picture, but needs to also include the ability of “writing”/creating images, that represent a thought, idea and concept.

Coming from a Web Designer background and having been a PhotoShop-user for the past 15 years, PowerPoint presentations that had slides with clashing colors, animated non related clipart zooming noisily into each slide with transitions that made my head hurt and my designer heart bleed. As always, the villain is not the program (the tool), it is what we do with the tool. Then I started reading  Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery
by Garr Reynolds and it struck a chord with me. My latest presentations are attempts to create slides according to his model.

I also would recommend watching Kim Cofino ‘s stunning “Designing Compelling Presentations” and her other presentations she generously shares on Slideshare.net using the Presentation Zen model.

Currently I am in the process of reading Reynold’s second book Presentation Zen Design: Simple Design Principles and Techniques to Enhance Your Presentations

Garr Reynolds points out that

we live in a time in which knowledge of design and visual communication skills are increasingly valued.

I decided a few weeks ago to read a book (Curriculum 21) , then create visuals of quotes, summaries and concepts from it. I wanted to experience if I could remember, categorize and learn visually from the book by creating.

As I am thinking about how I can represent a concept or a quote, I am making connections. As I am looking for images that will show what I am visualizing, these connections are being stretched and are expanding. One search for an image that represents “disseminate” washes up results for “blowing dandelions”. A visualization that I would have not thought of before.

You can check out wonderful examples of other educators creating visuals at the “Great Quotes about Learning” Flickr group. Great inspiration and discussion starters.

I am working on a blog post to show step by step the logistics of how I create images. Stay tuned if you are interested.

Curriculum 21 by Heidi Hayes Jacobs

You must have noticed that I have been reading and re-reading “Curriculum 21″ by Heidi Hayes Jacobs. I have posted my first impressions and recommendation here and since then have joined and written about the companion Ning to the book here. I created a Flickr Curriculum 21 group to have a hub for images and videos of Curriculum21 teaching and learning examples.

I was inspired by quotes from the book to write the following blog posts Geography is a Separate Subject. Really? and  Isn’t the Answer Anymore, It is the Question!

Curriculum 21 is a book that is just FULL of information, ideas, thoughts, research, recommendations and exactly about the change in education, life, skills, literacies, and global competencies I am contemplating and working for.

Unfortunately, the book is not available as a Kindle Edition, which means, I am relying on sticky notes and highlighters as a way to make the rows and rows of text more appealing to my visual eye as well as a way to find passages and quotes more quickly later on.

Stickies and Highlights

I am conducting an experiment about my own learning style. How can I read this book and best:

• filter out the information that I want to keep?
• make connections to my previous thoughts, ideas and blog posts?
• remember quotes from different chapters?
• make the text content more visual for my brain?

I am eager to find out:

• Will I be able to learn about the content of the book differently/better/easier/?
• Will I be able to “see” connections that with the text alone I did not?
• Will the process of looking for and selecting the right image that will represent the quote make me think “deeper” about what the quote us trying to say?
• Will the sum of the quotes I selected from the book tell a story in itself?

I wonder how my personal experiment will turn out… but in the meantime, please take the time to share:

• How do you learn best from a book?
• Highlighting, taking notes, talking/discussing it with someone ?
• Do my visuals help you visualize what Curriculum21 is about?
• Do the slides do nothing for you?
• Do the visuals give you a different point of view, than when you were reading the text alone?
• Are you interested in reading Curriculum 21 (if you have not done so) because of the visual “Preview”?
• What opportunities do you give your students to learn from a a book?

I know, I know… you probably are a member of several Nings, that you don’t have the time to keep up with… but here it goes anyway…another recommendation for a very promising Ning.

Curriculum 21 Ning

You might have read my book review and summary of Curriculum 21 by Heidi Hayes Jacobs. I am continuing to read, explore and makes sense of the content of the book by creating visuals out of quotes and experimenting with different tools in order to connect the information presented by the various contributing authors. The reason I am so excited is that I am witnessing the change of upgrading units/lesson plans/activities/assessments little by little in front of my eyes at my school. It is VERY exciting!

I created a Curriculum21 Flickr Group in order to create a central place for members to contribute their own images and video clips that display and exemplify teaching, learning, lessons, ideas, demonstrations and outcomes of 21st Century Curriculum. I challenge you to dig through your images, upload them to Flickr and share with the Curriculum21 Group.

Also consider joining the Curriculum21 Ning to add YOUR experiences, expertize, questions  and discussions to a growing number of passionate educators who are moving in the right direction.

Middle School students are working hard on their Math Wiki. They are using a variety of tools to create tutorials (Garageband, SmartBoard Notebook, PowerPoint, Animoto).

Their latest creation to be embedded into the Wiki were Animoto Music Videos.

They created PowerPoint slides, then exported them as jpg files to be imported into Wiki were Animoto
Students are learning presentation skills and tools as they are designing the slides to create specific tutorials for math definitions and concepts they are learning in class.

“By learning you will teach;by teaching you will understand.”
~ Latin Proverb

To teach is to learn twice.
~Joseph Joubert, Pensées, 1842

Not only are students organizing their own thoughts and teaching each other, but they are also becoming web publishers who are inspiring and teaching math students around the world.

As they were working on the slides, we learned many things about presentation design:

• don’t use too much text on one slide. If you must have more text, duplicate the slide once or twice to be able to give the reader more time.
• use as many relevant visuals as you can.
• use arrows to point to explanations and help the viewer focus in on what you are trying to explain
• make sure you don’t place text/titles too close to the edges of the slides, as they tend to be out of the frame, when Animoto pans across the slide.
• use contrasting colors
• use bigger font sizes
• less on a slide is better

Here are some of their Animoto examples:

The Year: 2010

The Challenge: Take one photograph every day for 365 days.

Display them on my 365/2010 Challenge blog and on my Flickr 365/2010 set.

Joined the EdTech 365/2010 Flickr Group

Purpose: Digital storytelling through photo blogging and to grow as a photographer

Equipment: iPhone and Canon Rebel XS

If you are participating yourself in a 365 Photo Challenge, leave a link to your Flickr set or photo blog to be added to the link list.