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Transliteracy- QR Codes and Art

Transliteracy is defined on Wikipedia as

The ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. The modern meaning of the term combines literacy with the prefix trans-, which means “across; through”, so a transliterate person is one who is literate across multiple media.

Ryan Nadel, in an interview on Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning, defines transliteracy even further:

“The most fundamental notion of transliteracy is the ability to adapt. It’s creating a literacy and fluidity between mediums that’s not tied to space or modality.”

I agree with Ryan: Transliteracy is closely related to “fluency“:

  • the ability to know when to use one media over another
  • the ability to move effortlessly between media
  • the ability to comprehend, build upon, and remix different kind of media
  • the ability to relate, communicate and connect via multiple forms of media
  • moving between media feels: intuitive, unconscious and smooth

Let me share a transliterate learning opportunity with you that I created (Art, iPads, QR codes, Language Arts and Digital Storytelling)  in collaboration with our Art teacher, Mrs. Gutterman and the 4th grade classroom teacher, Mrs. Teitelbaum?

During Art class, fourth graders adapted Vincent van Gogh’s chairs and placed things on and  around them that were important to them.

In Language Arts, students wrote a script, explaining their choices of what they drew and why it was important to them.

We all gathered in the library to record their script as an audio file on the iPad. We used the AudioMemos app (free) to record. Students then emailed the wav file to me.

  1. I then converted the .wav files to mp3 files with Garageband, since I did not know if all mobile devices would play .wav files easily.
  2. These files were then uploaded via FTP to our school’s server
  3. I inserted the URL of each mp3 file into http://goo.gl
  4. Clicked on “Details” to get to the generated QR code
  5. Saved the QR codes as an image file

 

I inserted the images into a page and then printed the QR codes out for the Art teacher to attach them to the original art work.

Now anyone with a QR scanner on their Smartphone, iTouch or iPad walking by the art work, can scan and listen to the student artist’s audio reflection. The next step was to create a poster to catch the attention of the visitors and parents walking by and give a short explanation of what to do with the QR code

 

 

 

Why and How to Participate in Teddy Bears Around The World Project?

I posted a few weeks ago about the ongoing Teddy Bears Around the World (now in its fourth year) project.

The project blog and hub can be be found at http://www.langwitches.org/blog/travel/teddybearsaroundtheworld/

I have created a How-to-Guide in order to articulate how and why to join such a project, to make participation easier and to facilitate the process of passing on the information.

Feel free to forward via email or print out the flyer and hand them to a teacher who might be interested in participating.

Global Project: Teddy Bears Around the World

Teaching English through Film and Screenwriting…

I am honored to be able to cross-post Stephen Wilmarth’s blog post below on Langwitches.
If you are interested to read more about Steve’s International Experimental program at the Number One Middle School in Wuhan, China take a look at:

by Stephen Wilmarth
China has a problem.  It will soon become, if it isn’t already, the largest English speaking country in the world.

This is the result of English being a mandatory subject for every student who graduates from high school and goes on to a university.  The Chinese national college entrance exam, known as the GaoKao, consists of nearly 25% English language related questions, including English grammar, English vocabulary, English sentence structure, and English reading passages.  And the GaoKao is the only criteria used to select students for China’s most prestigious universities.  So, every public high school in China is focused on teaching students English as a second language.  It is a national priority and a national obsession.  In this heated environment, the teaching of language takes center stage.  Questions abound.  Is the teaching of English being effectively accomplished in China?  Why are so many English learners, who score well in English sections on all-or-nothing tests like the GaoKao, unable to “function” in English?  Can an emphasis on the “test” really be a successful strategy for learning a second language that is as different from the Chinese native tongue as English and Mandarin are?

The evidence that the conflict between the “test” and the “need” is not very promising for the current system of teaching methods.  But closing the gap between the need for Chinese students to score high on the GaoKao, while achieving better results in using English in professional and daily transactions with foreigners, does not have an easy or clear answer.

In my own boot-strapping attempt to improve the teaching of English for my students at the International Experimental Class, I’ve made a choice to try and give students a much wider range of active learning options.  I can do this because I’m not bound by the system to prepare my students for higher education in a Chinese institutions.  My students are all focused on going to a university abroad, predominantly to the US.

I offer the following project as an example of one of the kinds of methods that we’re trying.  Observe these artifacts and make your own judgement.  Give me your feedback.  I’m interested in improving the outcome and the methods for achieving better results in language learning.

The Project Description:

A class of 45 students at my school in China were matched up with a class of 20 students at the All Saints Catholic Girls College (high school) in Liverpool (Sydney), Australia.

Each class broke up into teams to make a total of 6 short movies per class – 6 movies made by our Chinese students, and 6 movies produced by the Australian students.  These movies were storyboarded, scripted, filmed, directed, and produced strictly by the students.

The final versions were then stripped of soundtracks – music, dialogue, and sound effects, and the silent versions were exchanged between the schools.  The students were then asked to put their own soundtracks – music, dialogue, and sound effects, into the exchanged silent films.

The culmination of the project is to share both the original versions with sound and the updated versions with sound from the other class.  Students are then asked to analyze the films for cultural, language, and creative differences.

I’ll offer some examples of the work here.  I’m interested in finding “evidence” of learning.  How does making a movie, including storyboarding, scripting, filming, directing, and producing help to improve language and communication skills?  Is there evidence here that language teaching objectives are being met?

This is a clip produced by students at the No. 1 High School Affiliated with Central China Normal University.  The clip is titled “Hide & Seek.”  This first sample is a complete production with sound.

This next version is the same clip, but stripped of all sound, which was passed along to the students in Australia.  It’s now their job to create their own sound track for this video clip.

Here’s one of the versions returned by the students from Australia, with their own “script.”  This is titled “Hide & Seek” by Jennifer, Shalona and Ashmita.

This next clip, titled “Recurring,” turned out to be of great interest to the students in Australia.  It’s dark overtones and desire to “turn back the clock” in order to get a second chance, seems to be a strong theme among students.

Here’s the original version with sound.

Here’s the stripped version without sound.

And here’s one of the versions, titled “Recurring” by Cindy, that were returned by the Australian students, with their own sound track.

Here’s another clip produced by students at the No. 1 High School Affiliated with Central China Normal University.  The clip is titled “Friendship.”

Again, this “theme” seems to run strong in students in every culture.

Finally, here are the remaining clips, with sound tracks, produced by the students at the No. 1 High School Affiliated with Central China Normal University.

“IMAGINE FLYING” by Aqua Group

“Angel Beats” by Grape Group

“A Story About a Dog” by Lime Group

In all cases, I think this project demonstrates to me, at least, that there are common themes that interest teenagers everywhere.  I also think this work shows the strong influences of global “macro” cultures.
I’d be interested in feedback on this project.  This is but one of many projects we’ve run this year, using multi-media channels to help students build a better working knowledge in foreign language and use their creative energies to express complex ideas and feelings.

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Guest Posts

Quality Commenting- Student Guest Post by Zoe M.

zoe

I invite few guest bloggers to share posts on Langwitches. This makes it especially rewarding to be able to present to my readers an incredible young lady. Zoe is growing by leaps and bounds as a blog writer and commenter. She is a fourth grader at the Martin J. Gottlieb …

(3 Comments)

Annotexting

annotexting

The following is a collaborative guest post by Michael Fisher and Jeanne Tribuzzi , of the Curriculum 21 Faculty. The companion LIVEBINDER OF INTERACTIVE TOOLS IS HERE. Expecting students to read deeply and draw meaningful conclusions is at the heart of the Common Core ELA standards. Students are asked to …

(No Comments)

Teaching English through Film and Screenwriting…

YouTube

I am honored to be able to cross-post Stephen Wilmarth’s blog post below on Langwitches. If you are interested to read more about Steve’s International Experimental program at the Number One Middle School in Wuhan, China take a look at: Take a Peek into China’s First 1:1 iPad Class Learning…Young …

(No Comments)

Professional Development

edJEWcon- A Visual Reflection of a New Kind of Conference

edJEWcon-toolkit

I am slowly coming down from an incredible high this past week.  I was part of a team (Andrea Hernandez, Jon Mitzmacher and myself), that envisioned, organized and ran an education LEARNING conference. This was a first  for me, since I have only been a participant an/or  a presenter at such …

(1 Comment)

Action Research- Quadblogging Trailer

If you are interested in following the blogs of the International Action Research teams on “Quality Writing through Blogging”, take a look at the following trailer and visit the classroom and student blogs to see for yourself the progress they are making, draw your own conclusions about blogging with students. …

(2 Comments)

Perspectives and Talking at Cross Purposes

perspective1

Perspective is defined as a mental view or outlook. Your perspective is influenced by so much and luckily is not set in stone. Your life experiences, your learning journey, the people you meet, culture, geographic location and the language you speak contribute to your current perspective. My own perspective  was …

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What am I Reading?

Silvia's bookshelf: currently-reading

Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of GlobalizationLost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live SquidThe World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First CenturySECRETO BIEN GUARDADOThe Digital Diet: Todays Digital Tools in Small BytesFacebook Marketing: An Hour a Day

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Action Research: Quality Writing on Blogs


In the month of March 2012, an International team of 4 elementary school classrooms are conducting Action Research about quality writing through blogging. You can support them by giving them an authentic global audience and modeling quality commenting on their posts.

Here are the participating classrooms with links to student blogs.
International School of Prague (3rd Grade)- Team Czech Republic
International School of Zug and Luzern- Team Switzerland ( 4th Grade)
Martin J. Gottlieb Day School- Team USA (4th Grade)
International School of Bangkok- Team Thailand (5th Grade)

21st Century Learning

The Evolution of the Classroom Schedule

schedule-pencils-1-1

Thank you to Andrea Hernandez for the image of the classroom schedule that inspired me to put the following  visual of the Evolution of the Classroom Schedule together. No Pencil Class> Computer Class> 21st Century Learning > Learning It will take classroom teachers, who understand that “21st Century Learning” cannot …

(No Comments)

Annotexting

annotexting

The following is a collaborative guest post by Michael Fisher and Jeanne Tribuzzi , of the Curriculum 21 Faculty. The companion LIVEBINDER OF INTERACTIVE TOOLS IS HERE. Expecting students to read deeply and draw meaningful conclusions is at the heart of the Common Core ELA standards. Students are asked to …

(No Comments)

The Digital Learning Farm and iPad Apps

iPadApps-DigitalLearningFarm

I previously published a chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy and iPad Apps, which I use regularly when planning projects or look to reinforce certain skills and literacies. Since I also rely heavily on The Digital Learning Farm concept (based on Alan November’s work), I felt it was time to create a …

(23 Comments)

The Digital Learning Farm in Action

The Digital Learning Farm and iPad Apps

iPadApps-DigitalLearningFarm

I previously published a chart of Bloom’s Taxonomy and iPad Apps, which I use regularly when planning projects or look to reinforce certain skills and literacies. Since I also rely heavily on The Digital Learning Farm concept (based on Alan November’s work), I felt it was time to create a …

(23 Comments)

Screencasting Apps for the iPad

Explain Everything

Teaching ourselves, our students and other educators how to use screenshooting (images) and screencasting (video) tools is a relevant skill to have that integrates in so many areas. Think Tutorial Designers (A role from the Digital Learning Farm) or the Flipped Classroom model. Being able to create, share and take …

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The Teacher as a Conductor of an Orchestra

Slide14

Should Teachers Be More Like Conductors? This bog post from 2009 took me to the following TED talk by Itay Talgam. Although I am not a musician, nor listen to much classical music, I was mesmerized. This TED talk was geared towards organization leaders, but I so agree with Tania …

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Global Education

Perspectives and Talking at Cross Purposes

perspective1

Perspective is defined as a mental view or outlook. Your perspective is influenced by so much and luckily is not set in stone. Your life experiences, your learning journey, the people you meet, culture, geographic location and the language you speak contribute to your current perspective. My own perspective  was …

(4 Comments)

Walking the Walk: Action Research

back-up-tak-with-action

I have been blogging for 6 years now… I have written extensively about blogging (131 posts categorized “blogging” on Langwitches) I have shared two guides for teachers to start blogging with their students “Stepping it Up: Learning About Blogs FOR your Students” Part I: Reading Part II A: Writing Part …

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Curriculum21 Podcast Episode with Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay

c21-podcast

I had the opportunity to speak to Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay. Two educators who are making a difference in their students’ lives as well as thousands of other students and teachers from around the world. Vicki is a teacher from Camila Georgia. She blogs on the Coolcatteacher blog and …

(1 Comment)

Blogging With your Classroom

Hyperlinked Writing in the Classroom- From Theory to Practice

what2link2

This is the follow up post to the theoretical Wondering About Hyperlinked Writing. The post ended with Now…on from the wondering, theory and resources…to the practice in the classroom. I am ready to bring hyperlinked writing (and reading) as an important genre into the classroom! Can one just start “throwing” …

(6 Comments)

Wondering About Hyperlinked Writing

typwriter-hyperinked-writing

Almost 4 years ago, I wrote a post on Langwitches titled Teaching Hyperlinked Writing and Reading. 4 years later, many (most?) teachers have not heard, let alone are teaching and coaching their students in the use of hyperlinked writing. The word “hyperlinked” is still being underlined in red as I …

(6 Comments)

Quality Commenting- Student Guest Post by Zoe M.

zoe

I invite few guest bloggers to share posts on Langwitches. This makes it especially rewarding to be able to present to my readers an incredible young lady. Zoe is growing by leaps and bounds as a blog writer and commenter. She is a fourth grader at the Martin J. Gottlieb …

(3 Comments)

iPads

EdTalk- Educators Talk About Learning: Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano: iPads in education

EDtalks

I was honored to be interviewed by EdTalks- Educators talk about Learning, while speaking at Learning@School 12 in Hamilton, NZ this past January, about iPads in Education. Speaking at Learning@School 12, 21st Century learning specialist Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano asks the question: is the iPad a tool to transform learning, or a …

(1 Comment)

iPad Apps and Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom iPads Apps

I felt it was worthwhile to update the Top Post (over 25,000 views) on Langwitches: Bloom’s Taxonomy for iPads I have added links to each app represented on the visual.   Remember: Exhibit memory of previously-learned materials by recalling facts, terms, basic concepts and answers. describe name find name list …

(6 Comments)

My Ten Most Used Apps to Become Fluent on the iPad

ipad

It is no secret, that I enjoy my iPad tremendously. I even proclaimed, now and then, that I love it! From the beginning, I approached the iPad with one goal in mind: I wanted to become fluent in using it. There is a distinct difference, in my opinion, between being …

(4 Comments)

Digital Storytelling

Transliteracy- QR Codes and Art

qr-code-jamie

Transliteracy is defined on Wikipedia as The ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. The modern meaning of the term combines literacy with the prefix trans-, which means …

(11 Comments)

Why and How to Participate in Teddy Bears Around The World Project?

TBAW-project

I posted a few weeks ago about the ongoing Teddy Bears Around the World (now in its fourth year) project. The project blog and hub can be be found at http://www.langwitches.org/blog/travel/teddybearsaroundtheworld/ I have created a How-to-Guide in order to articulate how and why to join such a project, to make …

(3 Comments)

Teaching English through Film and Screenwriting…

YouTube

I am honored to be able to cross-post Stephen Wilmarth’s blog post below on Langwitches. If you are interested to read more about Steve’s International Experimental program at the Number One Middle School in Wuhan, China take a look at: Take a Peek into China’s First 1:1 iPad Class Learning…Young …

(No Comments)