This post goes out to Randee, Dru, Sue G., Nancy, Donna, Pam G. Pat D. & Gail D., people who took the Dec 3 workshop with Jane Keyes for grad credit. Below I have copied in the summary of what this course entailed...over and above Randy Yerrick and Vernier Probe training that come of you also took. You all owed this course 6 hours of class work which we all agreed to complete as described below.
Your post here will be your reflection on your experience with this project or using the macbooks with students to create Podcasts, video diaries or whater you chose to do. As always please give a brief summary of what you did and then comment on...
What went well?
What might you do differently next time?
What evidence of student learning did you see?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
What went well? The class I did this Podcast assignment with is small but half of the class is getting As and Bs and the other half is failing. The failing half is a mixture of repeating sophomores, students with a lot of absences, and students who just don't want to do any work. The last time we used the computers, the class worked in groups of 2-3 and the students who usually do their work did well. Those in the failing half were a bit parasitic – some just sat and watched while other students in their groups did the work on the computer. This time, since my class has only 16 students and there are 15 computers in the laptop carts, I created an individual research assignment (if all students attended school during the project, I planned on letting one of the more responsible students use my laptop). I wanted the students to sink or swim on their own merit. When I explained the assignment to the class, some of the failing students actually groaned when they learned they had to do the assignment on their own! This part went very well. All of the students who were present during the project created their own Podcast. I had the students do the research, write the scripts and collect their pictures prior to using the laptops. I signed the laptops out for three days –most were done soon after the third class began. I also borrowed the headphones from another teacher and the sound quality was improved. Even though we had done the digital lab reports, the students still needed to be shown how to record the sound track and import pictures. I still don't think Garageband is as intuitive an application as the experts say.
What might you do differently next time? I posted all of the Podcasts on Moodle and gave the students a comparison chart for them to fill in while they watched the Podcasts outside of class time. I was then going to let them use the comparison chart on a quiz on the genetic disorders. The problem was that unless they had iTunes on their home computers, they couldn't watch the Podcasts. I showed them how to download iTunes from apple.com but either they forgot or it didn't work for them. Some said they were only able to get the audio and didn't see any pictures. Since I'm not very familiar with Apple computers and its applications, I wasn't much help. I ended up using an entire class showing the Podcasts while we filled out the comparison chart together. So what will I do differently? Before we start the project, I'm going to have the students download iTunes to make sure that all of the students can view the Podcasts from home. I'll have a practice Podcast for them to watch to make sure that its working.
What evidence of student learning did you see? The big evidence was that everyone was participating. They were not able to just sit back and let a partner do the work. Each student had to conduct his/her own research, write an original script, find pictures and create the Podcast. When we viewed the Podcasts in class, we would watch a Podcast and then collaborate on filling in the comparison chart. I liked this project and will do it again. With a larger class, I'll have the students work in pairs.
Randee E
I wanted to try another Podcast with my students, focusing on what we didn't cover in the first lesson. But, timing was off. I wanted to get it done this week, but it won't be until later in the year. I instead will do a video diary using Photobooth. I would like the students to reflect on what they learned and give me advice on how to change the lesson for next year. Students are very honest about their feedback, so I am curious to hear their comments. Hopefully, I can learn from it and improve my lesson for next year.
I'm still in the midst of this project, but I'll describe what I'm doing and how it's going. The engineering standards say the students should understand a wide range of communication systems, and be able to apply terms like encoder, transmitter, receiver, decoder, etc. to each. In the past I've tried having the kids do PowerPoints or write booklets, but this time they are doing their research (on one of 15 technologies), then creating a Podcast to share.
The first challenge has to do with how they research their topic (they try to search for "TV" and "decoder" instead of reading about how something works, then applying the terms). I gave them a storyboard template with suggested information hints for each box and space to identify the picture or text -- hopefully that will help.
I'm trying to decide if I should collect and evaluate their scripts before they record (to check for accuracy), or hope my feedback during their research phase is adequate.
I'm also concerned about the pictures preparation. I know other teachers have told students to come in prepared or they don't get to participate on laptop day, but have a high percentage of students who rarely do homework and won't invest in a flashdrive -- so they will try to collect pictures that day. This will be their second time building a podcast, but I'm concerned about how much class time it will take -- and how to deal with the absent partner problem. Any suggestions?
Anticipated learning outcomes: More confidence with the macs and podcasting, and a better understanding of communication systems (their own and others)- MCAS is just one month away!
Nancy
I actually did a photobook first with two sets of 9th grade students. My goal here was to get these students familiar with the computers so next year the macs won't be so daunting.
The project was to create a photobook of the 4 organic molecule groups we study in 9th grade Biology.
The instructions I used with Judy's suggestions worked pretty well with the students. They were step by step and helped the students get to know the mac's quirks that are different from the regular PCs. Also, saving as a pdf file made the books much easier for the rest of the class to see and for me to make copies that ran like slide shows.
Next time I will have to add info about the size and orientation of the pictures the kids take on the net. Everything seems to need to have extra space around it so the pictures can be manipulated on the pages.
I could see the kids getting to know the information because #1 they were invested in something "new" and both classes had my highest class averages on the exam bso far for this information!
I also did a podcast lesson on genetics with the 10th graders I share with Sue G. We had them make a podcast of the Cat Genetics activity we usually make posters or booklets for. This worked out much better than the posters!!! They had to use PhotoBooth to take pictures of their cats, Keynote to make Punnett square slides, and the internet to find pictures of the types of kittens crossing their cats would yield. Then they put it all in a podcast on Garageband. We are still finishing this up but a few kids have finished and they did a really good job.
I gave each student a very simplified, cut down instruction list to follow. This worked really well for most of the kids. I was able to show them what to do while following the instructions so they began to rely on them to help them and more work was accomplished faster. As for what to do differently next time, I have to make up a different sort of script format for them to follow. This activity needs many slides and the big sheets for pictures and script were too bulky.
Evidence of learning can be seen in the podcasts themselves. The students had to use proper genetic terminology repeatedly and they had to do their Punnetts squares twice each between the scripts and the keynote slides. And they liked doing them too and in class or individual discussions the learning can be seen clearly.
Trish R
I did a lab with my honors chemistry students using gas pressure probes. The students needed to look at the relationship between volume and pressure of a gas. Before initiating the lab I did a short podcast introducing them to LoggerPro and the use of the probes. The lab went very well and they were able to collect good data. After completion of the lab, they went on the make a digital lab report giving a brief introduction on the kinetic molecular theory, the lab setup, their data, an analysis of their data and a conclusion
The evidence of learning was in the content of the digital labs. Most of the labs reports were excellent. They were able to explain their data based on the random motion of molecules.
Unfortunately, I didn’t prep the lab as well as I would have liked due to a snow day the day before the lab. They were able to successfully complete the lab and the digital lab report in 2 double block periods. I then had them post the digital labs on a wiki. Most of the labs went over the 3 minute time frame. I went back and downloaded the labs onto iMovie and cut and pasted to the one complete lab with all the desired aspects and got the time down to 2 ½ minutes. I then uploaded my revised lab onto the wiki and showed it to the students. They enjoyed seeing parts of their podcast into my sample digital lab.
I decided to use the macbooks with my English 11 class to help with the study of The Great Gatsby. Typically, my students become very interested in the characters of the books we read and so I thought a character analysis would work well. We brainstormed character traits and then assigned them to the different characters in the book. Then students chose a character to focus on with their partner and each partner chose one trait. They described two scenes/events in the book/film that showed this trait and quoted either the character or Fitzgerald.
They recorded three separate video diaries as they completed this process. The first identified the character and the number of traits that this character displayed throughout the book. They then discussed and decided which ones to focus upon. The second spoke to the events in the book/film which could connect to their trait and the third was a joint effort/reading of their introduction, one scene each, conclusion and reflection.
What went well?
Students really liked Photo Booth and recording themselves though the girls were shy about it at first. For the most part, students followed the directions and took guidance in terms of how to record their conversations and the value of having a script (loose) to keep them focused. They also got into the habit of listening to themselves and deciding whether to re-record certain parts or the whole thing.
Another thing that went well was their increasing level of comfort using the laptops. They got used to the routine and are becoming proficient at this particular application and process.
What might you do differently next time?
I think that next time I will have students do their own because we lost too much time with absenteeism and partners not having their part done, etc. So, next year I will have them do a quick activity nearly identical in format to explore character traits maybe from their summer reading or from our first work of literature. I believe that this will go much more quickly and it will certainly be easier to assess.
What evidence of student learning did you see?
I saw incredible student learning and growth from this activity and using this technology. Students were motivated to speak about their characters and they were eager to show what they knew about the people, events and the story line in general. Some students really got into the reflection part and offered their opinions about characters and their motivations. Some students were very critical of some of Fitzgerald's characters and their ways and it was very interesting to hear teenagers speak about the immaturity and selfishness of adults.
Finally, I think that when students submit their recorded voices as part of the grade that they do make a more concerted effort at better writing. Students were encouraged to record, listen, edit, rewrite, record again as many times as they could within the time given to improve their projects. Teachers listened and offered suggestions which some noted and others did not. I will use this approach again with this group and with my new group as well.
What went well?
I worked on a podcast with an English class. The students worked in groups and were assigned topics assigned by the teacher that were related to the book, Of Mice and Men, that the class is reading. I first came into the class and showed them a completed podcast, then showed them what it looks like in Garageband. I think that this helped because only a few had any idea what was involved in putting one together. They were then assigned, as homework, to write the script and the following class they were asked to collect the pictures. Because of the block schedule the class meets every other day, so I didn’t come back until Friday. This is an honors class, so all had completed the assignment. The eighty-minute block gave them enough time to put it together; there is the difficulty of background noise when recording.
What might you do differently next time?
Unfortunately the teacher didn’t require them to create a citation page. Next time I would strongly urge her to require one, especially since these are honors juniors who will be expected to cite sources when they go to college. Somehow, because the project is not a “paper”, there is no need. Also, I need to find a way to address the background noise issue without having kids spread out outside the classroom. The pictures could have been better. Before they start I need to point what size and shape pictures work best without a lot of editing.
What evidence of student learning did you see?
All of the students were very engaged. Whether that translated into a better understanding of Steinbeck’s book is something that may be demonstrated as they discuss the book.
Post a Comment