Creating Movie Titles-304

Friday was a very productive day. Ms. Moran worked with 304 and the ELL students to help the mentors create movie titles. The ELL students received a brand new Lap Top Cart and we will be moving all the movies into their computers this week to edit them together with Ms. Kubinyi's class. THe students loved being a part of a media world that was so new to them. Slowly they are breaking away from their shyness!!!Happy Holidays to all!!!

304 creating Movie Titles

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Day 6 – Website Ahoy!

We actually have a name for our website and a holding place on the web. The name, selected by students voting, is Book Wizard, which seems like a great start. Students who are artistically inclined may create a logo over the holidays and we will vote on the best logo on January 7, 2011. Logo’s must be no more than 5” long and 2” high and must include the “Book Wizard” name. 

Here is a brief summary, by grade:

• First – All groups finished recording, except one group in which both students were absent. Ms. Hamlin will catch them up next week. Students are now looking for images to put into their podcasts and finishing up the keynotes. Podcasts will be imported into the keynotes and saved as movies. Ms. Hamlin will create “Pages” documents for the web pages, as students will most likely not have time this round.
• Second – Students were very excited about their second interview with the author of Jack the Cat is very Brave. Groups are just finishing up their second storyboards. Next up, students will create fun interactive online games related to their books to add to the website.
• Third –Because we are using new computers we had to spend a little time setting up new log ins. We didn’t have the adapter for the projector, so students had to practice their listening skills to get the job done.  Then, students in Ms. Schembri’s class introduced their partners in Ms. Kubinyi’s class to iMovie. We began to add titles and credits to the movie. Students were left with the task of finding background images to use with the green-screen video.
• Fourth – Audio files have all been re-recorded and most of the images are in place. Next, students learned how to add sound effects and music into their podcast. We discussed how to select appropriate sounds and how to use “ducking” to make sure sounds and music didn’t overtake our voiceovers. Next, students are being asked to  use “Pages” to create their web pages.
• Fifth – We had an extended period today as fifth grade was introduced to Dreamweaver. In this lesson students learned how to create an html page in their folder, insert the JPG image onto the html page, resize the jpg, create a layer on top of them image, and insert a movie into that layer so that when you open the html page into a folder the movie plays in the appropriate place.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy winter vacation. I will see you all in the New Year, and we will have lots still to do!

1-104

We have all storyboarded our book reviews, and are now recording them, using Garageband. It's always interesting (sometimes hilarious) to see how the students perceive the review process. It's a challenge to keep everyone quiet during the actual recording, but the groups are doing pretty well. Groups that are waiting to record are finding images to add to their Keynote pages. If we can finish the recordings today, we will be able to put some finishing touches on the presentations.

504 and 502 update

We have finished the work we needed to do with keynote and now we are ready to use garage band for the pod casts. I think this is going to be great. The mentors in class 504 got ready for this by learning garage band and is now ready to put what they have learned into action. I cant wait to see how it comes out. ttfn

5-504

We are ready to make a website. We learned how to make a pages document into a pdf and then into a picture so we can use it in Dreamweaver as the background of each website. We are ready to start working on the website. It will be an exciting time. The kids are really into it. We have been working very hard and have been putting much effort into everything. They cant wait to see how the site comes out. When everyone is done with their pages document drop it in the drop box please so we can put your work up.

2nd Grade Author Interviews

We had our second author interview today, through Skype with Tabitha Grace Smith. She wrote this awesome book Jack the Kitten is Very Brave, that will be published in January. The class loved talking to her through the computer and some of their questions were hilarious. We have one more author visit scheduled for January 7th. They are learning about the writing process in so many ways!

Day 5 - Zooming Ahead

Today flew by so quickly as we moved ahead. This is our half-way mark, and although presentation day seems like a long ways off, with the Winter holidays coming up, the time will pass before you know it. Luckily each of our classes has accomplished so much already.

Our web page is starting to take shape. We established a few parameters for the site. There are three types of pages being added to the site. They are: Book Pages, Author Pages, and Reviewer Pages. Teachers will be using Dropbox to share "Pages" files and movies and podcasts with the fifth grade students.

A special note must be made about the third and fifth grade mentoring programs. As mentioned earlier, classes 304 and 504 students are mentoring students in ELL classes. They are using their computer and movie-making experience of the past two years and using it to help students who are just starting to use these new technologies. I must express how proud I am of how this program is working. Students are truly acting as mentors, supporting the learning and creativity of their peers and sharing what they know in a constructive way. Watching the students work together and seeing the level of camaraderie within the groups is powerful. I hope to see this program continue beyond the scope of this project.

Individually, each class is moving along well. Here is a brief summary, by grade:

• First – Students began recording their scripts into Garage Band. It was difficult at first, as we needed to learn to be quiet for each other while recording. Students also needed to learn to speak loudly and clearly, and with enthusiasm. We are about halfway through recording.
• Second – Each group has finished their first movie and background, and Ms. Newman has used Dropbox to share them with the 5th grade. Each group is beginning their second storyboard for another book review. In addition, students are preparing questions for their second author interview, which will be a Skype interview, as the author lives in California. Ms. Moran helped Ms. Newman with the logistics of taping the interview (using two cameras). Several students are working on creating author pages to go with these interviews.
• Third – Students began filming their scripts using “green screen” technology. Our “green screen” was handmade, using green bulletin board paper taped together. Students had to take turns with their parts since the whole group couldn’t fit in the scene. Students learned that often movies are shot out-of-sequence.
• Fourth – Students listened to each others’ completed audio recordings and found many things that needed improvement. Some students spoke to softly or not clearly enough. Other students rushed through their words, stuttered, or spoke without enough drama and enthusiasm. With this helpful feedback we decided most of the podcasts needed to be re-recorded. Then we learned how to add our images into the podcast, how to adjust the length of time each image showed, and how to preview the podcast.
• Fifth – Class 504 has two important jobs and we squeezed them into one, intense period. First, they needed to learn the basics of GarageBand so they can turnkey this with Ms. Maria’s class. Although they never used GarageBand before, they quickly learned how to record their voice, edit voice tracks, add images, edit images, and add sound effects and music. Next, they began the first steps of creating the web pages for all of the books. First they adjusted the “Pages” document and exported it as a PDF file. Then they converted the PDF file into a JPG. Finally they created a folder for the PDF file. This will be the basis for each web page. Students took copious notes so that they could replicate these steps with all the “Pages” documents they get from all the classes. We emphasized the importance of file and folder names.

This is truly an exciting time for TAG students and their partner classes. Students are working very hard and we can definitely see the results!

Podcasts Ready for Bells, Whistles

The students in the fourth grade recorded theri scripts and gathered images for the podcasts of their book reviews. Thank you, Mr. Isles for organizing our new laptop cart. Now, if we only had one more laptop, every student would have their own! Also, students are keeping their filesd on "their" computer. Next step will be to try and get them using DropBox?

Speaking of which, again; thanks Mr. Isles; DropBox is up and running on my computer.

2nd Grade

We had a very exciting Friday. Susanna Pitzer, the author of Not Afraid of Dogs, visited the class, read her book aloud and the class interviewed her. It was an amazing experience! We have 2 other author interviews set up for the students. We will be interviewing Tabitha Smith whose book Jack the Cat is Very Brave is coming out in December and we will also be interviewing Jack Batcher who writes Silly Joke books on January 7th. We also finished our first review video and we will be finishing the pages for the video and start new review iMovies tomorrow. We are patiently awaiting for David A. Adler, Cynthia Rylant and Mike Thaler to respond to our author letters too!!

This week in Class 5-504

This week we have just about finished out second imovie. We discussed how we need to make sure the imovies are interesting to watch. Most of the movies were of the two students talking in an interview the whole time. We are now working on...

-detaching the audio and putting pictures of what they are talking about instead

-adding captions

-adding picture in picture

-adding pictures with voice over

We are hoping that this makes the movies more interesting.

Class 5-504 and 5-502 Update

We are working on our second e-book with keynote. Class 5-502 is becoming more familiar with the technology. Our next step is to add voice by working with garage band. We need a refresher from Ms. Moran.

Day 4 – New Tools

Today was about learning new technologies. First, the software order came in. This meant a quick discussion on how to best use InspireData and ComicLife within the project. Next, we discussed using a free online tool (Dropbox) to foster file sharing. Teachers were invited into Dropbox. Ms. Moran created a handout to help use this tool. Teachers can post student work into a shared Dropbox so that the fifth grade can upload it to the website. Finally, the  Adobe CS5 was installed into four fifth-grade machines. This was a more complicated process than originally believed, but finally we were successful!

Individually, each class is moving along well. Here is a brief summary, by grade:

• First – Students began working on their storyboards. We discussed the idea of a storyboard. Then we created sentence starters such as “Our favorite part of the book was__________” and “One interesting fact we learned was _________.” Students used these to help them plan out their storyboards. Next week we will create and find graphics to go with our storyboards.
• Second – Second graders interviewed their first author, which was very exciting. Afterwards, we went back to Pages to continue working on our webpage design. We discussed layering, shadows, text size and alignment. We also created a placeholder for our movies. Ms. Newman will help students put their finished products into Dropbox.
• Third – Students from both classes worked cooperatively to edit and finish their scripts. We practiced reading the scripts aloud to make sure the sentences sounded good. We also created prop lists, costume lists, and suggested background and sound effects to help us with filming. Ms. Moran showed Ms. Kubinyi how to use PhotoBooth. She will turn key this with her students during the week. Ms. Moran showed Ms. Schembri and several students how to “green screen.”
• Fourth – We continued working with Garage Band. Now that we have the newer computers, with the upgraded software, we needed to review some of the steps for recording and editing voices. We also practiced reading scripts with dramatic voice. Students need to finish recordings and to collect images for their podcasts (1 image for every 5 seconds of audio). We discussed file management to keep all images in one place. Students can use photos, images from the Internet, and/or draw images.
• Fifth – Ms. Heinz and Ms. Moran reviewed Adobe CS5 to determine how best to use these new tools to create the website.  Ms. Moran needs to make a simple handout to help students go through the steps of taking a pages document, importing it as an image into a web page, adding layers to put video and multimedia onto the page, and create hot spots for links. In addition, students will be using Garage Band for their next (second) book review. This is a new technology for them. We discussed how it will be introduced and used.

 There is still much to do, but we are really making wonderful progress. Everyone is working so hard and the third and fifth graders are taking their role of mentors very seriously.

Third Grade - Watch Our Animoto

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Third Grade - Coop. Learning/Teaching

Today the student completed alot of work. CLass 304 met with Ms. Kubinyi's class and collaborated on script writing. We made a list of props, costumes and sound effects we will be using. Ms. Moran was very helpful in showing both classes how to green screen to show different animal habitats. We look forward to begin filming on Monday.

Class 5-504 Update

My class researched the author and then made a script pretending to be a author and interview. They filmed themselves and then imported their video into imovie. They are about done with the The last thing that they did was detach the audio from one of their video clips and replace the video with still pictures to make the video more interesting. I am hoping that this Friday the students will be don't with their second imovie.

Podcast Reviews

My students have finished writing scripts for podcasts and we've tried using Garageband to record our voices and to edit. I'm wondering if external microphones might be useful; do we have any here at the school? Also, the Google doc is set up to enter book review data.

Names submitted for the site:

Book Mania
Can You Read Me One More Book?
The Insider: Book Edition
Book Buster
The Reading Hive
Bookwizard.com
Books for Kids A to Z

They all sound pretty good to me. Can you folks run in class voting? Also I am thinking about using PowerPoint (because I know it well) to do something like the kinetic whatever we talked about. Oh, and we have the new laptops that can run faster, better.

2nd Grade Author Letters

Our class is finishing up the letters they wrote to the authors of the first book they reviewed. I will be sending them out with self-addressed envelopes, so hopefully we will get some responses. Ms. Hamlin was so helpful and let me know that David A. Adler wrote the students she worked with on Long Island back, so we are definitely writing to him. I also have one author that will be coming in to visit our class. Susanna Pitzer works with Ms. Ramirez's class through Behind the Books and Ms. Ramriez suggested I contact her. She said she would drop by out class, read her book, and take time to let the students ask questions. She also said that she would send a scan of the book cover and a picture of herself to add to the website too!

Day 3 – Jumping Ahead

Our goal for today was to make sure that each class had something specific to add to the whole project. While everyone is working on reviews, and the different books provide variety, each class also needs to look at how their contribution will help the site as a whole. Second grade is focusing on author studies. Third grade is taking responsibility for public relations. Fourth grade is focusing on data management (such as the book database). And fifth grade is taking responsibility for web development.

Here is a brief summary of each grades progress:

• First – Students have partners and have finished reading their books. They used the book form to find all the data about their book, including author, title, publisher, publication date, etc.
• Second – Students were introduced to Pages for the first time. We learned how to add images, text, and shapes, and to use the inspector to modify those page elements.
• Third – Each group selected one or two books from their assigned “category” to read and review. It was important to find books on a level that all members of the group could read independently. Students began to discuss the type of review they wanted to create and how they could make their video stand out and be interesting.  
• Fourth – We had new computers, which required set up (TAG log in) and moving documents from old computers to new computers. We also reviewed how the new computers were different and looked at new operating system functions.
• Fifth – Fifth grade finished their first book reviews. We discussed importing them into QuickTime format and students began to make web pages for their reviews using Pages.

Book List

We need to start adding books to the official book list, to ensure there are no duplicates. Books added to the list are time-stamped.

Form: Use this link for students to add books to the list. Students can prepare for using this form by completing a print version (PDF or Pages)

Spreadsheet: Teachers can periodically check the list, update or modify student entries, or delete books by going directly to the spreadsheet.

Note: The last field asks for an ISBN 13 # -  This is usually found near the bar code. Older books may only have an ISBN 10#. You can use this converter  to convert it to an ISBN 13#.

Day 2 - Full Speed Ahead

Using the knowledge teachers and students have brought with them from past years, each class has swiftly moved ahead to create the first round of book reviews for the site. This will help us launch the site quickly and allow for additional features, as discussed at the planning session:

1. Hamlin - First grade students are using Keynote to create a sample book review. All students are working on a shared book, Miss Nelson is Missing, to learn the elements of a book review and practice using the various features of the application. This week students learned to use PhotoBooth to record short videos discussing features of the book. These videos will be added to the presentations. By next week, each student will have an individual book to begin working on.
2. Newman - Second grade students are working in small groups. Each group is creating a movie review using iMovie. Scripts are completed, images added, and students are working on recording voice and adding sound and music. This week we discussed copyright issues and learned how to cite sources for our movies.
3. Schembri/Kubinyi - The two third grade classes were combined for the first time. Students in the TAG class showed their partner class the elements of movie making and short samples of movies they made. Students then brainstormed lists of fiction and nonfiction topics and were divided into groups. By next visit, each group will select a specific book to review and the movie-making process will begin.
4. Amft - Fourth grade students have written book reviews, but are revising the text to make them more compelling to their prospective audience. In addition, students agreed that reading book reviews is less interesting than listening to them. Students were introduced to Garage Band and learned how to record their voices. Their book reviews will now become "scripts" for podcasts. 
5. Heinz/Maria - Fifth grade students have been working on finishing Keynote e-books that review favorite books. The TAG students have been teaching their skills to the new partner class, with great success. Most were almost done, but there were issues with voice recording not matching the visuals and final edits needed to be ironed out. 

Next week teachers are working on their own, as JDL will not be present.

304 collaboration with Ms. Kubinyi

Our session was very successful. We organized topics we would like to read about and assigned groups by interest.

5-504 and 5-502

Mrs. Maria and I have also been working together to create e-book reviews. Class 5-504 is mentoring Class 5-502 on how to create e-books using keynote. We 1st explained how to mentor to 5-504 and then we started. It is going very well. They are loving it. This week each group will be done with their 1st e-book. Yay!!!!

2nd Grade Book Reviews

Class 204 wrote book reviews about a book they read as a group. The students wrote and story-boarded their review movies. Then they found pictures from the internet or took pictures of book pages to add to the movies. The students also recorded each scene of their movies. Today we are working on adding Ken Burns effects, music, transitions and titles. Our next step is to choose new books and write interviews with a character to connect to our November character unit.

5-504 Book Talk

In the last 2 weeks we have written, filmed, and edited (on imovie) book talks. The students are finished with their first project. They are excited to start the second one. They did forget how to do many of the imovie functions but they are remembering quickly once it is modeled. I cant wait for you all to see them.

Getting Organized - Third Grade

We have been working hard on book reviews. The students have created power point presentations to review books as well as video tape book reviews while they are dressed in character. The students are very excited to become mentors for Class 302. We welcome them to the project and are very anxious to teach them all we know. Today we are going to brainstorm interest levels in the genres of fiction and nonfiction. We are going to setup groups within the interest level to review the books and make them very interesting. Thanks to Ms. Moran for bringing new ideas to the table.

Class 1-104

Our class this year is a mixture of students who have been using the Mac and others who have not used the Mac before. Our "proficient" students are helping our new students learn the applications we will be using. We started with Keynote, and, as a class, are creating book reviews for the story, Miss Nelson is Missing. We have also practiced pulling images from the internet, using Safari and askkids.com. Everyone is really excited about working on this project! Our next step will be to create book reviews of our own personal favorite stories. We're off and running!

Getting to Work on our Literacy Websites- Third Grade

Ms. Moran was with us this afternoon. We got right to work on deciding the end product for this term. TAG teachers got together and organized the schedule and divided up the work that will come together as our end product. The children were very excited to get started on their favorite books and creating podcasts, movies, book reviews and readers theatre. Thanks for your hard work Ms. Moran.

Congratulations to Ms. Newman and Ms. Catania's classes for being selected to participate in this year's Math, Science, and Technology Fair. You all worked really hard, and it's nice to see that your efforts are being recognized. I know I speak for everyone at PS376 when I say it is a well-deserved honor. Enjoy the day, and go strut your stuff!!

Presentation Day

Our presentations were amazing, Thanks to Ms. Moran for all of her hard work. It seemed we were having technical difficulties but in the end; Lauren Catania figured it out. We were exhausted but the movies turned out great. The Math Mystery Movie was a huge success and the parents were amazed.

1-104 Almost There

Today was a very productive day. Everyone finished adding the text, music, and sound effects to their movies. I have a few small tweaks to make to them, and will upload them to our website. It appears that two of the groups deleted a portion of their filming. I had saved a good deal of the early work on a flash drive, so I am hoping I can recover it without having to refilm.

The class is also designing our project boards for the presentation. I am totally hands-off on this one, and they seem to be doing great without me (not so sure I should mention that, though...)

First Draft of Website Jump-off page

Hi All,

I put up a temporary website starting page for our Spring projects. I missed the meeting on Friday because my prep was changed, so I'm not sure if you already had a theme in mind. I used one of the stock iWeb pages and created a math graphic to go along with it. I'm not in love with the "wood" background (its the one that came with the iWeb theme) but I can change it if this page works for everyone. Please feel free to comment and/or criticize so I know where to go from here.

http://ps376.org/TAGs10/104/Class_1-104/Welcome.html

Lisa

K14

I finished putting all my children's work on one computer. I also finished one of the recording. Voila! I learned how to record on the podcast. Thanks to Lisa! There are five more recording to do. I will try to finish them by this week. Also most of the keynote are completed. I have created a IWeb page for this project.

1-104 Completes Filming

It's a wonderful thing! All of our filming was completed today. Most of the movies have also been edited, so next week we will be ready to add text, music, and sound effects. We have also begun brainstorming ideas for our speeches for presentation day. I think we're in pretty good shape...

K14

I managed to finish some children's keynotes on the computer. I finished the scripts on Top It, The Number Grid Game and Operation Hulk Game. Tomorrow we can record them on the podcast.
I tried to publish my IWeb file but failed. It's the server's problem. I will try it again tomorrow.

404 Animations Moving Along

Kudos to Ms. Catania for suggesting to me that the students write the words first, then think about images. Images can be endless while words tend to end. At least in the world of fourth graders. All six groups have workable scripts in Powerpoint. In a pinch, they can add images to the Powerpoint. But: been there, done that. So it's great to see everyone working on Ajax Animator, something completely new.

Thanks to Ms. Moran for suggesting the students save their urls in Portaportal. For some reason it was slow going saving to the wiki. For a look at one animation in progress, check out the link:



We've decided to make a website to showcase all of the animations and add other goodies from things we've learned along the way. This will give students more to do; it seemed that when they animated, one person was "in charge".

Welcome Purple Dragons!

This blog is inviting a few new friends to participate in the Project-based learning we all know and love. After Spring Break, 5 new classes will be starting PBL for the first time. We look forward to seeing what Ms. Espada, Ms. Slatic, Ms. Kaplan, Ms. Sambiaze, Ms. Colon, Ms Varguas, Ms. Ramirez, Ms. Fields, Ms. Cordova, Ms. Quijada, Mr. Jones, Ms. Sierra, and Ms. Callisto bring to the table!!

Week 6

This week was a little awkward with teachers being at other trainings, but we still managed to get quite a lot of work done!

• K-14: Ms. Ieong, we missed you! I only managed to get one group's voice  recorded into the podcast. Some of the kids forgot which topics were theirs. It would be helpful to get all of the keynotes (with the scripts) on one computer. We will definitely make up the time next week.
• 104: Nearly all the videos are shot. I worked with one group editing out the hilarious "out-takes" while Ms. Hamlin finished up the last groups shooting. Ms. Hamlin will continue editing the filming so that next week we can get students to start adding titles and transitions.
• 204/304: Although Ms. Catania was absent, things went smoothly with Ms. Newman and the sub. Students revisited quia to create games. I showed Ms. Newman a new site (ClassTools) for new ideas for games. However, we will need to figure out a way to upload these games to the website.
• 404: Class has mostly finished their PowerPoints and were ready to jump into the real animation with ajax animator. We reviewed how to make an animation and students began turning scripts and storyboards into flash animation. 
• 505: I met with directors and gaffers to work on schedule. They had created a filming schedule but it wasn't detailed enough. I modeled what they needed to do. While they were working on the filming schedule, the other students rehearsed and got into costume. At least half the filming needs to be done by next week so we can begin the editing process.

1-104 The Filming Continues.....

We had another productive day. We have completed filming 4.5 out of our 6 movies. The children's scripts are really impressive. They are also getting a bit more relaxed in front of the camera. We still have those things that slow us down: loudspeaker announcements, unexpected visitors, and emergency bathroom breaks.... We should definitely have enough footage for a blooper reel when we are done. Next week we will add transitions, music, and sound effects to jazz things up a bit more.

Shooting Schedules/costumes

Today we had a run through with our props and costumes.....We also worked on filming schedules.

Gettng ready with our shooting schedules

K14

Last week, my children learned the skill of dragging pictures into their podcast. We did not continue on our project this week. I checked their work today. I was delighted because the children had achieved the skill. They had pictures in their podcast. But they had their funny pictures instead of the games pictures. So I deleted the entire funny pictures and inserted the right pictures into their work. They can continue to work on the next steps to their project tomorrow.

Working on our Movies - Spring 2010

We have been planning out our movies and getting ready for a hectic film schedule ahead of us. In the mean time, we are creating stories that are centered around math and creating math related comic books.

1-104 Begins Filming

It was an awesome, but exhausting day. Our class spent the entire day finishing their storyboards. One group was able to film their movie. They really did an amazing job! I can't get over how much they have improved, both with their understanding of the technology, and with their ability to work together in groups. That's not to say that there are no longer arguments, or should I say artistic differences, but they really are much less frequent.

To speed things up a little bit, I had each group rehearse their script in front of the rest of the class. The audience supplied comments and suggestions for each group, and I think the advice was really helpful. We will continue to film when we get free time. I think we are in good shape.

K-14

I was able to upload my video to Eduvision on my first try. I will try to upload my other videos to the website next week. As for my class work, I finished checking my children's work. I finished typing the title and how to play pages. I also finished taking most of the pictures of the children playing the games. But I did not play the Red light, Green Light, 123 with the children. Maybe, we can try it tomorrow.

4-404 in Video Limbo

One of our groups recorded a video describing the project but it's in a format that our computers can't understand. So, we'll turn this one over to the school's resident computer genius ASAP. We shot a second video with a differ rent camera and lo and behold, it loaded, but without sound. Hmmm.

Storyboards and scripts are at a point where animation should begin, so we'll tuck into it this Friday...the last day before the ELA test!

Talking with Ms. Catania I think maybe our class should also create a web page to store the videos. Three or four kids working together on one laptop to make one video might not be the most efficient use of talent & time.

Mr. Amft

2-204 and 3-304 Friday April 16th

Amy and I spent last Friday facilitating the students video taping their number stories and homework help. They all acted them out and loaded them onto their computers. We are ready to start editing the videos on Friday and continue to work on their website.

Friday April 8th and EduVision Video

Friday class 2-204 and 3-304 were crazy busy. We spent all day writing story boards. We made 2 story boards per group. They planed out their number story and homework help problem separate story boards. They came up with the materials that were needed in each group. They have started to bring in the materials this week. All materials will be in the classrooms by Friday April 16th. The students will start to video tape their number stories and homework help Friday. The geometry group will be going on a a one period trip on Friday to film their number story on the street. They need the use of a stop sign.

Ms. Newman and I made a an imovie with three of the groups. The students were explaining why they made their story boards and what was one them. The video is uploaded to EduVision.

1-104 updates to Eduvision and ps376.org

I was able to upload our museum movie to the Eduvision site. The site did not like the original file format that I had (.m4v), so I had to re-export it to Quicktime format (.mov). All of these video formats are new to me.... I also put a temporary homepage up on the ps376.org site. It was the first time that I used iWeb. It was pretty painless :-) I have to say that I can't imagine going back to a PC now that I've gotten my feet wet on the Mac. In my opinion, there is no comparison. Thanks, Susannah, for your help over the weekend!

Week 5

Today we had a workshop on uploading to Eduvision and the 376 website. Each teacher got a user name and password for both sites.

For Eduvision, all you have to do is log in, go to the Control Panel, select Video Management, and then click on Upload Video. Fill in each of the fields and upload any video file you have. This will save us room on our website, and you can embed the videos in your blogs and wikis.

For PS 376, I gave everyone an account and a sheet on how to fill out your iWeb information. Once you have this properly put in, you can publish your web pages without bothering Ms. Catania.

By my next visit, each teacher will upload to both Eduvision and the website something to make sure everyone understands the process.

• K-14: Today we finished playing games using math. We took pictures and wrote the steps. Next session we will be ready to start our podcasts.
• 1-104: Today we began to storyboard our videos. Students learned what is part of a storyboard. They separated "what you see" and "what you hear" in a video. By next session, the storyboards will be completed.
• 1-204/3-304: Students are well on their way to publishing their websites. Today we began to storyboard our number stories. We needed a refresher on storyboarding. Past movies have used images from the Internet. These number stories will be videos we act out. By next session, the storyboards will be completed.
• 4-404: Students were continuing their storyboards. Because these storyboards use animation and are based on difficult mathematical concepts, students are struggling. We used manipulitives and role playing to help students visualize their ideas and translate them into effective storyboards. By next session, the storyboards will be completed.
• 5-504: Today we held auditions for our two movies. Casting directors and directors took the lead. Auditions were filmed (hopefully to go up on Eduvision). Prop managers, costume directors, and set designers are to make formal lists of what needs to be done and assign jobs to everyone on the team. By next session actors must have rehearsed their lines, props, costumes, and sets will be collected and organized so we can begin filming.

This is the halfway mark. We need to keep track of our timeline so that presentations are ready for May 24th. 

1-104 Let's Make a Picture!

Our class took a field trip to the American Museum of Natural History on Thursday. We decided to practice filming with iMovie by sharing our favorite parts of the trip. After recording the clips, we learned how to add text, photos, and additional sound tracks to our movies. It was a great learning experience for ALL of us. Here is our first "feature film". OMG, I heart Mac!!!!!

Week 4

Last day before vacation was busy, busy, busy.

• K-14 surprised us by being overly excited as we played the games and took pictures. It was hard to settle down after each game to write the steps and think about the math. We finished Tic-Tac-Toe, Candyland, and Bingo. We started Operation, but didn't finish. Ms. Ieong will get the bowling and soccer props. Ms. Moran will get the Sorry game. 
• 1-104 was extremely productive. They learned to add titles and credits to their movies, as well as add pictures from the Internet. The most fun was watching the mini-videos we created. Next they will work on their scripts and finish their backgrounds.
• 2-204/3-304 continued to work on their iWebs. Students collected pictures of real-world math examples and used them to create photo albums in different categories.
• 4-404 bucked down today to use what they have learned about animation to storyboard their ideas. First students thought about what they were teaching and broke each topic into components that would work in short animations. Then they storyboarded their ideas. We used manipulatives in some groups to help clarify our thinking.
• 5-504 is no longer a fifth grade class, but a fully-functioning movie studio. The producer today accepted applications and hired her behind the scenes staff for the two feature films, The Cooking Show and The Money Math Mystery. With directors, casting agents, set designers, editors, camera people, sound engineers, music directors, art directors, costume directors, prop managers, and even gaffers, everyone has an important job to do. We had a table reading of the scripts (which got Ms. Moran laughing sooooo hard). Next, the casting director will hold auditions for the on-camera positions. 

Finally, we set a training for April 9. Ms. Moran will teach all the teachers how to upload video to Eduvsion (which can be embedded on any site) and also how to upload iWeb to the PS 376 website. This will happen during our second period training. Each teacher will be responsible for uploading his/her own content after this training, relieving Ms. Catania of taking care of everyone.

K-14

We did not do anything on the computer. We did not played the assigned games but we played our section 6 Math game. I reminded the children to bring in their assigned games. So far, we have all the games except bowling, volleyball and tic tac toe.

Week 3

This week a new trainee, Cynthia Copeland, came to observe. Not surprisingly, she left extremely impressed with the quality of projects and level of student technology she saw in this school. Here is a run-down of what we did:

K-14: The kindergarten class continued to gather facts about their game or sport. Our goal was to write two or more sentences, in Keynote, that explained how each game used math. Ms. Ieong is still collected the “props” for each game or sport. Next week each student will take pictures of them with their “props” to use in their podcasts.

1-104: First grade got their first brief introduction to iMovie. First, each group used the iSight camera to record an introduction. Everyone had to be quiet, but that worked well. Then each group had to capture their video and drag it into their movie. This was much harder and will take lots of practice, but it was fun to play. Ms. Hamlin was working with students to paint their backdrops for their iMovie. Students learned a lot about scale and ratio through this activity!

2-204/3-304: The second and third grade classes spent a lot of time planning out their iWeb. Ms. Newman showed the class her sample site and demonstrated how she created a graphic organizer for her site using chart paper and post-its. Each group worked on their plan, getting more and more specific. Next week we will begin implementing these plans using the new TAG log in on the laptops!

4-404: Fourth grade students learned to use ajax animator. Students were amazed that creating a bouncing ball, which had taken 40-80 slides in PowerPoint, could be quickly and easily animated using “tweening.” We discussed how certain animations worked best in PowerPoint while others (flip-style animation) were best using the new, cool, online tool! Next, students will have to storyboard their math animations.

5-504: Fifth grade students were stalled in their script-writing tasks. They had their great ideas, but needed to turn these ideas into scripts. We spent the first part of the period outlining the movie into scenes. There was a lot of discussion, and all group members participated in customizing the original idea into a workable plan. Then, pairs of students were assigned different scenes and began scripting. Emphasis was on making the dialogue realistic and lively to keep the audience entertained. But also, to make sure the math was integrated into the story. A compete draft must be finished by next Friday to keep to our schedule!!

I also want to say I’m very proud of the teachers who have access to cameras for documenting student work and posting it on the blog using Animoto. I get a kick seeing what happens when I’m not around. Mr. Amft, we have to get you access to at least one computer with a web cam, so you can join the party!!

1-104 Works on their iMovie Scenery

TAG projects

Welcome Ms. Moran back to our class. We have had a late start due to Ballroom competitions and some testing but we got straight to work. We started working on the outlines for our scripts and getting the story writers to work. We promise to have our scripts ready for next Friday.

K-14

Last week, the children went on the internet to retrieve pictures for their games. I taught them how to go on to Ask. Type the name of the game then dragged the pictures out and put on to the screen. Then dragged it back on to the Keynote page. The lesson went on well. The first page of their project on the Keynote was completed.
As for me, I went on IMovie and created a project. I retrieved pictures from my camera; download the pictures; created the video; added on some music. My project was completed. I tried to put the IMovie on the blog but failed. I will to post the video again for viewing.

1-104 Update

This week our class began to design their background scenery for their movies. We had an interesting sidebar on perspective and scale, as many in the group found rescaling their original sketches a bit challenging. We did not have enough time to paint, but most of the layouts are complete. We also took some time to discuss how to explain some of the math ideas that we would like to highlight in our movies. We will be searching for props in the next week or so, and will begin to focus more closely on our scripts. We are loving this project!

Please Update The Team

Since there is no JDL training this week, you are working on the project on your own. Please let us know what you accomplish today and let us know what needs to come next.

Spring: Week 2

I promised to get the blog posted, so here it is. Now you have no excuses for posting an update for your class. Week 2 of our spring project demonstrated to me how well we have organized our project. Our planning meeting lasted maybe fifteen minutes, allowing everyone extra individual planning and training time. Here is an update by class:



K-14: Today we worked with students on planning out their podcast. We took the list of “Math Games” we brainstormed last week, deleting obscure topics and adding new ones. Students were paired and each group selected a different topic on which to focus. We drew pictures of the game and wrote down facts about our game. During the week, Ms. Ieong will have students type their facts into keynote and have students find pictures of the game on the Internet. She will also try to collect real-world versions of the games. Let me know if there are any games you can’t find. I will try to help with the harder ones!


1-104: Today we had visitors from Baltimore observing, and they were knocked out of their socks by the poise and confidence of the first grade class. Students brought in their lists of things around the house that use math. They how much they have learned about keynote by using keynote as a graphic organzier. They typed the objects as headings for each new page and found a picture that matched. Finally, we took a short break to show the visitors our “community helpers” podcast. This week, students will begin to work on their set design by painting scenes on butcher paper. They will also begin to discuss how the objects they selected use math.


2-204/3-304: Today was an introduction to iWeb. Students worked with partners to learn the basics of creating an iWeb page. We learned how to select a template, how to add, delete, and modify text on a page, how to add pictures from iPhoto, and from the Internet, and how to use the camera to take pictures. Students recognized how many of the tools in iWeb are the same tools in Keynote and Pages. This week students will work on their plans for group web sites. They will use post-its on large paper to identify what content will go on each page, and divide the work so that everyone has a specific task. I also suggested that we create a new log-in for the web design. Ms. Catania will work on adding that log in to the computers.


4-404: Today we broke students into groups based on math strengths and weaknesses. Each group selected a main topic on which to focus, and then worked on writing an essential question for that topic. The goal of the question was to (1) teach their peers a math topic that is difficult to understand and (2) that has a real-world application. Many groups had to revise and revise their questions, and even their topics until they were able to meet those two requirements. This week students will spend time becoming experts on their topic and make sure they understand and can explain how to solve real world problems related to their essential question. They will learn simple animation using PowerPoint to demonstrate this understanding.


5-504: Today each pair of students “pitched” their movie idea to the class. There was a wide range of topics from mysteries, to superhero adventures, to real world adventures. Each group presented their topic to the class and everyone had the opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions, and provide feedback about the pitches. Students were constructively critical of the ideas, making sure they had a solid understanding before casting their vote. We needed to select two ideas from the seven pitches. One idea was a breakaway hit, getting one vote from every single person in the room, students and teachers. This was the Money Math Mystery idea, which included rhyming clues, an organized plot, and a persuasive pitch from its creators. The class was split on the second choice idea, but after a run-off vote, the Cooking Show, which uses math to fix a disastrous recipe, was selected as the second choice. Students were randomly assigned to work with the creative team of one of these two movie ideas, and the assignment for this week is to work on the scripts so that we have something to shoot in two weeks.

1-104 Update

Hi All,

Here is where we are in the new project: We have 6 groups, and each has chosen a room of the house to explore for math usage. For homework last night, each group had to look at their chosen room, in their own homes, and find places where math is used. They brought the lists to class, and looked for photos of these things, using AskKids.com. They imported the photos into Keynote, which they are using as an organizer for their information. In the afternoon, the pairs sketched out their rooms, so that they can work together next week to paint backdrops for their movies. They are also writing down explanations of each math object found so that they can incorporate the information into their scripts. We are all psyched! This is going to be an awesome project!

Lisa

Week 1 (Spring)

At our meeting this morning we discussed several options for the spring project. After much discussion, we decided that all the classes would focus on Math in Our World.  Each class would develop a project based on this theme. In each class, I introduced the theme, discussed ideas with students, and came up with a final product. We also planned out a timeline to ensure the work was completed. Here is what we decided:

• K-14: Math in Games - Students will play different, fun games and learn how math is important in playing games. They will take pictures of themselves playing the games, and write the rules for each game. Then they will create a podcast of games. Some of the games we brainstormed are baseball, basketball, Sorry, Operation, and Tic-Tac-Toe
• 1-104: Math in our Homes - Students will conduct investigations of their homes to find how math is used in each room in the house. We know there is math in clocks, on phones, and on our addresses, but where else do we find math? Can we live in our house without math? Students will use what they learn to create videos.
• 2-204/3-304: Math in our World Websites - Students will create websites to teach students important mathematical topics. Some of the topics might be measurement, estimation, patterns, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. On the websites we will use real-world pictures, create number story movies, and develop math games.
• 4-404: Mathanimation - Students will use animation to teach difficult math concepts and skills. Students will relate math to the real world in their animations. They will focus on topics that most students have difficulty on in the standardized math tests, such as angles, weights and measurements, functions, percents, fractions, area, and perimeter. 
• 5-504: Math Movies: Using the PBS series "The Eddie Files" as inspiration, students will develop full-length movies in which math concepts are used to solve real world problems. The class will develop into a full fledged production house with actors, directors, prop managers, set designers, and more. Students will use math to help plan and organize their movie, and keep to their timeline. 

Lots to do. Let's come back next session with topic ideas and groups.

Are you ready for Spring PBL?

I've just got confirmation that we are starting back up again soon. Time to start thinking about how we can top our fall presentations, which were spectacular. Let me know what your thoughts are in terms of topics and also the types of technologies you would like to work on. See you soon - Ms. Moran!