Skoolz Out!

Richard Lambert and I recently presented at the VITTA 2009 ‘Slide to Open’ conference held at Flemington Racecourse. The session we took was focusing on ‘Digital Storytelling’ in the everyday classroom. We enjoyed sharing our past experiences working together on our ‘Movie Magic’ unit, but also had the opportunity to reflect on our own journey’s in 2009, as we are both now at different schools.

While there are always going to be different approaches and outcomes in different environments, there is no denying the power of storytelling and its effect on humanity. Throughout history, man has created new ways to share stories, and now in this digital age, storytelling has a new medium that is faster and greater reaching than ever before.

The presentation is very visual and relied upon our verbal cues, but you still get the idea and key points of our session. Thankyou to everyone who attended for your positive and enthusiastic reception to our work.

VITTA 2009 – Digital Storytelling

**PLEASE NOTE: This conference is now to be rescheduled to September – Please stay posted for more information.

An exciting new PD opportunity for teachers in Melbourne is ‘Beyond The Basics’ which will be held at Coburg Senior Secondary College on August 1st. This event aims to provide teachers with practical ideas and hands on activities that can actually be taken back to their schools – a concept sometimes lost when these types of days inspire you, but don’t quite provide the know-how to get them going in your classroom.

Richard Lambert and myself will be providing two practical sessions for teachers;

Getting started with Web 2.0 (for beginners)

• What does it all mean?
• Why bother?
• What tools do I use?
• How do I get started?
• What does it mean for my class?

Digital Storytelling

• What is Digital Storytelling?
• Why bother?
• Where does it fit into the curriculum?
• Stories from our experiences
• Examples of our work
• Assessing student progress
• Managing students
• Setting up a program for your class or school.

A big congratulations to Connecting Point, and particularly Gary Bass, for getting this concept of the ground and his overall enthusiasm for providing relevant and practical PD for teachers.

For more information, follow this link:

Beyond The Basics Information

Just wanting to alert people to the new Digital Storytelling network we have setup to discuss the positives, negatives and general experiences people are having when incorporating this type of program into your classroom. While this does tie into Richard Lambert’s and my book ‘Digital Storytelling’, the aim is keep supporting teachers trialling the program, and share in their successes and new ideas. Even if you do not have a copy of this program, we encourage you to join up and become part of the conversation.

While the network is still in its infancy, there has already been a number of members join, with some great ideas thrown around, with everything from lighting, optimising your computer, to using programs such as Voicethread and Glogster as a way of involving the Early Years students with Digital Storytelling.

So please check out the ‘Action Stations’ website for some great links and information, and the ‘Digital Storytelling Network’ to get al the latest. Click below for the links;

I have really been enjoying iMovie 09 over the past few months, mainly due to the return of special effects and features that were removed from iMovie 06 for the iMovie 08 release. Apple has kept the positive aspects of the iMovie 08 version and included what we all loved about the iMovie 06 version.

But with the regular updates available through the software update option, we don’t always bother downloading the latest version. Usually we don’t see any great changes to the programs, while their may be some significant changes that have been made ‘under the hood.’

iMovie 09 update 8.0.3 is an absolute must have. The new update adds a number of key improvements. For me, the ability to use the Ken Burns effect on video, and the ability to now fade out music up to 5 seconds as opposed to the maximum 2 seconds are major improvements.

These have always been two of the most frustrating aspects of editing for me. You or your students may have filmed a great scene, but an enthusiastic boom operator has the pole hanging down in every shot! This can now be removed by using the Ken Burns effect on the video to zoom in and ‘cut’ the microphone out.

And sometimes we just need the music to fade out slowly at the end of a piece. The ability to now extend the fade out of audio saves us from having to get intricate in Garageband and create a new track.

Check out http://db.tidbits.com/article/10329 for more information concerning editing to the beat, optimising video clips and stability improvements for this update.

It is finally here. The Action Stations Series through the Curriculum Corporation releases a practical guide for teachers on ‘Digital Storytelling.’ There is no denying the importance of making our students critically literate, and in doing so, more digitally responsible. But creating lessons that cover these issues in an engaging way is not always clear for the teacher. We attend lots of Professional Learning and Development sessions in our careers, often walking away inspired and motivated, but with the same old nagging questions seem to surface;

• How do I set it up in my classroom?
• What do I need to get started?
• How do I go about it?

If you are this teacher, then this book is for you! This is a program a colleague and I have been working on for several years now in the everyday classroom. And even if you don’t want to produce your own ‘Short Film Festival’ as outlined in the book, the book is setup in such a way so that the teacher can run with whichever lesson they choose.

We are also attempting to provide ongoing support in the creation of a forum at the link below, or sinmply click on the ‘Badge’ in the right hand side-bar of this blog;

http://digistorytelling-actionstations.ning.com/

This forum will allow teacher to share their learnings, understandings and challenges as they implement the program. Both Richard and myself, the authors of the book, will contribute to these discussions and help you along the way. Unique, but we feel this type of program is a must for every school.

If you are interested in some sample pages and/or ordering a copy of the book, click on the book front cover below for the link.

As stated in my earlier post ‘iMovie 09 – Digital Storytelling Specialist Session’ I indicated that I would show you an example of the quality work the students produced. Below is just one example from the iSchool.net.au website where our students showcase their work. The following example was made in iMovie 09 by a Year 5 student. This was his first time on this product and in less than two hours, created a moving tribute that tells a story without the need for spoken word and minimal text. I hope you enjoy it and are also amazed at what our students can achieve when we promote creative storytelling through the use of technology.

Just a quick post to share an ‘awesome’ day. One of those days when you really appreciate your craft and the impact it can have on the children.

Today was the first of 2 ‘Specialist Training’ sessions as a part of our Year 5/6 Digital Storytelling/Movie Magic course. In these sessions, each student group splits into training classes where they will become the expert in an area, which they will ultimately share with the group when they commence working on their own film. These sessions are divided into such areas as scriptwriting, camera work, music, sound FX, etc.

My session focus was on creating a basic Digital Story with the children using some Creative Commons ANZAC images. We were also introduced to the new iMovie 09 package from Apple. My main concerns for the day were;

1. How would they approach the limitations placed on them with only using still images

2. How would they take to the new package, as some were quite familiar with the iMovie 06 version.

This session, and the products produced, far outweighed my initial expectations. The students took to iMovie 09 like ducks to water. They loved the fact that they could in no way ‘destroy’ the initial clips, the variety of new themes and transitions, and the fact they no longer had to wait for the ‘little red line’ to update their changes.

While the technology was a big focus, there were a number of 21st century skills that I explicitly focused on with the children that I feel improved their understanding and overall products.

• Organising their resources – importing photos from the server, creating folders and labeling them in iPhoto. Setting up their workspace to suit them in ‘iMovie.’
• Less is more – a discussion about minimal movement with the ‘Ken Burns’ effect, transitions that do not detract from the presentation or make the viewer notice them, timing photos to match and reflect the passage of music.
• What are we trying do? What is the message? – These continual reminders are vital. Why are the clips sequenced in this way? Why are you using that transition in that spot? What part of the image is the viewer being drawn to look at? Why are you focusing on that part of the photo? Can you create a story without relying on a sub-title to explain it to the viewer?

The focus, collaboration and engagement was sensational. There were a number of students that produced some amazing ‘stories’ which I will share with you in the next few days when they are finished and exported.

You may also be interested in joining the ‘Digital Storytelling – Action Stations’ group where we will be collaborating, supporting and offering new ideas in making Digital Storytelling a success in the classroom. Click on the ‘badge’ on this blog to join the conversation.

After the overwhelming success of the ‘Skoolz Out’ project outlined in the previous post, the plan was to see if we could run with another Inquiry Based Learning program (IBL) which would incorporate an even more expansive set of skills. From our previous experience, we learned a number of vital lessons in running an IBL classroom and discovered the importance of;

• a functional working space – open/shared classrooms with access to smaller working spaces. The key was visibility for the teacher at all times.
• planning – a thorough understanding of the knowledge and skills associated with the topic is vital for the teacher. It was also vital to present a variety of skills and methods for the students, before training them in an area of expertise that they would ultimately share with one another.
• producing a quality product – If we allow our students to produce garbage, they will! We all enjoy a shortcut, and the IBL classroom is no different. While it will promote creativity, engagement and powerful learning opportunities, there still needs to be clear goals and targets for the students to achieve. It is OK to say ‘That is not good enough’ as long as we are able to promote ways of improving the product.
• informal and formal sharing of expertise – planned lessons, inquiry and reflection.
• having the appropriate tools available at all times – this is where the technology proved so important. Students have regular access to the technology, when they need it. A big challenge for all schools.

While the variety of programs and equipment available for educators to use in the classroom continues to grow each day, unfortunately one aspect often overlooked is how to best manage the students so as to maximise the learning opportunities. In my travels this year, it has become apparent that we need to refocus on;

‘Why are we doing this activity/project? How can I utilise technology effectively to enhance the learning?’

It is vital that we as educators are not relying on the technology to make the lesson engaging or appealing for our students, or worse, because we feel we need to be using in order to be ‘up with the latest.’ We need to revisit the basic concept of creating a multifaceted project that will appeal to the variety of ability levels, interests and talents of the group, and then using whatever tools are available to complete the task to the best of our abilities.

This brings me to the main discussion point – effective management of students. How can we promote these exciting inquiry based learning opportunities when the computers are set in the back corner of the classroom? Students working quietly on computers in the classroom does not work for me. The technology needs to be central, or at least in a prominent position in the room. It should be a vehicle for collaboration between students, as well as the teachers. The learning opportunities available will take you and your students to places you would never have imagined, opportunities which would be missed during a ‘silent’ rotation in the back of the room.

These are the skills the young educators of today who are tech savvy need to learn from their more experienced peers. Creating small working teams who may need to access the technology ‘as needed’ is not new. Teachers have been managing it for years, but some are getting sidetracked with this focus on technology and how to involve it in their lessons. Let’s get back to basics – creating engaging tasks that utilise the best tools, whatever they may be. 

The balance between youth and experience is one teachers need to be open and honest with. New teachers to the profession tend to have the technical know how, but sometimes struggle with the knowledge and strategies required to cater for all abilities and interests. Some experienced teachers may feel threatened by new technology and the younger teachers’ ease in using it.  

What they often fail to see is how their knowledge and understanding of how to get the best out of the children, and roll with a change in a lesson to capitalize on the learning opportunities that arise. These are the skills and knowledge that more inexperienced teachers need to learn from. In my opinion, experienced teachers aware of the variety of technologies available, and excited and prepared to have a go at using them, have the full artillery. 

While I have converted to the many positive aspects of iMovie08, there are a number of issues that still annoy me when compared with iMovie06.

                                                iMovie06                                iMovie08

Transitions                                 Yes                                         Yes

Titles                                        Yes                                         Yes

Colour Correction                       Yes                                         Yes

Supports Plug-Ins                      Yes                                         No

Special Effects                          Yes                                         No

Cropping & Scaling                     No                                         Yes

Themes                                   Yes                                        No

Tagging & Keywords                   No                                        Yes

While the lack of special effects and themes baffles me, it is the control over audio and transitional fade ins and outs that bothers me the most. Only having a maximum of 2 secs fading in or out makes life very difficult and rushed. Sometimes you really need to add a slow fade out, or adjust the volume in sections of the movie. This is all a bit too hard for my liking.

The scaling down of options for titles and transition is also somewhat confusing. And where would we be without the ability to slow down or speed up footage when making the family tearjerker? While I understand the concept of making a short movie is now simpler and faster, the fact Apple already had these as part of the package and have removed them is confusing.

The result is the need to have both packages available on your Mac. I often make titles and special effect sequences in iMovie06 and export the clips into iMovie08. Still works fine, just seems to be a difficult and roundabout way of doing things. You can download the iMovie06 version here.

Cheers

AB