Final Reflections, Session 2

For my final reflections this time, I decided to use what I think is the Coolest new Tool in my Toolbox, a green screen video:

Okay, it's not perfect.  But definitely buying the green St. Patrick's Day tablecloth from Party City made my background/foreground issues easier to deal with.  I think I did okay with the Chroma and transparency adjustments, and my eyes are no longer portals into hell.  I like the look.

I realize I SHOULD use a script when doing this, because I am a little nervous when recording myself.  The "take" I used was the best of about six.  And for some reason the animated GIF that I created with one of the lessons is presented in the background as a static image.

The last video -- the screencast -- that I included as a background --  hmmmm. I wish I could have muted the volume a little, but perhaps because it was such a huge file, the doInk green screen program would not allow me to turn down the sound. I hate that, as foreground David Ames is speaking to the camera, background David Ames is trying to present a lesson to his absent students.  Too many voices.

I did have some difficulty in manipulating the files as I was putting this together, but some of that I attribute to spotty internet service.  I think that in the future if I create the materials at work, instead of at home, I will be able to deal with some of these glitches more easily.

I have really enjoyed the work I have done in this workshop, and I intend to continue to sharpen my tools, and to implement these lessons in my class with my students.

Thank you for the opportunity for an old dog to learn a few new tricks.

                                                                         -- David

Thing 19: Screencasting and Screen Sharing

One of the biggest problems I face in the classroom is absences.  Students are absent because they are not at school, or they are in school, but are not in the classroom for one or more reasons.

And then they want to get the work that they have missed. 

(Well, in a perfect world, they want to get the work that they have missed.)

But even if you give them the work, how much of the lesson are they going to be able to master if they have missed all the give and take of class discussion, and all the explanation and demonstration of models that teachers just naturally provide on an everyday basis? 

So you give the student a stack of papers, and they are returned to you half blank, with the explanation: "I didn't know what to do," or "I don't know what you want."

By using screencasting tools, I can use the PowerPoint lesson I work with in the classroom, and provide an accompanying narration, that will (I hope) guide students through the basics of the lesson.

And because they will be viewing this on their own, they will be able to pause and replay as much as they want.  (This can also be advantageous for students who simply do not "get it" the first go round.) 

I read the article "How to Screencast in 3 Simple Steps," by Vicki Davis.  I have to be careful about a lot of the recommendations, because when I am using my school-issued laptop (on which I try to keep everything I need for school), I am not given the authority to download programs.  Some of the other articles here guided me to programs I was blocked from downloading.  (For instance, I really liked Kasey Bell's article "How to Create Screencast GIFs," but when I tried to download Gyazo, my laptop blocked me because I lack administrative privilege. 

Vicki David recommended Screencast-o-matic, and remarkably, I could get it on my laptop.  It was easy.  I was also pleased to see that it will work on my students' chromebooks (according to Richard Byrne, in "Eight Options for Creating Screencasts on Chromebooks," and Jenn Sheffer, who shared some examples of student work using Screencast-o-matic in "Students Teaching Teachers with Screencast-o-matic.")

Anyhow, I decided to try a Screencast in which I guide students through the opening lesson of a unit, in which they had to respond to pictures in a Gallery Walk (which I have presented as a slide show) and read a non-fiction article and complete a graphic organizer.  I did it a few times (I hate the sound of my voice in recordings, and, yes, I stuttered a little the first two attempts), and there are still a couple of mistakes.  But I think I have managed to create something that will come in pretty handy as I have students trying to make up work.  I can just post this on my class website.

Anyhow, here is my Screencast:

Thing 24: Google Drawings

I am an English teacher, or, in other words, I am a thief.  Any good idea that I see, I want to steal. 

Just last week, I was lamenting about trying to recreate a Frayer Model worksheet in Google Docs, which I had previously created in Microsoft Word. To me, Word was much more user friendly, but we have to re-do everything in Google Docs now, so I will just stop complaining before I become too annoying.

I finally gave up and just did the best I could with a simple table.  And then I discovered Google Drawings as a Cool Tool I could play around with.  I like putting pictures in my work, and I thought that Google Drawings might give me some useful tools.  But when I opened it up and began reading the articles, what is one of the first things I discover?  Matt Miller's "25 Free Google Drawings Graphic Organizers and How To Make Your Own."   

I don't want to tell you how fast I was in downloading these to my own Google Drive, and among them, what do I find?  None other than my own beloved Frayer Model:

I like his idea, too, of making this accessible to my students on-line through our Google Classroom, and giving them the chance to make their own copies and then complete them.  It could make the illustrations a lot more interesting if students can insert images that they find on-line.  And it will mean less time at the copier for me.

Another article that I really liked was Matt Miller's  "Google Drawings Interactive Posters (no glue sticks necessary!)"  I like the idea of setting up assignments for my students, which I can post on our Google classroom, and they can simple follow the links to all the sites I want them to visit, and all the parts of the assignment that I expect them to complete.

I used Google Drawings to make an interactive poster, including links to three of the resources in this lesson (two to the magnetic poetry creators, and one to the magazine cover templates).  If you click on the image, the link will take you to the website where you can create your own magnet poem or magazine cover.  (These resources were covered in "Get Creative with Google Drawings" by Tony Vincent.)

 
Unfortunately, the problem that I am encountering as I post this here, is that I created it as a Google Drawing, and to include it here, I had to use my snipping tool and import it as a picture.  (If someone knows a way I can post it in my blog and still retain the interactive functionality of the links, I would welcome his or her advice!)

Click here to view the actual Google Drawing, and then you will be able to click on the links and have them work. 

Google Drawings is not exactly what I had expected to find, but I find it much more useful, and I can see a lot of ways I can use this myself.  I think it would be great to have the students use it to make Interactive Posters, I am just concerned about how much time it might take to teach them the program.  I could be underestimating my students, though.  They may be lightyears ahead of me.

Thing 26: Media Skills

One of the best ideas I got from this tool was from the article 9 Ways Classroom Photos Can Create Student Connection, by Jenn Horton.  I loved the way she had students write their personal mission statement, and then print it on a picture of the child.  We have students write their own mission statements at the beginning of the school year (as we are examining the school mission), and I think that producing them the way she does will yield a more meaningful result, and more student buy-in.

The Windows Screenshot Tips wiki webpage was a very useful introduction for me to what should probably be a very basic skill.  I am embarrassed to confess that I never knew I could create a screenshot of my computer screen, and realize how much time that could have saved me when I've been trying to explain a problem that has been going on.  In this case, I have a feeling that a picture is worth A LOT more than a thousand words.

The process was very simple, and I was able to make a screen shot using the first method described, holding the windows key and pressing the PrtScr key at the same time  (Hey, when did they put that key on the keyboard?).  Here is my first screen shot from my school laptop: Ta-Da.

And that folder, in my Pictures folder, labeled Screen Shots -- was that there before, or did the computer automatically create it when I made my first screen shot.  I swear that I had never noticed it previously.

I also learned to make a screen shot from my iPhone.  I have a feeling that this will come in very handy when I am trying to explain problems that I am experiencing there as well.  Here's a picture of a screen shot from my favorite new app, Do Ink:

Malaika Nicholas's blog entry 5 Ways to Make an Animated GIF (Without Photoshop!) introduced me to something that is pretty fun.  I chose to use the second GIF maker she recommended because it is free and purportedly easy.  I did feel that it was very easy to use, but when I went to publish the GIF I had created, I was informed that I had used premium features and it would cost be $7.99 a month if I wanted to continue.

I did not.

I was a little annoyed that I had gotten no warning when I had gone into premium features, so I tried to go back and make it as simple as I could, with no bells and whistles.

So here it is, a simple message to my students that there is no substitute for reading the book, using a snippet from a Key and Peele skit with the substitute teacher Mr. Garvey.

I hope to make some more animated GIFs, and I like that I can snag a three second clip from just about any video on YouTube and use it with my own caption.  These will be fun to include on my class website.