Information Overloaded

Well, I’m back and blogging again after a wonderful and busy start.  I could not resist opening this term of blogging with a website that I think is absolutely brilliant called Yearbook Yourself.

You upload a picture of yourself, move it around, and the site gives  you images of yourself over the various years.

I especially love the Stepford Wives shot of me!  Try it out.  I think students would love it too!

Or what about me in 1980?  This one kills me!!

Today I worked with two Grade 8 boys to create screencasts of mental math strategies they are learning in class. I thought I would work with two of them so I could create some experts and also see what the best way would be to introduce screencasting to the whole class.

We are hoping to put the videos on a wikispace so other students can use the how-to videos to review math concepts.  Our site will feature studetnts teaching students.

When they came in one student was already familiar with creating screencasts using Cam Studios. Both of them knew what screencasting was, and all that was needed was my 5 minute explanation and they were off to the races.

One boy discovered that his windows media player would not open his test file. So he found out that by importing the .avi file into Moviemaker, he could preview it and edit.

They took the remainder of the 50 minute class to write their script and set up smart notebook with items from the gallery, text, and different slides. Tomorrow they are going to record using the Smart Notebook Recorder.

What a great way to incorporate literacy into math class. The boys were using procedure writing to explain their math concepts. One realized the need for visuals. He was teaching his strategy using apple and bathtub photos.

I will post them once they are finished. I can’t wait to see how they will turn out!

During a school visit one day I was struck by the talent that our students possess. Their artwork work was smartly framed on the walls for everyone in the school to see.

I thought it would be neat to put this on a website so even more people could enjoy it. I contacted some of the Art teachers in the District and we are now in the process of collecting and showcase their work on our Virtual Art Gallery website.

But it gets better! The Literacy Mentor and I were talking a few months ago and we are hoping to use the site to teach Middle School students how to comment on artwork. We are hoping to be able to link students’ comments about the art to the actual piece on the website!

Cool!

http://virtualartgallery.nbed.nb.ca

Mr. Lessig has hit the nail on the head when he talks about the effects of the read/write web on our kids in his Ted Talk entitled, “How Creativity is Being Strangled by the Law”.

Larry Lessig is a Law Professor, and the founder of Creative Commons, a license that enables creators to legally allow their work to be remixed and shared without breaking copyright laws. He talks about how kids today are not willing to settle into the passive consumer role like we were.

That made me think of something….I have been thinking about the old days when people did not question practices or comment negatively on things that nurses, doctors, and teachers were doing. They believed everything they were told!

Today is so different. We are a more critical society and take an active and role in our family’s health and education. We ask questions, do research, and look for alternatives. This is a good thing.

However, when it comes to media, we are much more passive. We accept the bad shows on TV and allow ourselves to be docile consumers.

This is not the case with our kids! They make and watch their own content! They are not passive consumers- they produce and create and are unwilling to just sit back and be entertained. They do it because they have something to say and an audience that will listen.

I think our kids will look back at us watching tv and wonder why were were so passive, and wonder why we didn’t create…

Powerful stuff! You’ve got to watch this one!