My Learning in Hum 8

Sometimes I feel a lot of pressure to blog, especially when I am on Twitter and so many interesting educators are creating such thoughtful posts.  It makes me nervous, but after the year I had with my Humanities 8 class I can't wait to share what I learned.

I can still remember the first day.  I am pretty sure I was given the most rowdy, hyper, enthusiastic, crazy group of grade 8s that were in the entire school district.  I even warned TOCs about this when I was away.  I am not sure how this group was chosen, but maybe it had something to do with the fact that I am exactly the same as they are?  Needless to say, if you know me, it was a perfect match.  I had so much fun this year, and I wasn't afraid to try new things.  

I focused a lot on inquiry-based, project-based learning this year.  We worked with essential questions and worked together to develop an understanding of our main theme for the year, which was "What leads to the rise and fall of civilizations?"  At first, the kids had no idea what was going on.  And I think that had a lot to do with the fact that I wasn't totally sure what was going on either.  But slowly we worked through various questions, starting with "What makes us who we are?" and moving through our projects to uncover our unique answers.  

I love working with EQs.  I was asked once how to stop kids from cheating on tests and how I get around kids copying and pasting their work off the internet.  I don't usually come across this problem (not saying it hasn't happened, just not often).  And I realized that it's because I don't ask my kids to regurgitate facts and other people's ideas.  My students analyze opinions and perspectives, and essentially develop their own - that's what I want to know.  I want to know what they think, why they came to that understanding, and how they got there.  I want my kids to know how they learn - Essential Questions and inquiry-based projects allow us to figure this out.

My students challenged me.  I brought in iPads and other technology to engage them more, and found that once I opened the gates, the requests came flooding in.  One QR code scavenger hunt ended up with requests for repeats on almost a weekly basis.  I mean, you use video games to explain ONE idea and you'll never hear the end of it.  My kids tried to justify a different video game for every unit thereafter.  At least they were making connections with...real life?  But it was FUN.  We were able to play while learning.  Some kids even mentioned that while we were building the gingerbread manors, they had no idea that they ended up knowing everything there is to know about the feudal system and they weren't even trying to figure it out.

I was a bit nervous to hear what my kids thought of the year.  We had our ups and downs for sure.  I know I definitely had difficulty with a few units, and so my kids did too.  But we all knew that when we were feeling unsure, we could always go back to our EQs and figure out "WHY are we learning this?"  I was worried to hear what they had learned in their final portfolios.  And yes, as a teacher who is trying to implement more technology, I realize that these should be done online, but I had started the year with paper portfolios, so I finished the year with paper.  Honestly though, it gave the scrapbooks more authenticity I think.  The last week of class they were so engaged in choosing work from their portfolios, cutting it up, gluing things together, writing reflections and drawing connections, I sometimes worry that e-Portfolios won't have that same "Messy Learning" feeling.  And believe me, it was messy.  If you don't like glitter, use blogs. 

This also made me think of "Looping".  A few kids mentioned how the linear course made them feel more comfortable. If we were to loop certain classes (hum8/9) for two years it could benefit those students who find it difficult to present and work collaboratively with other students.  More on Looping and Creating Meaningful Relationships

I couldn't believe the level of thinking that my Hum8 class shared with me in their final projects.  While reading their scrapbooks, I got goosebumps.  They got it.  Every single student got it.  I learned so much from these kids and I hope they walk away from grade 8 with a better understanding of how to be successful in the years to come.

If you are interested in any of the projects I mentioned.  You can find them on the "Projects" page at fhsslearn.blogspot.com 

Blog Project Addition

As part of your blog, you will have 3 additions

Choose topics on the following:

1.   One current event

2.   One point of interest

3.   Your favorite thing to do on the computer

For each:

-         Summarize and describe the topic using reliable sources (this will require research)

-         Be specific with your explanation, examples, and your reasons why you chose to write about each topic.

-         Analyze and ask questions

§  Is this information reliable?

§  What connections can you make with this topic?

§  What connections can you make between these topics and the world/community?

§  Always question what you read.

Blogs are about providing information, analysis, personal opinion and collaboration.  Thus,

-         Throughout your analysis make sure you provide references for any ideas that aren’t yours, as well as references and links to further reading

Due Date: Last day of class – June 18^th (You will be sharing with your classmates as well as discussing it with me)

Plan for Thursday, May 10th

Begin class by going to scratch.mit.edu (if you haven't already downloaded scratch, please do so by clicking on the "download zip file" or ask the person next to you for help).  I want you to take the first 20 minutes to PLAY!  Choose a few games on the website and play them.  Consider the type of game you are playing and perhaps get some ideas for your own game.

Some key things to remember: Your games should be original and creative.  Ms. Pelat is tired of playing pong and maze games, so use your imagination!  You have 6 weeks...take your time.  You may want to make several games or work on one with several levels.  Just don't feel pressured by time because there is lots!!

After about 20 minutes, go to learnscratch.org and check out some of the tutorials.  You may want to begin playing around with some of the controls at this point.  If you are not ready, don't worry, when I come back after break I am going to show you a few things to get you started, including the scripts from several examples to give you an idea of what it may look like.

If you would like to wait for my demo, please work on your blog portfolio and make sure that you have handed in your swf flash file.  You may even want to show Ms. Pipke what you've been working on!

See you after break!

Blogger Project

For your final project you are required to share your learning from InfoTech 9/10 this year.  Using your blogger account, create a post for each project you completed this semester (Publisher, PowerPoint, Photoshop, Group Project, Flash, Scratch, Tech Reporter).  Each post should describe what you learned, some of the challenges you encountered, what you would do differently next time, and the successes you had.  What did you find easy?  What did you find difficult?  Explain your experiences for each, and be prepared to share this learning with me on the the double block day of the semester.  If some of your assignments are difficult to post, you simply have to describe them.  If you have a dropbox account it will make it easier to link some of your assignments.

Can't wait to discuss your progress.

Adobe Flash CS4

Flash is a great program for those of you interested in animation.  The trick is patience and play!  We will begin with an introductory lesson on how to draw and make simple animations in Flash, by creating a moving face.  You are required to have a face with moving eyes, mouth, hair, etc.  This should be completed and I have to see it before you move on to your storyboard.

The Storyboard:
The biggest part of animating is DRAWING.  The purpose of storyboarding is to outline your animation.  This will give you a clear overview of your project as you proceed.  Each section of your storyboard is a snapshot of your animation at about every 5 seconds and should illustrate the main parts of your story.  Remember, there are 29 frames per second.  Please complete the storyboard with as much detail as possible.  You should have characters, a background, and as many moving parts as possible (characters, birds, flowers, trees, clouds etc. - if applicable).  This will also have colour!  - use this process as a plan so make sure all details are accurate.  If you do not have any dialogue, that's ok.  All other parts should be completed on both sides of the storyboard.

Please focus on making your animation as realistic as possible, using the hinging you were taught in class.  Stick figures are ok, but they must move at the joints.  You may use your face animation in this scene if you would like to.

If you are having trouble, please try to play around with the program more...it is the best way to learn!  Otherwise, ask!  Or go to YouTube and search "Adobe Flash CS4 animation tutorials".  There are lots of tutorials out there designed to help you!

Note: The face should be finished by Friday.  The storyboard will be worked on in class and will be handed in on Monday at the end of class.  So, take your time!

Can't wait to see your scenes!

HTML Peer and Self Evaluations

Peer and Self Evaluation – IT9/10 Group Project

Please complete in an email and put in IT drop box before the end of class. (You may complete as a Word document or just copy and paste into a new email).

Work on blog or HTML once finished.

Blog: Look back at what you have completed so far in this class.  Write a paragraph for each that describes your learning (what went well, what didn't, what did you learn, what could you do differently next time?)


Project
Describe your project in a short paragraph
What were some key ideas that you learned about your topic?
What were some of the programs your group used to present your topic?
Overall, as a group how well did you:
Communicate with each other
Communicate with other groups
Communicate with Ms. Pelat
Work together towards a common goal


Peer
List the people in your group.  Using a scale from 1-10 (1 being the lowest amount of involvement; 10 being a great amount) give each person a score based on their involvement and helpfulness during this assignment.


Self
Describe the duties that you performed as an individual.
What would you have liked to do more of with respect to the programs used?
What could you have contributed more of with respect to group involvement?
Overall, on a scale from 1-10, what score would you give yourself for this project (consider involvement, knowledge of topic, ability to use the programs effectively – give a mark out of 10 for each)

Each group member MUST complete this evaluation individually.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me. 

Group Project Presentations

We are coming to the end of our "saving lives with social media" project, which means is time to start organizing our presentations.  Each group member was responsible for various elements of your website, and thus will present what they have created.  I would like to hear about the process from all of you.  So, what did you make?  Why did you make it?  What impact does it have?  What did you learn during this project (not necessarily just content, but also skills)? And of course, How can we save lives/change the world with social media?

Each presentation will be anywhere from 5-10 minutes total (per group), depending on what you would like to share with the class.  I particularly would love to hear about unique ideas you had or innovative pieces you included in your process.  Please refrain from simply reading your information.  Summarize and explain instead.

After our presentations, we will complete peer and self evaluations, and I will come around to each of you to discuss your contributions and learning.  All three of these assessments will contribute to your final assessment for this project.  See the group presentation criteria and guidelines for more information on what was expected.

During my discussions with each of you, the rest of the class will be working on setting up their final project.  In order to avoid a massive amount of work at the end of the year, you will begin now, before we start Flash and Scratch.  Make sure you have a gmail account set up and we will go through blogger set up together this week.  Final project expectations will be discussed as a class.

Good luck with the final touches of your group project!  If you have any questions or concerns come see me ASAP.

Tech Reporters - Make sure you are on track with your time management!  If you need help, I will have my room open for FLEX Tuesday-Thursday this week (April 3-5).  Everyone welcome.