All posts by filmrd

I am a computer Technology Integrator and teacher at Kingswood Regional Middle School in Wolfeboro, NH. For many years I owned and operated Rick Davidson Photography and Video. I'm also the author of "Catamount, A North Country Thriller" and "Murder at Stillwater Lodge".

Maptia, A World of Stories

Every once and  awhile, I run into a site that really blows me away. Maptia is one such site. The Photography and the stories  are outstanding.  Anyone can add their own.  This free site could be used to inspire our students to do just that.  You simply add your text and your images and then publish.  The site is easy to use, but the potential for creativity is unlimited.  I could spend the day just exploring the existing stories.  This is an excellent example of what one can accomplish with digital media.

Maptia

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The Padagogy Wheel from Alan Carrington, SAMR, Blooms Revised Taxonomy and WeVideo

The 2016-2017 school year is under way.  This post contains the email that I sent to all of the teachers in our district. The Padagogy Wheel is a very graphic description of how technology can effectively be integrated into all curriculum areas while aligning with Blooms Revised Taxonomy and the SAMR model. There is a link to the wheel in the body of the e-mail.  Our district has invested heavily in Chromebooks, WeVideo has proven to be a very useful cloud-based software that links to Google Drive. We can make movies and other presentation on the Chromebooks. We will continue to use it this school year.

Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year. I am looking forward to another year of  collaborating with as many of you as possible. Once again, I have ordered 100 WeVideo licenses for teacher and student use. The licenses can be assigned for the duration of a project. At the end of the project, the students’ work will be saved to their Google Drives and the students will still have access to the free version of WeVideo. The licenses can then be reassigned to a new set of students. Last year, some schools also purchased their own licenses. WeVideo works well with any computer including the Chromebooks and it lends itself to a number of different types of projects. During the 2015-2016 school year, I worked with students on just about every level. The students created weather reports (second grade), simulations, book trailers, animations, videos promoting healthy lifestyles, personal narratives, historical role plays, public service announcements, science, and math demonstrations  just to name a few. I also have a traveling green screen. This is very engaging for the students and it also provides exposure to real-world digital media creation techniques. The green screen makes it very easy to insert video and/or still images into the background of a presentation.

The new principal at KRMS, Aaron Bronson shared the attached “Padagogy Wheel” with me this summer. It was created by Allan Carrington from Adelaide, Australia.  It is licensed to be shared under  Creative Commons attributes, so I am sharing it with you. There is an attachment at the bottom of this email.  It combines the SAMR Model of Technology Integration* with Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. It is very important that our students understand what resources are available for them to share and use.  It is also essential that they give proper credit to the creators of the media they incorporate into their presentations and publications. Creative Commons provides access to media that is available and legal to use. The wheel shows suggested apps, activities, and action verbs that align with the levels of the SAMR(Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) model while also lining up with the Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy (Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analysing, Evaluating, Creating). It is really very well done. Check it out. There are some great suggestions for a wide variety of classroom activities.  Bottom line, I am here to collaborate with you and to help you facilitate incorporating these types of activities and projects into your classrooms. I look forward to hearing from you.

Rick

*From Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything

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Science Journal

The Science Journal is part of the Google initiative to promote Making and Science.  I have added this app to my Android phone.  It looks like it will be fun to measure aspects of the environment.

The Science Journal app allows you to gather data from the world around you. It uses sensors to measure your environment, like light and sound, so you can graph your data, record your experiments, and organize your questions and ideas.

“One Thousand Categorized The Best List from Larry Ferlazzo’s Blog”

I don’t know when this guy sleeps but Larry Ferlazzo is an incredible resource for all things relating to education and curriculum. He has categorized his “Best Lists”. This compilation just might be the most complete collection of education resources on the Internet.

One Thousand Categorized The Best List From Larry Ferlazzo

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Use Google Drawings for brain-friendly visual note taking from Matt Miller

Use Google Drawings for brain-friendly visual note taking

Matt Miller has some interesting ideas on how to use Google Drawing for visual note taking.

 

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Edpuzzle

Edpuzzle accesses videos from YouTube, Kahn Academy, Learn Zillion, Ted Talks Veritasium, Numberphile, Crash Course, and Vimeo.  What makes edpuzzle really useful is that it allows you to crop the videos you want to show.  Show as much or as little of the video as you would like.  You can also use voice over to add your own comments and observations. Edpuzzle is compatible with Google Classroom.

edpuzzle

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Fluency Tutor for Google

Fluency Tutor for Google looks like it could be useful for helping struggling readers.  It works with both Google Drive and Google Classroom.  It is interactive between students and teachers.

 

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“60 Things Students Create to Demonstrate What they Know” from “TeachThought”

There are a lot of ways for students to demonstrate what they know.  Some of them require using technology some don’t. This list from “TeachThought” has some good suggestions.

“60 Things Students Create to Demonstrate What they Know”

 

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DIRT (Registry of Digital Research Tools)

Dirt Digital Research Tools seems to have a link to just about every type of tool you can imagine to conduct research, gather data and to present or publish.  You can search for free and paid applications. You can also search for “Creative Commons” materials.  The tools range from simple to complex.  You can even choose the kind of data you would like to access.

 

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Curriculum21

Recently, I attended a very thought provoking ASCD conference with Heidi Hayes Jacobs.  We talked about the new literacies: media, digital, and global. Here are a few of the thoughts that I took away from the conference. Dr. Hayes points out that today’s learners create and share knowledge differently from previous generations. She points out that modern learners are consumers of digital media.  They also need to become creators. We expose students to classical literature and encourage them to learn how to create by writing.  We should also treat digital media the same way.  Just as we encourage students to be discerning consumers and interpreters of the classics, we need to motivate them to also be discernable consumers and interpreters of digital media.  Students study literary classics.  They should also study examples of outstanding filmmaking and video making.  Just as we encourage our students to write, we should provide them with the opportunity to create their own visual media. Classical literacy and digital literacy  are both important.  My alma mater Bowdoin College has just redesigned a substantial part of their Library (Media Center) in order to promote digital literacy. As Bob Dylan pointed out many years ago,”The Times They are a-Changin”  I am  seeing some real success using WeVideo this year.  This cloud software is compatible with Google Chrome Books and Google Drive. It provides our students with a very accessible tool to start creating rather than only consuming.

Heidi Hayes Jacobs is also the founder of curriculum21.com. Click on the “Clearing House” Tab and then click on the drop-down menu next to “Show” for access to a large catalogue of  resources for use in all curriculum areas.  This is an impressive resource.

Teaching is Messy – a great cartoon from Matt Scott

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