Authentic Audiences

Lauren's Challenge Based Project group attracted over a thousand hits in the first days they went live. In a previous post I referred to it as a "web masterpiece". How did this happen? Well, they were a very bright group of young women to be sure, tight knit and motivated as well. But in this video, Lauren conveys something that was a constant theme across the CBL groups: They were highly motivated to create a medium for an authentic audience.

Unique, to Lauren's group was their determination to reach sub-audiences, as well. She describes a three tiered approach at the Democracy of Tomorrow site. (If you "google" , the name, it's the top hit). Watching this happen has changed my view on how to teach.

A Favorite Podcasting Activity

I recently launched a favorite tech activity in my AP Government Class. Students independently watch a political documentary film. This year's group wanted to draw draft choices and then took turns selecting a film from my list of 30.

After watching the film, students will create a ten minute podcast. Students were given instructions for issues to address in the podcast, and given tips on how to use GarageBand and Audacity. On a designated due date students must submit their mp3s and I then post them to an iWeb blog page.

Then, the fun begins: Each student is assigned to listen to two other podcasts and "review" them on the blog page. Again, they are given specific instructions on what points to consider in their "two page" review.

Since the podcasts and reviews are published to a blog site (password protected) all students in the class have access to all the productions. Knowing this generally brings out the best in both the podcasts and the written work.

While posting the ten minute podcasts is a chore for me (any suggestions on how I might relieve myself of this chore in a password protected space?), I always look forward to reviewing the results-- It sure beasts reading a stack of term papers!
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Screen shot from AP Gov class vlog site

Monday Musings at the Drive-thru

Monday Musings at the Drive-thru....

People still say things to me like, "This will make you happy - I'm not using paper for [such and such]." This is odd, since to my recollection I have never scolded other teachers not to use paper.

I subscribe to a weekend newspaper and a magazine simply so I can have full access to their online services. When the dead-trees arrive at my house they usually go straight to the recycling bin. This is a horrible business model, no?

Over the last year and a half, I have had more questions from other teachers about Google Docs than any other tech subject. Rather than highlighting how tricky Docs are, this testifies to their ease of use and classroom functionality-- folks are eager to adopt them.

Recently, I sent my Consumer Technology Revisits my Film Class to Netflix and the MHS English Department for comment. The comments? The deafening sounds of silence from both parties .

I have totally succumbed to one social media addiction-- tracking #mlb trade rumors on Twitter.

After maintaining this blog for almost a year and a half, have really come to appreciate the ability of bloggers like Tom Schusterbauer and Patrick Hayes to spark a discussion.

We had a staff appreciation dinner, last week, where I was honored for thirty-five years of service. I came away not only feeling appreciated for things that I have done in the past, but also how genuinely my school supports me as I try our this new tool and that new method. Despite complaints to the contrary MHS is still a place where teachers have considerable autonomy.

I've reached an age where now and then folks ask me about my "retirement plans." I have none. But, the other day I was thinking that if I did retire from teaching, I would enjoy creating a daily sports blog-- basketball or baseball. Lots of tweeting too!

It's become fairly common for peers to request tech consultation with me-- usually involving new projects. I really enjoy these collaboratio, but almost always have to schedule them before or after school. It's also tough to follow-up on the projects. I wish I had some release time to do more. That's my pre-retirement dream.

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"Ceiling Detail" Flickr Creative Commons photo courtesy of Onion.

Why I Don't Teach Technology (much)

If you listen to Lauren's brief clip, you will get the idea as to why I spend little time teaching technology: I think students will learn what they need to use and are more likely to retain this knowledge if they apply it toward a particular project. Lauren describes the expertise she gained using video for her Challenge Based Learning Project. I can relate to this because I learned similar skills when I had a specific, real video project of my own. People react skeptically when I say that I did not teach any technology for these media-rich projects, but it's true.

Currently, I working on modified cbl projects with 85 sophomores. Last semester I began by "teaching" them to create Google Accounts, collaborate on group Google Docs, and start wikis. Last week, I skipped all of that. After they organized into groups, I simply told the groups that they were responsible for getting everyone up to speed.

Guess which method was more calm and more successful. The students were motivated to get each other on board. Instead of trying to put out a dozen or more brush fires simultaneously, I only dealt with two or three tech issues in each class. Sure, I will take time to show them a few tools along the way. But I plan to do these in twenty minute lessons rather than entire class periods.

Lauren is an exceptional student and she independently taught herself exceptional skills. But I am learning not to underestimate the power of student groups to motivate and teach each other basic tech skills as long as the requirements are reasonable and clearly communicated.

Drawn to the Bright Lights

I recently posted "Diary of a Country Priest Movie Review" to YouTube. As I indicated in my last post, I love making these little movie reviews. Sometimes they relate to my film class; other times just for my Film Favorites site. I have written original scripts and created the movies with iMovie. "Three Colors Blue" is a good example.

More often, for purposes of expedience, I use Photo To Movie because it is so darn easy to use (Thanks for the tip, Rick Strobl). And ....I often don't write original scripts. Instead I base them on the likes of great writers like Chris Koehn, Patrick Crogan, James Berardinelli, and David Church. In each case, I have contacted the writer or scholar and requested permission to use his text in my script. The permissions process has been quite gratifying. The writers are enthusiastic and flattered.

My collaborator for the "Country Priest" is Gary Morris, the editor/publisher of the "Bright Lights Film Journal" -- a terrific film resource. Gary even threw out the possibility that someday in the near future he'll be redesigning his site and might even accommodate little movies like mine! A fun idea and a gratifying collaboration.

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Screen shot of PhotoToMovie "Review- Diary of a Country Priest" project

Blurring the Lines between Personal and Professional

Over the last two years I have received considerable personal pleasure working on projects related to technology in education.

In one case the boundaries between personal and professional are particularly blurred. Once a month, I make a movie-- often using Photo to Movie -- about film. Sometimes I do it for class, like my short piece on Akira Kurosawa. Sometimes I simply select a great film like Three Colors: Blue, and post it to my Film Favorites web site. Occasionally, a movie I makelike the review of The Passion of Joan of Arc (pictured here) will serve both purposes.

Is this work or a hobby? It doesn't really matter to me. Like a hobby, I've accumulated a nice collection of these pieces which I have housed at my YouTube channel. If I come up with ideas that I might be able to use in the course, all the better.

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Screen capture from my Commentary of the Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Consumer Technology Revisits My Film Class

I have recently come across two interesting blog posts about streaming video. A recent NYT piece by describes state of the art technology for HD on demand movies. I also read on Mashable that Netflix has recently added three hundred of foreign and indie titles to its rapidly growing number of "instant watching" features.

Now, frankly, I am not eager to move into regular viewing of streaming movies. I like big screen viewing and DVD features. I also don't want to deal with the buffering issues or other baggage the HD streaming technology currently carries with it.

But....my students sure do use streaming video. I am amazed by how many films they are able to track down online -- legitimately posted and otherwise. And I started thinking about how an emerging consumer technology might once again improve the film class I teach.

A few years ago, when I switched from VHS to DVD my entire approach to discussing the films changed too. DVDs made it practical to review several different clips during discussion-- something out of the question with tape due to winding. Nevertheless, I still have to spend the obligatory 2 hours or so (usually three full class periods) in order to watch the entire film in class. In fact, last year, when I decided to add a documentary film to the mix, I bought four discs to loan, so that we didn't have to use precious class time for viewing.

But what if students could obtain all or most the films through a source like Netflix. For a few bucks per month, they could watch the film on home or at during study periods (We are a 1:1 school), and I would suddenly have so much more time. We could actually visit more films and/or consider them in greater depth. Some kind of classroom license for for the service something to dream about as well. That would be pretty awesome for our learners (and would be an opportunity for the providers to introduce their service to consumers).

Ten years from now, the DVDs we now use may seem as quaint as the reel-to-reels that were on the scene when I started teaching. Any thoughts?

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Screen capture of Vudu's home page.