My Updated Course Sites

I recently updated my course web pages, which I design with iWeb. I drive considerable traffic to the site because I repeatedly tell parents that the assignment calendars reside there. I'm scheduled to teach three courses: six sections of American Government, one section of AP American Government & Politics (year course), and one measly section of Literature into Film. These are the changes:

Home Page

• Cosmetic changes to the welcome message.
• Major upgrade to my resume. I'm really pushing to do more professional development work whether it involves presentations, workshops, courses, employment. So I post this at the blog and on my sites hoping this helps me network a tad.

AP American Government & Politics Page

• I place this class first to showcase it a bit. It's a senior elective and I hope the parents of my younger students take a peek.
• I installed one of the CBL video reflections from last year. I think it communicates the pedagogy of the course.
• I simplified my report on AP scores. I'm proud of how my students have done, but I also want to implicitly communicate that the projects, blogging and the like contribute to strong test results and are not some kind of side show.

American Government Page

• This is probably the most important page. I think I made the right move to simplify it. I want to communicate that an organized, innovative teacher is in charge of the course. A cleaner design helps to do this.
  
  
• I've advertised this semester's projects but decided not to use links. If I wish to communicate to parents about the projects I think I will do so by email. They are complicated. By the same token, as I've blogged previously, I plan to offer some assessment options for unit one., but I've left this tricky bit of business off the site.

Literature into Film Page

• Setting up this page is a labor of love. I did this one the week after school was out even though I do not teach it until 2011. I wrote up a new syllabus and listed all the films with links to descriptions
  

• I installed a marvelous film criticism movie that one of my M-Hub leaders made for this class, last year. It's so creative!
  
  
• I lovingly described the film noir project that should be a lot of fun.

Check it out it out: Baker's course web pages
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Screen capture of the Lit into Film page.

A Simple Video Exercise

In the olden days (two years ago), I required my "Literature into Film" students to write a term paper as their final project. I still require a paper, but it is only one component to a project with four parts. My favorite part is the student created video.

Among their requirements:

* Shoot your review with the library Flip Mino or use a recorder at home. You will be marked down for using a computer camera designed for video chat. *Other production values include minimal ambient noise, no reactions to people off camera, undistracting dress (if informal, chic, not gumpy, informal). No mugging or clowning. Close properly * You may use prompt cards, but do not read a full script (Breezy, informal style). * Don't spend more than the first minute on plot. * Highlight the film's strengths and weaknesses. Be specific. * Conclude with a clear recommendation of the film (You are under no obligation to cheerlead). * Please submit your assignment on a thumb drive in a sealed envelope.

I provide students with some resources related to production values. But as is my custom, I spend very little time in class talking tech. I basically turn them loose and collect the thumb drives on the due date. Check out one of the best efforts from last semester:

Click to visit Whitney's video

This is an English class, so we don't produce our original films. But I think you will agree that that Whitney's production does not pale in comparison to a written assignment..... And the videos are so much more fun to "check"!

A Virtual Parent-Teacher Conference

I am trying something new on Thursday-- A virtual Parent-Teacher Conference. Since I have been excused to attend and present at the 2010 MACUL Conference , I am improvising.

The Plan

* I collected parent emails from my 130 students. A few weeks ago, I sent a preliminary, "Howdy, I'll be missing....." email and yesterday sent the official email with a link to my virtual PT Conference site.

*At the site (click link at the bottom of post) I placed a video for each course. I also linked the kinds information sheets (pdfs) that I usually hand out in person at the conference.

* I indicated that I would be willing to meet face-to-face, but cautioned that with 130 students that an email or phone call would be more expeditious.

* Understanding that some emails would certainly be misaddressed or go unread, I am leaving a message at my desk, communicating the basic information that was in the email (Click here to see it).

Some thoughts:

*I realize that many parents check in to meet their students' teachers and that a video is a poor substitute.

*On the other hand, a considerable amount of time at the conferences is usually spent on course talking points rather than actual conversation. The web site actually allows me to convey my communications more completely.

*I wanted to create a simple design, so I opted for one web site and one page created with iWeb and hosted on MobileMe), but this means that the videos are slow to load. I wonder how many parents will just skip them as a consequence.

*I think it was smart to keep the design simple, because the first parent to contact me complained that she could not find the hand outs (Can you !).

* I'm sure some parents will give me credit for trying to do a close approximation of a PT Conference. I'm also sure that there will be some annoyance by parents who check grades for the first time on Thursday and find out it won't be easy to get some quick feedback from me. We'll see, and perhaps I will report back at the Drive-thru.

It will be pretty difficult to evaluate the success of my little experiment. I'd welcome feedback from my readers in the form of comments or in a private email.

As with any parent teacher conferences, wish me luck!

Link to Virtual Conferences: Thursday's P.T. Conferences:

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

The Old Guy Goes Multimedia

For want of the correct adaptor, I was prevented from showing my Keynote presentation on "Apple Solutions for the 21st Century" at Madonna U. last week. Instead, I improvised, going directly to the Web for a "show & tell" of some online concoctions I've whipped up for my high school courses. I took a more or less chronological approach. It made me realize how I had evolved over the past 18 months. My progression is outlined here:

It all started with podcasts by phone. I made mp3 lectures with Gabcast for my Government class, and I began to require my students to report by podcast as well.

About 14 months ago, I began to integrate hyperlinks into my film study guides, illustrating concepts with photos and YouTube examples.

Exactly a year ago, I began using the Flip Mino I received for my birthday. I turned the camera on myself and started to record video directions for absent students. More significantly, I loaned the camera out to my AP Government students, so that they could vlog opinion pieces. Then their classmates blogged about these vlogs. The blogging feature of iWeb was perfect for this little enterprise.

In November, '08, I began to edit video movies with iMovie. I was very intimidated by this great software, but once again Atomic Learning helped me out.

In February, 2009, I taught my sophomores how to use wikis so that they could host their own multimedia resources. Many groups conducted interesting interviews and created short video pieces. Using iWeb I began creating exhibition pages for my students' multimedia work. I then shared the link with the editor of the school bulletin, The Mercy Memo.

I began podcasting with GarageBand. What an upgrade over Gabcast! ( Thanks for the tip, Andy Mann). And thank you, Rick Strobl for suggesting at Schuste's retirement party that I animate jpegs with PhotoToMovie. This was the best $50 I ever spent on software. Combining GarageBand mp3s with jpegs and turning them into movies has been a fun summer pastime.

Discovering that I could search for Library of Congress public domain photos on Flickr, further enhanced my ability to animate jpegs for instructional purposes.

I finally learned how to use Keynote. I had no idea that what I took to be slide show software could present so many multimedia options. This is my July and August preoccupation-- making moves using GarageBand (for soundtrack) and Keynote.

While I can't prove that my students are learning more after being fed with this stew of media, I know that I have, and I believe that I am modeling communication skills that they will need in their careers.

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"Multimedia Message" (The cover of the May/June Communication Arts Magazine). Flickr Creative Commons photo by mwilke.

Ten by Ten Top Techs

As the end of the school year approaches I've been tempted to make lists of this or that, so why not go all out and make a 10 x 10 list?

My Ten Best Blogs this Semester:

Wrap that Red Herring in Paper

At Long Last...ebook Joy!

A Vast Tinker Toy Playland

Hyperlink Heaven

Techno Topsy-Turvy

Sage Schuste Seduced by Cyberspace?

Tooting Your Horn

To Leap Forward or Hunker Down?

The Digital Natives Aren't that Restless

Teaching Literature Unbound

10 Lessons I've Learned at Age 55

Tweetdeck Top Ten: @bridgers, @cultofmac, @englishcomp, @jackiegerstein, @markwagner, @Milw_Mac_Guy, @ScottElias, @mcleoud, @potsie, @TweetingTigers

10 Necessities of Education Reform by Judy Willis

The 10 Commandments of Power Point. How can people possibly think that reading PowerPoint slides to an audience is an effective way to communicate? This post by David Pierce is a must read for those who use (abuse?) PowerPoint or teach it to others.

My 10 RSS Feeds Knowing that I would just get depressed if I loaded more and more feeds into my Google Reader, I always limit myself to ten. Click here for my current feeds.

My 10 Largest Delicious Tag Bundles: finish, blog, tenthings, google, dadcalx, AP, mhs, 13, technology

10 Reasons to Tweet: The nine I wrote about in Why Twitter? plus this obvious one that I forgot: # 10 Twitter is perfectly suited for mobile communications.

10 Sites I Check Daily

10 apps or sites that I've enjoyed learning to use this year: GarageBand, iMovie, QuickTime Pro, Google Docs, Audacity, WikiSpaces, Google Sites, Twitter, Presentation.

10 Compelling Reasons to Teach with Technology

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"The 'Ten Truck' FDNY' Flickr Creative Commons Photo by stevejonesphoto

Blogging on Podcasts

The final "project" that my AP American Government class completed is worth mentioning because it produced excellent results and is easily adaptable to a variety of subject areas. It was conducted entirely outside of classroom time, and the kids really liked it.

Students were asked to independently view a documentary film which related to our course. They were then required to produce a ten minute podcast which included a summary and dealt with such areas as

*Did the director betray any biases?

* What important things did you learn from the film?

* Name one or more weaknesses of the film.

* Would you recommend this film to others? On what basis? Explain.

The podcasts were uploaded to an iWeb podcast page. Students were then randomly assigned to review two of their classmates' podcasts and blog the reviews at the site. Here were the instructions for writing the reviews:

1. Whose podcast did you review and what was its length?

2. Was the main theme of the film explained clearly? What did you understand the main theme to be.?

3. How was the general pacing of the broadcast? Was the volume satisfactory? Did the student seem prepared?

4. Did the broadcaster seem informed and confident? Explain.

5. Describe at least two important facts or arguments that the student provided.

6. Did the film sound interesting? What came across as its strengths and weaknesses.

7. What other information about the film did you glean and/or what other stylistic points about the presentation were noteworthy?

The exercise produced excellent blogs, and once again I found that podcasting produced excellent writing. (Just listen to Allegra's superb review of The War Room).

The students responded to the transparency of the work and sampled each other's work beyond the requrirements. Each watched a worthwhile film, and quite possibly some have been enticed to watch a few more that their peers recommended.

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P.S. If you missed it due to the holiday, take a peek at "Rick's Off to College Computing Tips" and forward link to families of graduating high school seniors. The post now followed by some worthwhile commentary from college students.

We Have Ignition! (Rocketing AP Gov into Cyberspace)

I am preparing to rocket my AP Government and Politics course into cyberspace. A number of factors have converged to make this possible and desirable:

* This year's group has just completed its experience blogging on vlogs. I think the results have been terrific. Students were allowed to produce 3-5 minute videos on a political opinion or observation. Then classmates blogged on the vlog. (If they posted at least five blogs they were allowed drop one of their 2 page analyses). My Flip Mino camera was used to produce the video and iWeb created the vlog/blog pages. We completed seven of these, second semester. A representative group of the girls (and their parents) gave permission to me to share a small slice of our activity with you: Click to visit.

* In an upcoming post I will describe my second fling with podcast/blogging mini-project. It produced excellent results last year and is even more tightly organized with the help of iWeb, this go-round.

*I just discovered that David Canon, the marvelous professor at Wisconsin-Madison, who co-moderated the AP conference that initiated me into this course, has published a text with an impressive ebook option. Additionally a very cool blog serves as a companion to the text.

*Next year, all the students in the course (seniors) will have laptops, meaning they can more reasonably do online collaborations and use the money-saving ebook at school.

*I'm embarrassed to admit that on recently have I begun foraging in the political science section of iTunes University. I will definitely dip into the free lectures provided by Stanford for some aspect of my curriculum.

My ambition to send the AP course into full cyber-launch is contingent on having my preps reduced from four to three as I have requested. (Big "if" at this point). Regardless, I intend to continue designing curriculum that employs blogs-on-vlogs and podcasts for my studetns and the ALI. As always, I welcome your suggestions and reactions!

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Screen capture of Emily's vlog page.

Web Sites for School

I was not one of the first teachers at my school to build a web site. But during the summer of '07 I purchased iLife and became fascinated with the idea of constructing a personal web site hosted on MobileMe, that displayed my interests, photos, mp3's, etc. Admittedly I went somewhat overboard, but iWeb provides wonderful tools for adorning a site, and at that time, it was my only vanity badge on the Web. It was linked to the school site my email signatures, so I logged plenty of visitors. Ironically, since placing profiles on Twitter, Facebook, ALI, etc., I have actually pared back my personal web site abit. Portions had come to seem redundant. The only recent innovation has been the inclusion of more video. But I intend to keep the site going for the foreseeable future. After all, I do not "Friend" my current students and this is a non-interactive way that they and others can learn more about me.

My next web site venture was the development of a Mercy Shakespeare Society site. Linked to the school web site, it was intended to be an advertisement for prospective members and a bulletin board for current ones. To date, the site has logged over 850 visitors, but I have to confess that I have been disappointed that the members do not regularly use it as a source of information. I may not update it so frequently, next school year.

I am proudest of the web site for my courses, which is intended for parents and other stakeholders. I aggressively championed the site through notes sent home and by linking the course site to the school site. Well, last week we had Parent Teacher Conferences, and it was depressingly clear that these well designed, informative sources did little to diminish the banality of the "how is she doing" conversations. When I referenced information on the site, few parents even showed the barest recognition, or mumbled a vague intention to "check it out" later. At this point, I am questioning how much further time and effort to invest in this project.

Much more satisfying has been the site hosting my AP American Government and Politics vlogs. iWeb has an excellent blogging template that allows me to post my students videos and then host an online conversation about the video. Currently, the site is password protected, but at some point in the near future I hope to showcase this to my faithful readers. I am excited about vlogging and intend to use next month in my Film class . I also look forward it exploring iWeb09. which Apple just sent me through the ADE program. I'll let you know what I discover.