step one. make it into the academy.

done.

i received my email welcoming me to the glogster ambassador academy friday and i have almost finished setting up my google site for teaching people how to create a glog! i am very excited about this journey.


if you have no idea what i am talking about check out their website edu.glogster if you like what you see leave me a comment with your email/contact info and i will send you a special code to check out the premium features. 

Mozilla's Open Badges Project

check out this article on badges and how it might affect higher education.

How Will Mozilla's Open Badges Project Affect Higher Ed? | Inside Higher Ed

oh i can not wait for this. i was just discussing this sort of thing with my aunt the other night. what is learning going to look like in the future? this is what learning will look like! exciting times!

oh and i hope my professor was able to submit his idea to mozilla on time, good luck jason!

glogster

here is a quick glog i made in less than an hour about how to make a glog!



i am trying to become a glogster ambassador and they want you to submit a glog that you made so here goes nothing. p.s. i love glogster!!! and so do my students.

google drawing enhanced by google+

right now i am making my way through the muddied waters of the ADDIE process of instructional system design. while this process is long and intense i am very much looking forward to my team's final product, a google site to teach teachers about web 2.0 tools. one of the activities my team was required to do in the process was make a google drawing of the media assets we are going to include on our google site. i had never used google drawing before so i was a little nervous, but once i got started it was so much fun! google drawing is a powerful tool that allows multiple users to edit a drawing in real time, and what made it all the better was that my team was also hanging out through google+ so we were able to talk to each other through out the whole process. google has allowed my team to become more connected and collaborative through its wonderful free tools, yes i said free. i am continually amazed at what the google products can do. so if you are not using google docs, drawings or + yet, go check them out, but be prepared to be blown away.

here is a first draft of our google drawing.

google drawing for EDE

BP8_RILS using Illuminate and MakeBeliefsComix

Check out my comments on Joe's blog, join the revolution!

BP7_RILS using Animoto

check out my comments on janet's blog post about using animoto. makes me want to go create a video right now!

janet's animoto video

RILS Reflection

after spending a week coming up with an idea to use on my rils project and then becoming familiar with a new web tool, i thought i was all set to implement it in my class on monday. wow was i wrong. my school likes to just surprise us with new things and this week it was testing...all week long. ok so i didnt have to give a test but my room became a holding room for students not taking the test. ok, i thought, i will just do the project with them. done. take that school, i can roll with the punches. but i didnt see the right hook coming and it knocked me to the floor. no internet connection in my building. ahhh! how am i supposed to do a web tool with no web? so on monday instead of getting on the web, we watched movies all day, mythbusters to be exact and then it hit me, we could make our own episode of mythbusters and if i had to i would post the video at home and they could use their cell phones to make comments on edmodo. .....8....9......pulled myself up by the ropes, thought they had a knock out but you cant keep me down. on tuesday we started analyzing how the mythbusters used the scientific method in their videos and started researching our own myths to bust. wednesday the groups wrote out their storyboards and worked on their scripts. thursday we filmed and friday they put it all together in imovie and were able to upload the video themselves because we had regained our internet connection, woohoo! i enjoyed the whole process and i could tell the kids really enjoyed it to. i would love to do another one later, maybe i will do my original idea later in the year.

RILS Publication

update!!! i was all set to use blabberize in my class with my students but after 2 days of difficulty with our computers and the website i switched my project to using imovie instead. my students made their own episodes of mythbusters, and thought it was so much fun. here is my new and improved rils project.

Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario

Brief Overview: This lesson will address the how the scientific method can be applied to real life.  Students will research a commonly held myth and create their own episode of “mythbusters” using the scientific method.

Target Audience: The lesson is for science students grades 8-12, but could be adapted for younger students.

Materials:

Students will need access to video cameras and any supplies they need for their experiment (materials will vary depending on myth they are investigating). Students will need access to computers with internet access for research and to access edmodo and access to an account that will host their video like youtube/viddler. The students will also need access to imovie/another video editing tool.

Objectives: 

At the end of this assignment students will be able to:

·      Research a myth and evaluate any sources they discover.

·      Design an experiment following the scientific method to test the myth.                                           

·      Write a script for their episode they are filming.

·      Draw out a storyboard for their episode.

·      Create a movie with iMovie.

·      Create an account on Viddler and Edmodo.

·      Upload a movie to Viddler.

·      Upload a link to Edmodo.

·      Evaluate the process they used as well as critique the work of others.

Procedure:                  

Students will:
1. Watch an episode of Discovery Channel’s “Mythbusters” and evaluate it based on their use of the   scientific method.


2. Research a myth of their own using sites such as www.snopes.com.


3. Design an experiment to test their myth using the scientific method.


4. Draw a storyboard and write out a script for their “myth” film.


5. Film their experiment and any other scenes/pictures they would like to use in their film.


6.  Use iMovie to put together their episode.


7. Upload their movie to their Viddler account.


8. Copy the link from their Viddler account and post it on their class edmodo page where others will comment/critique their work.


9. Record a video reflection and upload it to the teacher’s computer.


Web 2.0 Tool:Students will use iMovie to create their presentation. iMovie allows users to create professional looking videos with little experience with movie editing tools. Edmodo (www.edmodo.com) is a classroom website where students can access teacher generated information as well as collaborate with other students in a closed environment. Viddler (www.viddler.com) is a video hosting tools, that allows users to upload videos and embed them on web pages.


Social Participation/Social Learning: Students will work in groups on activity and can collaborate online in their edmodo groups created by the teacher. Students will also evaluate and critique classmates' videos.


Making Connections:

 A) Students will use their previous knowledge of the scientific    method to evaluate episodes of mythbusters and to create their own experiment to test their myth.

B)  Students will connect how believing myths with no    investigations can impact their lives as well as society.

C) Students will post their project to the edmodo site where other classes can see and comment on their work.

Create/Produce –The student will create a video episode to evaluate a commonly held myth in our society.

Assessment Rubric 

Reflection:

a. Students will reflect on their work after other students have commented on it and record a video that will be tuned into the teacher.

b. Instructor will reflect after receiving student reflections to see what worked and what did not.


my short movie on myth busting, enjoy!

PE5_Blabberize

after using blabberize some more i found somethings that i am not liking too much. i dont like the fact that you have to record your voice all in one take. i have been trying to produce a short example video for my students for my rils project but i just cant get it right in one take. i wish there was some way to stop and start the recording without losing what you have already done. so here is my best shot at blabberizing sir isaac newton.

PE4_Blabberize

for my relevant and innovative learning scenario (rils) i chose to work with edmodo and blabberize as my web 2.0 tools. blabberize is a program that allows users to take a photo and manipulate it to look like the mouth is moving. you can record your own voice or use a recording. the program recognizes the sounds and level of the sound and moves the mouth accordingly. this was a simple enough program to use and i had fun playing around with it with my daughters. here is our first attempt at a blabberized photo.




my class will use this to present their research on a scientist/inventor of their choice. they will find a picture of their scientist and speak from the scientists point of view about their life and work. when complete they will share their projects on edmodo allowing others to comment on their presentations.
i think this program will be easy for my students to use and it will give them a way to present their project without having to get up in front of the class or record themselves talking about it. i have found students to be much more open with their work when they do not have to show their face.

BP6_Janet's Blog on iMovie

check out my comments on janet's blog about imovie

BP5_Bryan's Blog Post on Edmodo

follow this link to my comment on bryan's blog post about edmodo

BP4_Wix

after a long debate between the voices in my head over which web 2.0 tools to review we settled on wix.com   a free flash website creator.

i have been interested in building a website for my class for a while but was a little nervous about how it would look since i have never done anything like this before now. but wix has made it super easy with hundreds of pre made templates for you to choose from. whatever you are looking for, they probably have a template for that.

the main reason i am interested in creating a website for my class, is that i want to gamify my classroom and i want the website to act as my knowledge map, i have seen other teachers sites and they look so good. here is my inspiration site.

mr.daley's class website. my inspiration.

he has done an amazing job of creating a great looking site and has been such as inspiration to me on gamifying my classroom. if you want to know more about games in the classroom he has a wonderful blog with many resources on gamification. check out his blog on gamification. 

so off i went to create my own class website. wix made it really easy, i chose a template and started creating my site.

i was able to change text and pictures quickly to suit my needs. the layout of the editing tools was easy to understand and i was pleasantly surprised at the large range of tools available. this site was just right for a beginner like me. so here is the beginning of my website for my class, cant wait to use it in class!

PE3_iMovie

ok so i am officially tutorialized with imovie, i even have a certificate to prove it.

now that i am official i had to make something in imovie. so i whipped out my camera and shot some clips of my daughters running around the house, something that they do very well. i uploaded my clips to iphoto.

and then turned them into my favorite part of imovie....a movie trailer! this was the best feature of imovie for me. i am not a avid cinematographer or even a great photographer but the movie trailers looked so easy to use i thought this was something i could do, and do well. after a few minutes of filming and a few minutes of uploading, i was ready to make my masterpiece.

i made a short movie trailer of my two super hero girls in anticipation of their upcoming full length super movie, coming soon to a theater near you. enjoy the trailer, i enjoyed making it.



 imovie is not so scary after all.

PE2_iMovie

into the second hour of my imovie training and i am still excited about watching a tutorial. now that i have learned how to organize and edit my clips i can move onto the fun stuff, effects and audio.

imovie has so many amazing effects and bonus, they are so easy to use. as i followed along with the instructors video creating still clips, adding in photos, adjusting the color, i thought this stuff is amazing and then he pulled out the big guns and wowed me with the use of the green screen effect. it was great, and when he said all he did was paint a wall in his office with green paint, i was thinking when does home depot open and what wall should i paint? my brain is in overdrive thinking about all the things you could do with this feature.

along with the great effects the tutorial also went over the different audio features you can use in imovie. adding background music and effects is actually quite simple, it is mostly a drag and drop feature. probably my favorite audio effect  was extracting audio to use in other clips. this one was a little more complicated than the others but i thought it well worth the work, this tool allows you to keep great video clips even if the audio is not what you wanted. you are able to replace the original audio with another audio from a similar clip so seamlessly that the viewer would never know you replaced the bad audio. the instructor gave a great tip in this tutorial, he said to always film a few minutes of extra ambient audio anytime you film something just in case you have to replace the audio on another clip. this was something i would have never thought of, but will now do always. yay for tutorials!

PE1_iMovie

first let me say that lynda.com is amazing! taking a 3 hour plus training on imovie did not sound like much fun but the instructor's style and the fact that it was cut into small bite size pieces of information made the whole thing much easier to swallow.

i had not used imovie all that much and the little bit that i did use consisted of mainly one take videos with no editing. imovie just seemed so confusing to me that i really did not want to deal with it. i thought it was just something i would never be able to learn but after watching the first hour of the imovie tutorial i was blown away, i had learned so much in such a short time. the most important thing i learned was organization of clips in imovie. there are so many ways to organize your clips from rating clips, tagging clips to using the people finder tool (imovie can find people in your clips and then highlights where they are so you can easily find them, how cool is that). i had always bypassed over this part in imovie but after watching how important and useful these tools can be, it will be the first thing i do in any imovie.

the next thing i will do after organizing will be editing my videos. i had never had much interest in editing my movies because i thought it was going to be so hard but this tutorial broke it down and was very easy to follow and i am very eager to make a movie full of edits!! what made the tutorial on lynda.com even better was they provided a file of the instructors videos and pictures that you could use in your imovie and follow along with the instructor. since i am a hands on kind of person this was a big plus for me.

woohoo i can do it. on to the next one.

BP3_animoto

want to put together a visual presentation for your audience but don’t think you have the time? well then animoto is for you. this is a free service that will put together your images, videos, music, and text in a polished presentation in mere minutes.  as a teacher you can put together visually stimulating presentations as hooks for a new subject you are introducing, or have students create a visual summary of a topic as an assessment.

www.animoto.com

after a quick and free sign up i was able to navigate around the site easily and create a short presentation using only the stock photos and music they have open for all to use.

i selected a clean presentation style from the selection they had available (more choices were available for a monthly fee).

i selected a few pictures with a similar theme.

then selected music from their library.

then finalized my project, i did not add any text to this presentation as i just wanted to see what the program could do. The program determines the speed of your images based on the number of images you use and the length and tempo of the soundtrack you select, which might be the best feature of this service for a newbie video producer like myself.

i was able to put together this short presentation within five minutes!

another great thing i discovered while waiting for my video to be finalized was the animoto blog. this blog was full of great information on how to take better pictures, with tips for the professionals and novices alike.

i cant wait to start putting together better presentations for my classes and am very excited to see how my students will utilize this new tool in class.

BP2 iGoogle PLE

after setting up my igoogle in month i had pretty much forgot it had existed. but after completing this assignment i am glad we are being asked to use it again, it has opened my eyes to new possibilities! and the tab feature is amazing. i have really just set up the basics but i am excited for the coming days when i will really get into creating a ple for myself.

my homepage has mostly science news updates and my fso course required gadgets, i am not too happy about having facebook on my home page since i dont really use it and it takes up a lot of space.

my fso page is kind of empty for now, but i love my theme!

my resources page has the required info but i have lots more to add in the coming days. i chose a google a day for my gadget on this page. i discovered this site last year and love it. it is a fun way to fine tune your googling ability. each day they send out a new question for you to find the answer to using google. it is a great way to see how well you can "google it" which is quickly becoming a very needed skill for students and teachers alike.

i am glad i am using igoogle again, i now see it in a whole new light.

BP1_Welcome to my blog

D. Sharon Pruitt 

as i was hurling my stones of knowledge at my students today and as they were clearly not catching them, i thought should i be throwing these stones? maybe the kids were made of glass and i just shattered one of them, or maybe they were made of pillows and my stone just got stuck in the fluff. what can i do to get these students to catch my stones? and then it happened, my mind shifted, maybe i should not throw them at the students but make the stones look so pretty that the students want to come pick them up and keep them forever.
i need to turn my stones into diamonds, tiny treasures the students would hunt for and never give up until they found them. so begins my journey to turn my stones to diamonds.

For more pictures by D Sharon Pruitt