QR Codes, Animoto, and Kit Kats

Last week I put up a bulletin board with some of the pumpkin projects my first graders made in class. We also used an iPad app to create some nifty jack-o-lanterns. I put all the images into Animoto to create a slideshow to share with the kids.
I wanted to share the Animoto with some teachers at school so I created some QR codes along with directions about how to use them.




The crew I work with used the code reader and earned a Kit Kat. I also got the guidance counselor in on the code reading action.
I've learned that bulletin boards are just not a great attention grabber. Even with the prize incentive, I only got a handful of participants. Next time I'll have to send and an email with "FREE CHOCOLATE" as the subject, then I bet I'll get a response. ;)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

About Me

Jack-o-Lanterns using the iPad and Animoto

We used the Carve-a-Pumpkin app on the iPad/iPhone in math class last week. We learned about the following shapes: triangle, square, rectangle, trapezoid, and circle. We can recall the characteristics of all of these shapes, and we took some time to create some nifty jack-o-lanterns. My students are so eager to use the iPad in class, and they only have to be shown once to be able to use a new app. They saved their creations to the camera roll on the devices, and then I created two Animoto videos. I love Animoto, and so do my kiddos. It's so fast and easy!

Creating a Digital Portfolio

I have to say that this was an enjoyable task for me. I really enjoy collecting and organizing information, and it's even more fun when it is collected online. It was fun to revisit the projects from previous courses, and realize that I had lots to share on my portfolio.

I created a new page on my existing blog, hoping that each page could have a different layout. This was not the case, so my sidebar gadgets are the same on my homepage and the portfolio page. This was a bit disappointing, but maybe with some tweaking I could figure out how to have different sidebars.

The first item on the portfolio was a flyer that I created for the Differentiated Instruction course. I wanted the document to be visible, and not linked so I converted the Word document to a PDF, and then took a screen shot of it so that I could upload the file as an image. :)

I then embedded the recording of the live broadcast from this course, followed by a Prezi that I created, as well as a Glog. The final item I embedded was a Voicethread about interactions in the classroom.

The sidebar is loaded with great information about me, and my digital work. The list of courses includes all posts for the respective courses. Those blog entries include various other projects and thoughts about technology in the classroom. The links included are self-explanatory, and my Twitter feed is next.

To finish out my Digital Portfolio I included links to various Google Documents that I have created for various courses. I felt that these documents were a great example of work that I've created for use in my classroom. Finally, my YouTube channel which contains videos created by me for this program, and my classroom.

I feel like this portfolio is a great representation of myself, my work, and my work ethic.

Self-Eval Digital Storytelling

I found this rubric here and modified it slightly to work with a project I completed for Digital Storytelling, which can be found here. This was one of my favorite projects, and while it seems very short, only one minute in length, the time spent on this project exceeded four to five hours.

I feel that I had a great grasp of all of the components listed in this rubric, and I feel strongly that the story is well told and the purpose was clearly stated. Final score on this assignment: 28/28

I hope you enjoy.

Category	4 Points	3 Points	2 Points	1 Point
1. Purpose of Story	Establishes a purpose early on and maintains a clear focus throughout.	Establishes a purpose early on and maintains focus for most of the presentation.	There are a few lapses in focus, but the purpose is fairly clear.	It is difficult to figure out the purpose of the presentation.
2. Point of View	The point of view is well developed and contributes to the overall meaning of the story.	The point of view is stated but does not connect with each part of the story, although an attempt is made to connect it to the overall meaning of the story.	The point of view is stated but no attempt is made to connect it to the overall meaning of the story.	The point of view is only hinted at, or is difficult to discern.
3. Clarity of Voice	Voice quality is clear and consistently audible throughout the presentation.	Voice quality is clear and consistently audible throughout the majority (85-95%) of the presentation.	Voice quality is clear and consistently audible through some (70-84%)of the presentation.	Voice quality needs more attention.
4. Pacing of Narrative	The pace (rhythm and voice punctuation) fits the story line and helps the audience really "get into" the story.	Occasionally speaks too fast or too slowly for the story line. The pacing (rhythm and voice punctuation) is relatively engaging for the audience.	Tries to use pacing (rhythm and voice punctuation), but it is often noticeable that the pacing does not fit the story line. Audience is not consistently engaged.	No attempt to match the pace of the storytelling to the story line or the audience.
5. Meaningful Audio Soundtrack	Music stirs a rich emotional response that matches the story line well. Images coordinated with the music.	Music stirs a rich emotional response that somewhat matches the story line. Images mostly coordinated with the music.	Music is ok, and not distracting, but it does not add much to the story. Not coordinated with images.	Music is distracting, inappropriate, OR was not used.
6. Economy of Story Detail	The story is told with exactly the right amount of detail throughout. It does not seem too short nor does it seem too long	The story composition is typically good, though it seems to drag somewhat OR need slightly more detail in one or two sections.	The story seems to need more editing. It is noticeably too long or too short in more than one section.	The story needs extensive editing. It is too long or too short to be interesting.
7. Grammar and Language Usage	Grammar and usage were correct (for the dialect chosen) and contributed to clarity, style and character development.	Grammar and usage were typically correct (for the dialect chosen) and errors did not detract from the story.	Grammar and usage were typically correct but errors detracted from story	Repeated errors in grammar and usage distracted greatly from the story.