Kick off the year with technology!

Ok - summer's ended and the school is is back underway. In the hustle and bustle of reorganizing and getting kids back into the swing of things, it can be daunting to consider taking on a new technology project. Despite that, I want to tell about a project that I've done each year at the start of school that yields some great results.

In preparation for our Open House Parent Night, I work with my class each fall to create a movie that is shown to the parents. The purpose of this movie is to have the students tell their parents about important parts of 4th grade. Depending on the time you have and the proficiency levels of your students, you can make this project as open-ended as is reasonable. In the past, I've had students develop a "news broadcast" about their classroom, take parents through a "day in the life" of a 4th grader, and identify their hopes and goals for the year ahead. There really are a lot of possibilities!

This activity sets the stage for further technology endeavors in the classroom by presenting students with a motivating and engaging project to complete. A built-in deadline (Open House) makes for some good lessons in time management and the process of developing the movie as a whole class presents opportunities for team building and cooperation. The real payoff of this work, though, comes on Open House night itself. Parents love seeing their kids on screen and are always proud of the work that has been done. By sharing this work with them, you can give them a sense of the excitement and creativity that you hope to develop throughout the year. (Plus, when the kids do the talking, it's less time that you need to stand up in front of the parents!)

To make this project a success, you will need to allow your students some time to plan and practice what they are going to say. If students are presenting in groups, you will need to support them in identifying what will be said (and by whom), where they will film, what props they might need, etc. As the teacher, your job will become that of producer and director: making sure that the important points you want covered are included and that everyone has a chance to be involved.

As far as technology goes, I have found that the Flip Video Camera from Pure Digital Technologies is a great tool to use. Its simple, point-and-shoot approach makes it easier for students to do the filming with just a brief tutorial. To edit the footage together, I have used iMovie from Apple's iLife Suite. I find it to be a reasonably user friendly tool that gives you good creative control over your finished product. While there are other movie making applications out there, I haven't explored them much, so I can't make any comparisons.

All in all, this is an excellent way to begin the year. The kids love it and the parents are usually thrilled and impressed. As they say, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression...

Using Text as Artwork: Wordle and TYPEDRAWiNG

Recently, I read a blog post by Terry Freedman called "Five Reasons to use Wordle in the Classroom." It gave some good ideas for ways to use this application to represent text graphically. Wordle generates "word clouds" of a text passage. The frequency that words appear in the text is represented by the relative size of the words in the cloud. The application allows you to control font, colors, and general layout. It's an engaging and exciting way to represent text in an unconventional way. Freedman's suggestions include using Wordle as a way to summarize and analyze material, reflect on your own writing, as a discussion starter for presentations, or as a way to illustrate a piece of writing. 

Today I was browing the iPhone app store (a guilty pleasure) and came upon another application called TYPEDRAWiNG, which has been available as an online application since 2005, in which you can enter a short line of text and use it to create line art. You use your mouse to draw a line. In this case, though, it's like you're using a paintbrush and the words are your paint. In my brief dabbling with the tool, I did find that the amount of text you can enter at one time is limited, as is the total amount of drawing you can do. The overall images are pretty cool, though.

Both applications provide interesting ways that students or teachers could use words in a graphic way. In a recent science lesson introducing rocks and minerals, for example, I asked students to describe several rock samples. I copied their descriptions into Wordle to create this image that we used as a discussion starter the next day. It was a good way to have them begin identifying some of the properties of rocks.

I can also envision a classroom activity using TYPEDRAWiNG in which students choose a sentence, or portion of a poem to illustrate graphically. For instance, I made this quick (and amateur) sketch for the first line of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem, Afternoon on a Hill. "I will be the gladdest thing under the sun." It could be fun to see what kids create to show a favorite line of text!

All in all, though, the thing that I like about both of these applications is the fact that they can create a "wow" response to words. Anything that helps create excitement and interest for text seems, to me, to be a useful tool to have available. 

Ideas for using word processing software

Much of my thinking about technology integration seems to be focused on online technologies. However, teachers should not overlook stand-alone technology, such as word processing when considering tools for technology integration. Word processors are a common software application that can have some significant impacts on student communication.

In reviewing research, I have learned that the uses of technology that show the most benefit for student performance are constructivist, meaning that they help students to develop understanding and construct meaning from the work (Wenglinsky, 2005). In utilizing word processing for students, attention should be given to keep the software tools from interfering with student skill development. For instance, the ease of spell checking may encourage students to pay less attention to the correct spellings of words. Research has shown, though, that students who struggle with writing are motivated by the professional look that word processing offers, as well as by the ability to easily find and change errors. Additionally, the ability to hear work read back for students has been seen to increase the confidence level of developing writers (Zhang, 2000).

Below are a few ways that you might incorporate word processing software to support student work.

• Have students type their rough drafts rather than copying from a written draft. This, of course, requires that students be somewhat proficient in keyboarding skills. However, the benefit can be great. When students type their drafts, they are then able to use the software as a tool for revising.  Students can easily move entire sentences or paragraphs within a document. They can delete unwanted words or phrases and add description to other areas.
  
• Utilize pictures and clip art to provide a non-linguistic representation of the ideas being communicated (Pitler, et al., 2007). You could have students engage in word play and exploration by having them create a rebus, a sentence that uses pictures in place of words.
  
• Use the Auto-Summarize, word count, and readability scores offered by software such as Microsoft Word. Students can make revisions to their work and see if it brings their “score” higher. Research has shown that creating a game-like situation is motivating for student learning and approaching the readability and sentence length data as a "score" may encourage students to revise and edit their work.
  
• Turn off spelling and grammar check until the end. Encourage students to try to find and correct errors on their own first. The Track Changes feature on several applications can be used as a way of checking which errors the student found. You might ask students to print a copy of the document before spell checking it. Students could use bold text or underlining to indicate words for which they are uncertain of the correct spelling.
  
• Use text to speech features to support students with reading or writing difficulties to hear their written work. I have watched students who normally refused to make revisions to handwritten work replay a sentence several times in order to decide if it needed a comma. For students with disabilities or language difficulties, this can be very powerful.
  
• Allow students who have writing or keyboarding difficulties to use voice recognition software to generate a draft that can then be edited and revised.
  

These suggestions and ideas are a small sample of what can be done with word processing in the classroom. Have other ideas? I'd love to hear them!

Technology Considerations - what to look for and think about

In an earlier post, I outlined several best practices to keep in mind when using technology in the classroom. I believe that those general guidelines can help teachers to be more effective in their integration efforts. Here, I've identified a few things that teachers might take into consideration when looking at specific technology applications. It is by no means a complete list, but can give a good start to your deliberations!

• What is the “flash” factor? Some applications present an exciting first impression but don’t have a lot of substance behind them. It is important to think about the meaningful applications of the technology you are considering. Don’t simply be awed by the attractive visuals – determine the communication standards that you expect your students to attain and think about how the specific technology can support it. Ask yourself: does the technology make the communication easier or does it simply make a “prettier” final product? Keep in mind, though, that some “flash” is good as a motivator for getting kids to become engaged with the technology!
• What is the age and ability appropriateness? When you examine a technology application, think about how your students will use it. Are there any prerequisite skills that they need to have (such as typing fluency, spelling, web use, etc.)? How easy is it to use the application? There are many excellent applications for young students that are intuitive and use minimal buttons or controls. Likewise, many more powerful technology tools require students to have had a certain level of prior experience with software use and are more appropriately presented to older learners. When you plan an activity that requires students to use a specific technology, you should also plan to take time for students to become familiar with the tools. More complex software will generally take students longer to learn.
  
• Who will/can see the student work? Does the specific technology provide privacy controls? Privacy of student work is very important, especially in the elementary classroom setting. You should be aware of issues with parental permission and consider how the given technology allows you to control who sees the work. Additionally, you should think about who the technology allows your students to communicate with. Think “outside of the box” when considering ways to have your students communicate. You may find your students blogging with their favorite children’s book author or having a conversation with students in another country using video chat or voice-over-Internet applications.
  
• How is the specific technology accessed? You will need to think about the ways that your students will connect and use the technology. Is it a software application that needs to be installed on computers the students will use? Is is web-based, requiring Internet access? Can more than one student use it at the same time? These logistical considerations will impact the ways that you utilize different technologies and may make some technologies more attractive to your particular situation.
  

Using Music and Sound Effects in Class Projects

On Monday, I wrote about finding royalty- and copyright-free images to use in creating multimedia projects. I neglected, however to add resources for music and sound effects. There are several resources that you and your students can use to add sound to your podcasts or multimedia projects without risking copyright violations. 

Unlike images, recordings of music are not in the public domain. Sheet music or lyrics with a copyright of 1922 or earlier can be used (changes in copyright law mean that no additional music will enter the public domain until 2019). You or your students just have to make the recording. It could be a great project for you to coordinate with a music teacher!

When I record my class' podcast, I use Apple's Garage Band software. This application comes with a large library of sound effects and music loops that are copyright-free. There are lots of options to choose from (and my students love adding effects like crowds cheering, etc.).

There are several websites that offer royalty-free music for download. Look carefully, though, to see if you need to purchase the tracks - it can get expensive! A few sources of free music are:

• RoyaltyFreeMusic.com has a program to provide access to free music for schools, students, and educators. They have some requirements for application, so read the details to see if your school qualifies.
• incompetech.com has a large library of music by composer Kevin MacLeod. The music is organized genre and mood. This music is licensed under Creative Commons. He suggests a donation to offset his costs, but doesn't require it. He does request that you credit him for the music that you use.
• PartnersinRhyme.com offers a large selection of royalty-free music for download or purchase. They offer several music and sound effects tracks for free for you to use in your projects.

One excellent (and creative) way to avoid issues of copyright is to have your students create the music that they use in their productions. This, of course, is more time consuming, but it offers the opportunity for students to have even greater ownership of the final product. Talk with your music teacher for ideas about how the students could become the composers!

Finally, Creative Commons has produced a Podcasting Legal Guide that includes a lot of information on copyright and other issues in producing podcasts.

Using Copyright- and Royalty-Free Media

It is important to teach students that, although images and information are readily available on-line, much of it is protected by copyright. When completing class projects, it can be tempting for students (and, I'll admit, teachers) to simply conduct a Google image search and grab the first picture that fits the need. Unfortunately, this can cause problems due to copyright law, especially if finished projects will be available for public viewing. If you have questions about copyright and fair use, your school library/media specialist should be able to help you.

The images that students collect and use for their work should be copyright- or royalty-free (you can also teach them about how to obtain permission to use images if they find one they really want to use). A search on-line for copyright free images can get you many possibilities. Be aware, though, that many (or most) of these sites do not contain filtered content and may include images that are not appropriate for children. You must examine the sites yourself before linking your students to them.

Here are a few places to find images to use (be sure to check the sites prior to your lesson to make sure that they are still operable):

• US Government works are automatically considered part of the public domain. Excellent images can be found from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NASA, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of the Interior, and more. Check the individual websites for these services to explore their image libraries.

• www.Pics4Learning.com is a library of images that have been donated for use in educational projects. Permission has been given for teachers and students to use all of the images in the collection.
  

• Wikimedia Commons has a huge library of images, video, and audio files, that are in the public domain or are freely licensed. When selecting a photo, you can see the licensing information for that image.

• www.PDPhoto.org provides thousands of pictures that have been placed in the public domain by the photographer, Jon Sullivan.

You should identify quality sources of images for your students and provide them with links to those sites that you want them to visit. As always - quality advance work yields better results!

Elementary Podcasting

For the past year and a half, I have had my students produce a weekly podcast in which they share the news of their week at school. Two students each week are selected to write and revise their script, summarizing highlights of the week, main ideas learned, planning interviews with faculty, and more. One of the kids' favorite segments seems to be visiting their younger siblings and talking about what they are doing in the lower grades. It has been an engaging and exciting activity, with some excellent opportunities for students to develop their expressive communication skills through writing and speaking.

A podcast, in its basic form, is like a radio show for the Internet. The name comes from the words iPod and broadcast, though iPods are not needed in the process. What is needed are a digital audio recorder (the built-in microphones on most newer computers are pretty good for basic recording) and web space to host the audio file. That's about it to get started - on the technical side. Having something to say and a reason to say it is especially important, too! There are many ways that students and teachers could use podcasting: reporting news, reading works they have written, sharing research results or opinion pieces, interviewing community members, and more. I'd love to hear other suggested purposes.

There are a lot of great examples of podcasting in the elementary classroom (besides my class, of course!). One podcast that is often cited as an exemplar is Radio Willow Web from Omaha Nebraska. The students at the school from all grade levels take their turn at sharing a topic they have learned. Their teacher, Tony Vincent, has put together some amazing resources at www.learninginhand.com. An extensive list of education-related podcasts can also be found at The Education Podcast Network. 

Like any good education experience, when it comes to podcasting with your students, you need to plan carefully to be effective. In working on the print version of my Independent Learning Project for my master's degree, I have been developing an integration plan for creating a weekly news podcast. Here are some of the key points.

Learning Objectives:

The students will...

• work collaboratively to develop a script.
  
• revise their scripts, taking into consideration organization, audience, and detail.
  
• accurately describe and discuss the week's content learning and class activities.
  
• speak clearly, with appropriate volume, diction, and pacing when recording.
  
• use recording software to edit their recording and prepare a final product (optional extension activity)
  

Creating a class podcast is , by definition, and on-going activity and is not completed with a single lesson. Instead, the project should develop and grow with the students' development of their skills. The best advice that I was given when starting my podcast project was to start small. Keep the scope of your podcast manageable and plan ahead for making it a success. If you take time with your students to create a clear plan and goal for podcasting, your end result will be that much more successful. As you and your students get used to the process and potential of podcasting, you will find new ideas to add to the quality of the finished product.

There are several topics and mini-lessons that should be covered with your students in developing their podcast. Some of these are:

• understanding what podcasts are
• brainstorming and planning ideas for a class podcast
• summarizing what has been learned in class
• writing a script
• developing an interesting lead and conclusion
• reviewing the script and making revisions
• understanding copyright and fair use policy
• speaking clearly and articulately
• planning and conducting interviews
• using software to edit and produce a recording

In future blog postings on this topic, I plan to include graphic organizers and an assessment rubric that can be helpful for planning and assessing student podcasts.