Digital Story -

What:
This week since you were gone, we still met in the classroom and all worked diligently with our cohort partners. It was really nice to have that allotted time set apart to catch up on anything pending, and especially perform research together for our Digital Story. Normally when you go into the Computer Lab during free time, it is very quiet-- like a library-- since no one wants to disturb others. But in our computer classroom there was much more talking ...it was not loud enough to understand anything being said, but still a low rumbling of voices...I was ok with it for that specific time and purpose.
So What:
I think our cohort really benefited mentally to be able to have this time available during the time we are already at school. Every class we are taking is getting to the pivotal moment of experiencing and succeeding in field, and it was great to be able to take a step back and review and recheck all our class expectations. Thanks :)
Now What :
You may want to consider setting aside some time like this with future classes. Maybe not spend quite so much time on learning all of the Copyright laws and replace it with time to regroup and reassess what is coming up...It really helped my psyche.

btw, I hope your conference and presentation went well.

Sincerely,

JaNae

Reflection: Digital Story 2

What:
It was interesting to see the evolution of the copyright laws. My section had to do with music. It was a good message to know that just because you can find info, pics, etc. on the internet, it doesn't mean it is free. Although, I will have to spend at leas a few more hours reading up on all the other sites listed (especially the two you pointed out)
So What:
I like that you have us protect our work by assigning us place a copyright on our own. It is good to be respectful to everyone's creativity.
Now What:
Anything I create I want to share with others. I am a big fan of not reinventing the wheel, and sharing good ideas. When I do copyright my creations, I will allow others to use them and also make it better. It will be fun to teach my cooperating teacher how to make a digital story. She is very interested in them and a willing learner --- yeay.

Digital Story 1

What:

It was awesome to see the examples of digital stories. Especially the one you presented. It was quite intimidating to think I will need to come up with an idea that could be as powerful and create so much emotion from those watching as the one presented in class.

So What:

Jessica and I have spoken to our cooporating teacher and she is very supportive of us teaching in her classroom. From what I have heard from some other partners, we have potential of this being a fantastic experience. We know we will be covering the "mountain men" in social studies and also during writing time.

Now What:

Jessica and I will now start looking for pictures, and information with which we can create a motivating, interesting, and informative digital story. I am very excited to learn how to do this, and then teach it to our cooperating teacher who is very interested in learning from us too.

Vidcast - Key Assignment Reflection

“Succeed at School” Vidcast
JaNae Wilson and Tamara Krause

5th Grade Core
Health Education Standard I:
Students will learn ways to improve and manage mental health and stress.

The topic of improving mental health and stress became an interest to us (and our fellow classmates) as we began our first block in the UVU Education program. We wanted to share some helpful ideas with our fellow co-hort classmates. We soon discovered that these simple, easy steps could apply to our 5th grade classroom as well. A public service announcement (PSA) was our choice of format. By using the acronym “PASSING,” we wanted it to be easier for kids to remember all of the steps.
P is for Prioritize.
A is for Aerobic Exercise.
S is for Sleep.
S is also for Study.
I is for daily “I” Affirmations.*
N if for Nutrition.
G is for Goals.

*Many may think of daily affirmations as silly, but they are really effective at
building self-esteem and positive EQ (emotional intelligence).

We want to teach our students that by practicing these simple steps, they will not only pass tests in school, but develop life-long strategies that will help them throughout their lives to be successful and happy.

Our podcast connects to Nets Standards by promoting and modeling creative, innovative thinking and inventiveness. It also connects by communicating relevant information and ideas efficiently to peers and students using a variety of digital-age media and formats. With customizing and personalizing learning activities to address students diverse learning styles, these working strategies and abilities using digital tools and resources are also included.

The podcast also connects to INTASC Standards. In 2 (c) design and articulate instruction aligned with Utah. In 2(g) centered curriculum across multiple content areas. And also in 3(e) differentiate instruction to meet individual student learning needs.

A possible drawback to using this presentation in our future classroom is that the level of information may not be detailed enough for 5th graders. It would, however be a great intro to the topic discussion. Some of the topics could involve adopting behaviors to help maintain mental health; reading; exercising; life long learning and abstaining from substance abuse.

Future plans for this series would possibly include the students making their own podcast for the classroom. They would work in small groups and could even present on other subject areas (social studies, health, even math) as well. This would also be great start of a series of mental and emotional behavioral topics that are included in the Health Core curriculum. All students need to be able to handle the stresses of school and learn to balance and maintain a healthy mental life. This Vidcast is not only fun and entertaining but teaches important tools for students of all ages.

Vidcast Reflection

What:
Tamara and I decided to enhance our podcast from the last assignment and use that topic as our vidcast. Making a vidcast is alot of work. We changed our minds a few times when considering which programs to use to make this happen. We also felt we needed garage band, so we talked Mike into helping us again to record our voices.
(p.s. I really liked the video link about why blog in the classroom. Giving ownership, collaboration, motivation, interaction, and all of the other reasons presented made sense to me. It is very important to help prepare today's students with tomorrow's digital future.)
So What:
I am realizing how much effort it takes to make a vidcast, and the topic needs to be something you value or definitely plan to use in the future. Knowing that you created a vidcast is very empowering as well as just fun! Planning ahead makes things much easier, but also being willing to make adjustments is key.
Now What:
I am excited to finish the PowerPoint and put in the sound clips on each slide, then if there is time during class, I also want to try making a vidcast using Photostory3. In future classes, the students can work in groups and create their own vidcast. This could be used in Art, Social Studies, Math, etc. Then we can watch them all at a party at the end of the unit. (Older students would seem to be easier to do this with than the younger, K-2 grades).

Reflection #3 - Podcasting

What: I liked that we partnered up during this class to create a psa podcast on any topic we wanted. Thanks so much for breaking up the assignments from really time-consuming the last two weeks, to one that we could acutally finish in class. It was fun and cool to see how Podcasts are made.

So What: It was neat to consider the possibilities of using this medium to record me giving a lesson, or even record a spelling test, or a song the students need to learn. (Btw, it would most likely not be me actually singing...). My only concern is that I don't have easy access to a Mac computer to use garage band. I am sure there are other ways to create an MP3, so I'll have to call upon my spirit of discovery to find a way...

Now What: When I am a teacher, I want to remember to not always assign long, time-consuming projects without breaking them up by placing a shorter assignment in-between. I really appreciated Doc Waters doing that this week. :) Thanks. I am also looking forward to learning about vidcasts. I can't wait until the next class!

Google Sites 2 Reflection

WHAT:

This last class was full of many tasks to learn and utilize Google in order for us to catch up with the Wednesday classes. Going over Google programs and creating our own Google site is very helpful and I appreciate knowing what more technology is out there for our benefit.

SO WHAT:

I have LOVED and also struggled to complete this assignment. All of the many google programs are so ingenious and I can see the value of using these options in many aspects of my life. When I told my husband about this assignment he smugly reminded me that he had tried to show me Google calendar months ago and the value of sharing calendars with others. (He had set up all birthdays from each side of our families using two separate calendars.) I guess it is true that you have to be told from two different sources until you will consider something to be valuable information!

My daughter is on an accelerated soccer league and they have quite a few practice changes and game locations changing as well. Right after class I went to their website and noticed the soccer schedule was created using Google Calendar and so I clicked on the link to add it to my calendar. It was very exciting to see Thursday's change of game already updated on my calendar without me doing one thing! Thanks to you, Doc Waters!!! (ok and a little bit of thanks to my husband who, technically was the "first" one to introduce me to Google Calendars)

NOW WHAT?

I am very excited to use this idea of a website in my future teaching career. I can easily see how setting up a place where my students and their parents can go to get any needed information is very valuable. I love the idea of having files saved to this site, thus allowing access to these files from any computer. Also, the homework list topics will not only help a student who has missed class, but will help me plan ahead for future lessons and keep on top of things.

I was exercising my spirit of discovery and totally embedded a video to play a song about the sun. You'll have to check it out on my Resources page. I also put a link to the website where to find this video, but the ability to play the video right from my site was so neat! Thanks for the great assignment!