Week 6: Animated Gif

Assignment: Animated Gif/ Edited Photo

Uses in the Classroom: Using the application MakeAGif, copyright friendly photos or original content and a program such as Photoshop Elements,* students can make an animated .gif of how they go through the reading process- from processing words to fixing up 'road blocks' to full comprehension, they can reflect on and demonstrate their cognition (thus participating in metacognition) in a way that is engaging.  This is a valuable activity because you are asking students to analyze how they think and create a visual representation which are pretty high-level thinking activities.

Issues to Consider: Students will need to have access to a computer and graphics files. Some class time would need to be spend on helping students use the online application. Some students might need a modified workload depending on their supports, they might need to only map out their opening (hook, thesis, support points). This can be extended by having students include a writing explanation of how they actually go through the reading process or it could be presented to the class as a presentation and culminate with a class discussion on how we read.

Copyright: The content of the .gif posted below comes from the site Flckr and is used under creative commons license as listed.

The photo edited with Photoshop Elements (below) was also originally found on Flckr


*I selected to use these specific programs because I can actually get to them from school (and the kids could actually use them). We only have one computer that is licensed for Creative Suite and my students are not able to download software (nor am I by school policy). Plus, make a gif is pretty user friendly and gives you the HTML to easily embed the work into a website, such as wikispaces,where my students submit the majority of their work.

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

Week 5: Infographic

Assignment: Infographic

Uses in the Classroom: Using the application easel.ly, copyright friendly graphics and original content, students will map out an outline for their essays that visualizes the different elements of their work. They could also make their own (I could design) custom graphic organizers.


Issues to Consider: Students will need to have access to a computer and graphics files. Some class time would need to be spend on helping students use the online application. Some students might need a modified workload depending on their supports, they might need to only map out their opening (hook, thesis, support points). The activity could be scaffolded by allowing students to sketch their ideas for a visual representation of their essay on paper.

Copyright: This example comes from the text Teaching Argument Writing by George Hillocks. A portion of the text is available online through the publisher here.

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Week 4: Instructional Videos

Assignment: Instructional Videos 

Uses in the Classroom: Using a series of chunked videos on instructional concepts that involve the process to move from reading to writing, students will learn how to take ideas from a text and use them to write analytically essays.  

Issues to Consider: Students will need to have access to a computer that can view YouTube videos. If they are in attendance during my evening remedial class, they will be able to view these videos on those computers. Additionally, links will be provided to student via our wikispace pages to help keep track of content covered as an accommodation to students who need extended access to material, need extended time or repeated instruction or have poor attendance. If students do not attend class regularly and have no way to view YouTube videos outside of school, they may have a hard time getting instruction… one would hope that they will make class attendance a priority.

Copyright:  the video contains footage of my classroom, me teaching and the sounds of students speaking in the background. Permission for me to use this video for non-commercial/ educational purposes was gained through parent permission slips and BCPS district usage policies. 

Week 3 : Digital Storytelling

Assignment Name: Digital Storytelling

Uses in the Classroom: Using a series of copyright friendly photos or original content compiled on PDFs of power point slides, students will use the application, such as Jing, to create a digital story that explains the plot of a major novel covered in class.  The attached video is a thank you video that explains the story of how the class revived books from a local organization. 

Issues to Consider: Students will need to have access to a microphone with a headset. Jing, the application used for this assignment has a bit of a learning curve. You may want to scaffold this assignment by allowing students to upload a smaller amount of slides and audio, maybe analyzing a visual poem, as a way of getting them familiarized with the application.

Copyright:  All pictures are taken by the author of this post except the following

Map of Baltimore

Map of Michigan

Help Me

Shakespeare

Books

All used with creative common permissions and linked to original site content. 

Sample Video: 

2014-11-15_1206

Week 3: Screencasts

Assignment: Screencasts

Uses in the Classroom: Using Jing or a similar screen capture program, students will explain how to use an application or software used to facilitate learning and content creation for assignments in our AP Lit/ Lang class. 

Issues to Consider: Students will need to have access to a microphone with a headset. Jing, the application used for this assignment has a bit of a learning curve, you may want to scaffold this assignment by allowing students to upload a smaller amount of slides and audio, maybe analyzing a visual poem, as a way of getting them familiarized with the application.


Copyright:  The video included with this post is of the class Wikispaces site and content viewed was created by this author or her students, or quoted from  major texts covered in the class.  


Link to example screencast:

2014-11-14_0845

Week 1: Talking Images

Assignment: Talking Images
Uses in the Classroom: Using a copyright friendly photograph students will be able to explain the mood and tone of photograph to differentiate between the two. They will use Fotobabble to record and present their picture and analysis.
Issues to Consider: Students will need to have access to a microphone with a headset. Most likely my students will use the headsets that come with their phones as most of the students in my class have smart phones that have some manner of hands-free set that revives audio.
Copyright: This example introductory photograph was taken by the author of this blog.