The last Friday in April has been a dilemma for me the last few years because both the Chicagoland Television Educators Video Festival and Tech&Learning magazine’s TechForum Midwest always fall on that same day. I feel a bit cheated because I only get a half day at each learning event. Add to it the DEN Virtual Conference on Saturday (archives TBA) and my Wilkes U. digital storytelling class’s final grades due on Monday morning, and I’m glad it’s a cold, gray, rainy Sunday for catching up (sorry golfers et al.).
You might enjoy perusing our CTEC site and its resources. This year’s winners aren’t posted yet but you can look over ’08’s best and get some great ideas for projects with your students (don’t miss the link at the bottom of the page to get to other categories like commercials and documentary). This year we had almost 400 entries in 18 categories. There are also some interesting lesson ideas posted at the bottom of our institute day recaps. Check out “Lollipop Interviews” where students interview each other and “What’s My Line?” easily adaptable for video and writing projects in your own classes.
I really can’t remember how long ago I connected with the Tech&Learning conferences and its energetic staff, but it was so long ago that they are the ones who introduced me to this “relatively unknown” guy from North Carolina named David Warlick. Since then, it has become an annual reunion of learning and great dinners with old and new friends from in and out of state. I missed Jon Orech’s Advanced Thinking in Digital Storytelling this time around but you can catch up on his thoughts at his Wiki page. As an English teacher for almost 25 years, Jon brings great insight to visual grammar.
You probably know that I always stress writing as the basis of good storytelling. And you know that you can’t tell a good story without getting your facts straight. So, with that in mind, the DEN would like to get your story. If you have participated in the Discovery Educator Network or ever attended a DEN sponsored event, could you take 5 minutes and give us your thoughts?
On Tuesday, April 14th at 7 EDT (since I’m sure you’ve all got your taxes finished and those refunds in the bank) you can drop in on my last Makin’ Movies webinar of the school year, Lights, Camera, Publish! and see ways to share your videos and learn from others. We’ll take a look at the American Film Institute’s ScreenNation, TeacherTube and a few of the winners in various education video contests like the Great Minds Foundation and BrainyFlix. You can check the schedule and register here.
And two weeks later on April 28th, you can follow up with Makin’ Movies, Made Simple:
Digital Storytelling doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, you may be surprised at how easy it can be! Jennifer Gingerich breaks it down for you and shows how you and your students can achieve incredible results using tools you most likely have access to already!
There are just about six weeks left to get your 5th to 8th grade students’ video entries in to qualify for this year’s Discovery/3MYoung Scientist Challenge. Even though the contest states that “Videos do NOT need to be ‘produced’ or have high production value,” Hall Davidson and I have posted a number of resources and tips to help you communicate your understanding of one of the chosen topics. If you would like a little inspiration, the last two years’ finalists’ Science Channel specials are available on streaming. Just search on “young scientist challenge” to find the 2008 students working with the Myth Busters and the ‘09 finalists competing at NASA’s Goddard lab. There are plenty of prizes, a trip to New York with a guardian, and prestige to be had in this challenge, but this is also a good opportunity for students to get interested and excited about science and its many applications in every day life.
…a thousand pictures in the form of a good video illustrating what it means. Though I’m sorry if you might find yourself in a rather impecunious state or feel that your students are obstreperous and loquacious having just come back from spring break with only the end of the school year on their minds, I can’t do much for you except help define those words. Actually, the students who participated in the BrainyFlix challenge to bring any of the words on this ACT/SAT vocabulary list to life on screen did the defining. And you can add your seal of approval by voting for the video definitions that you feel evince the meaning of a word. Do not be swayed by those with a preponderance of votes. Many with but a paucity of support are also worth your consideration. Voting is open through April 14th. Just click on the little yellow box after watching a video to add your vote. How about trying this with some of the vocabulary for your class? What a fun way for students to dig a little deeper to plant a definition or concept!
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