Screencast - WeVideo

I chose to screencast a tutorial on how to create a video using the WeVideo editing program.  This Google extension is a free program, and it is very easy to use.  Students can choose to work in either one of two modes to create their videos:  Storyboard (suggested for beginners) or Timeline (for experienced video editors).  After importing media images, videos, etc. in a very easy-to-use “drag and drop” format, students are ready to drag and drop their images into slides which become videos once a theme is selected.  The theme advances the slides and provides all transitions and music.  How much embellishment you want to add depends on how much time you have to put into the project, however even the most basic video can be quite good and get its point across using this program.  I feel intermediate level and higher students would greatly enjoy this program.

After viewing the Screencastify video several times and practicing how to navigate the WeVideo program, I found that creating a screencast was not so difficult to do.  Screencasts are definitely beneficial and needed to aid learners, especially older students, who may be working on detailed projects when out of the classroom.  For intermediate level students, having a screencast to reference during class might save an unneeded question being asked.  Fourth graders would have to learn how to process the information given in the screencast, and then apply it directly to the program they are trying to navigate.  I feel that this would be difficult, but for an enrichment project, having the information for easy accessibility would enable those students who are ready to independently access the information they need to move forward in their work.  By viewing my screencast, I hope you will see how easy it is to have students create and edit their own videos.

Sharpening Our Digital Pencils - Hacking as Writing

I selected this webcast because its title intrigued me, and I couldn't believe hacking could have anything to do with digital writing.  Apparently I was wrong, because what I have learned is definitely a very different digital exercise to include in your classroom writing curriculum.

Viewers were welcomed into this webcast by Amber Lowett and Andrea Zellner asking them to participate by making a disguise for themselves, take a picture, and share it with others in the class. This activity led as an ice breaker for the idea of uncovering disguised information and repurposing it in a creative way.  They introduced how the movements hacking, making, and writing are all related in creating something new.

Hacking was defined as:

1.  Taking a closed system and making it open.
2.  Creatively repurposing.
3.  Finding solutions.

Making was defined as:

1.  Art of making something new.
2.  Assisted by technology to make something new.

Writing was defined as:

1.  Creating something new.
2.  Creative repurposing.
3.  Finding solutions.

Lowett and Zellner went on to explain that in order for students to become proficient as writers, they must look to hacking and making to strengthen their skills.  Discussion went on to explain how HTML is the code of computer programming, just like punctuation is the code for pencil and paper writing.  Once each code is understood, the writer can change and alter meanings, images, words, links - basically whatever is on a web page and share the remixed work with others.  They see this form of digital writing as an invitation to have students share what they think about how newspaper articles are written, and also examine the issue of credibility in writing in this type of genre.

Students identify HTML code embedded within web pages through the X-Ray Goggles function of the website Webmaker.org.  X-Ray Goggles acts as an overlay on top of the selected web page text, and allows the student to see where HTML code is located.  Once located, this "closed system" can be "hacked" and the student can change the words, images, or links on the web page to show their creativity and share their remixed work with others.  Repurposing, creating something new, rethinking text by altering the code to see what happens as a result of the changes - a lot to think about!

Quite frankly, I don't know what to think about this as it relates to what I consider writing to be.  The whole idea of hacking seems almost illegal, but after looking at some of the work students have posted on the Webmaker site, I could see how this type of activity would appeal to older students.  I would not use this in my classroom, but I wanted to learn something new and that is what led me to this web cast.

How Can Digital Spaces Change and Enhance Our Thinking About Informational Writing?

In this video conference, Jianna Taylor, a middle school teacher, opens the conference with the question, "How can digital spaces alter/enhance your thinking about informational writing?"  She suggests that we must go beyond the 5 paragraph essay when having students produce informational pieces, and expand their writing to include understanding and using resources and tools that allow them to think creatively, collaborate with peers, and produce authentic work that engages an audience.  She goes on to ask viewers what types of informational writing projects they have assigned their students recently, and also what types of online resources or tools they have taught them to use. Viewers' responses varied from the standard 5 paragraph essay to digitally produced assignments.

The focus of this video then became how a teacher could evaluate his/her current pedagogy methods and infuse technology into lessons using the SAMR Model . The model stands for:

S - substitution
A - augmentation
M - modification
R - redefinition

Taylor then went on to discuss the idea of digital annotation, and investigating where it fits into the SAMR model.  She suggested that within the framework of the model,  students could substitute pencil and paper notes for computer generated annotations (substitution level of model), or really embrace digital resources, and collaboratively annotate online resources that include more than just printed text.  Viewers were then invited to explore the online resource Kami which allows kids to have conversations about text on the "augmentation" level of the SAMR model.  Another resource, Snagit allow learners to annotate on a screen capture, draw arrows, circles, boxes on the screen shot, and kids can also add a screen cast to their annotations.  This would be a great resource for close reading of harder informational text, as learners could work collaboratively to decipher harder text. The overall idea of designing lessons that infuse technology is to have students working on the augmentation, modification, and redefinition levels of the SAMR model.

Finally, mention was made of other programs that allow students to write collaboratively to produce articles and magazine-like publications with a professional look.  lucidpress is a site where students can all work on the same project at the same time.  It also includes a graphic organizer feature, Lucid Charts, where learners can brainstorm using text boxes, pictures, and arrows.  Piktochart, another digital writing program, does not allow for collaborative work, however it is a vehicle for older students to produce professional looking info graphics.

All of the digital writing tools discussed in this webinar could be used across all curriculums.  While some of them were geared to more middle/high school level learners, I could see upper elementary level kids benefiting from "talking to the text" using Snaggit or Kami.  This is a whole new way of thinking about responding and questioning the material one is reading.  At the fourth grade level, in order for students to produce informational writing they must first be able to comprehend and research their topic.  Either of these tools would be beneficial to groups of students who could work on the same informational writing project together.  They could research and annotate online sources, and learn together before they actually write.  They could also use a program like lucidpress to brainstorm and create a graphic organizer prior to writing.  While this online webinar was at times difficult to listen to because it allowed for time to view these resources and there was a lot of dead time, the resources mentioned were definitely worth the time to investigate.

Aram Kabodian’s presentation entitled, “Helping Students See Their Own Growth Through Digital Writing” focused on the importance of student reflection to overall writing growth.  He begins the session by exploring the reasons why we keep examples of our writing, with the most common explanations being writing is kept for sentimental reasons and by parents for preservation sake.  Kabodian goes on to explain the importance of having students keep digital portfolios rather than paper portfolios, as a means to develop 21^st century skills for producing and publishing work, a place to collect work over time to demonstrate personal growth, a visual archive of writing, and having another format “to show what you know.”  Discussion about the importance of student reflection as a means of personal evaluation of writing skill growth, focused on teaching students how to properly think about their writing in an effort to reward themselves for things they did well, as well as recognize what they must improve upon in future assignments.

           

Kabodian readily admits that digital portfolios and online reflection might be better suited to middle/high school level learners, but I could see this working in a 4-5^th grade classroom in a modified format, too.  The thing I really like about digital writing for younger students is the engagement piece.  Not all students are producing quality work with pencil and paper, and this might open up another avenue for those reluctant writers.  I do like the idea of keeping an ongoing collection of student work that could be passed from teacher to teacher to really show growth.  I don’t think 9-10 years olds are developmentally ready to reflect on their work intrinsically, however with continued modeling on my part I do think they could think about their strengths and weaknesses as they become more comfortable with the writing process.  Just not sure how ready they would be to put their metcognitive thoughts into a reflective piece. I could definitely see a Wiki working for weekly journal entries, and then maybe adding overtime pieces as the year moves on. The downside to implementing these digital platforms into my lessons would be monitoring privacy issues, teaching proper digital citizenship, and lack of stable technology resources to ensure access in a timely manner.  I currently do not have any type of digital writing spaces for student to collect or share their work, but would be open to trying this for an overtime writing assignment/journal.