DIGITAL STORYTELLING

I used iMovie to create my digital storytelling project. I decided to make my project on a Sumi-e painting technique that I teach my 5th graders each year. The students need to learn precise brushstrokes for this technique and learning how to hold the brush is essential for success. I always demonstrate the various brushstrokes, with the students standing around the table and watching me. Our students all have their own iPads now, so I am thinking that by having the demonstration on a YouTube video, the students can watch and replay the video so they can get additional instruction on the techniques used to create a bamboo Sumi-e painting.

I made an iMovie many years ago, and most of the process came back to me fairly easily, as I remembered how to drag the desired clips, add transitions and text. I purchased lovely meditation music from iTunes to play in the background, but I was not able to figure out how to make the music play behind my narration, even after watching tutorials. I needed a tech support person to show me how to layer the sound, but I gave up and decided just to play the music at the beginning and end of my demonstration. Additionally, I read a warning about using copyrighted music on videos that are put on YouTube, so I abandoned the idea of using my purchased music and chose a jingle from the iMovie selections. I did have a hard time figuring out how to make the volume of my voice match the volume of the music. Again, there are some steps in iMovie that are simply not intuitive. Fortunately, our tech specialist at school was able to show me how to change the volume within clips.

I also had trouble embedding the YouTube video into our class wiki page. I was able to follow the directions fine, apart from pasting the frame code into the html of the web page. That is where I had to ask another classmate for help.

I did think my demonstration was a little rushed, since I needed to keep the video under four minutes in length, and if I did it again I would have my cameraman hold the camera horizontally, as the frames were vertically shot, so did not fill the screen. I definitely think there is a real value to making more demonstration videos for my art classes, particularly so students who are absent or need reteaching can refer to the lessons. I also felt it was much better to narrate the lesson, rather than to talk while demonstrating. This allowed me to focus on the technique while I was being filmed, rather than worrying about my voice and what I had to say. Without having had the requirement of using narration, I don't think I would have thought about that as an option, and I thought it definitely worked better. In the same way, when our students are creating videos in school, using narration might be a better alternative to filming with sound, as the audio is generally poor in a school setting, with too much background noise.

As with any new tech project (creating a web, blog, movie, etc), I learn best when I am able to see someone demonstrate the process. I am definitely a visual learner! That is exactly why I thought making the iMovie of the Sumi-e painting might be useful for my students. I can't describe with only words how to hold and use a brush. In the same way, if I watch a tech demonstration (slowly presented!) I can grasp the procedures far more clearly.

https://youtu.be/Z7tci-TEywM

PLN

I joined #spedchat, a special education PLN . The topic of the evening was goal setting, which was perfect timing for me, as my own professional and student growth plans were needing to be submitted that same week. By chance, I also attended a professional workshop for art teachers earlier in the day, so I got a large dose of teacher energy, enthusiasm and support surrounding our difficult but amazingly rewarding jobs. It was a good day!

The format of #spedchat worked pretty well, as questions related to goal setting (goals for students as well as for ourselves) were introduced throughout the chat, and people replied to questions by indicating A1, A2, A3, etc, depending on which question they were answering. This definitely made the chat easier to follow.  The chat was moderated by Tonya Taylor, from INIS Special Ed. There was a lot of humor and many thoughtful responses to the questions posed, which I appreciated. I think more of the teachers in the chat were involved with high school students, but that was interesting for me, as I will be seeing several of my 8th graders off to the high school at the end of the school year. 

I enjoyed the supportive nature of the live chat, but I found more useful information in the regular Twitter format. I think the speed of the live chat format makes it harder to add links to content. I did find very helpful information from a contributor of #spedchat, although he provided his link to the info at a time other than during the live chat. The link was to Google Tools for Special Needs, providing details about 21 Chrome Extensions for Struggling Students and Special Needs.

It takes a lot of time to weed through tweets. While I enjoy the experience, I am not sure the pay off is worth the amount of energy required to find the nuggets. Still, it is worthwhile when there is some down time, perhaps while in a dentist’s waiting room!