Editing week--iMovie

I hope every group had a great fall break and has your project going very well.

This whole week is for editing your film. The editing studio is in 602. It has five editing machines in the room. Also you can choose to use the two editing suites in the RM 616, which is our classroom. We will first meet 616 and have you sign on the sign-in sheet then the groups with 4 or less members will go to 602 while groups with 5 persons stay in our classroom.

If you want to add sound track to your movie, the machines in 602 E have microphones but the machines in 616 don't, so if you are working with the machines in 616, you need to go to OIT to check out the microphones yourself.

You could still continue filming on Monday! But I strongly recommend you finish filming as soon as possible. Classes on Wednesday and Friday are required for editing. Next Monday, we will have a showcase. Your group needs to save your movie at the teacher station and present it to the class. Again, we will vote for a "Best Movie" group and each member in the winner group will get a price.

For editing, the only thing you need to use is the footage---the tape. And you could return your camara to OIT office when you start editing.

Important: If you don't have enough time for editing at class, you could reserve from OIT the room for the editing suites by yourself, so you can work outside class time. You will need your UGA ID to do this.

Class26-Digital story (iMovie)

Before the class beginning:

* We had great games from the PowerPoint game project! I am really happy to see all of your games, which are full of creatvities, fun and imagination! Please send me the link of your PowerPoint game (you need upload your PowerPoint game file to that page) if you haven't done it. If you cannot upload your game, then please email to me. No late work would be accepted without a latepass!
* Remember to initial the sign-in sheet as you enter the room.


Please read the project requirement carefully before you start your project.

Now let's look at a few examples of digital stories to gets your brains churning about your own ideas.

For additional examples of digital stories look at the links below

University of Houston

The Center for Digital Storytelling

The use of video in education has been around for a long time, but it is just in recent years that it has become simple for classroom teachers and children to create and edit their own educational videos. The Apple Learning Interchange gives multiple examples of using educational video for teaching content standards. Here is a teacher's refleciton of using digital storytelling in the classroom. Here is another teacher's reflection and her tips for digital storytelling group works.

Today we will begin digital storytelling using iMovie. You'll want to review the project guidelines for this project -- but keep in mind that you need not capture more than 5-8 minutes of raw footage. This will be edited down to 2-3 minutes of video. We will use iMovie for editing.

You will be working in small groups to discuss the topic that you want to use and create an original story about it. Your topic should be educational but not necessarily related to your own subject area. It can be:

• An interview
• A discovery story
• A personal reflection
• An adventure story
• ......

To get more ideas about a possible type of story that you will use in your video, read the Digital Storytelling Cookbook.

As the storycenter told, "Storytelling is meant to be a collaborative art. It is much more realistic this way, and much more fun." So please work with your group members and get everybody involved.


Our class schedule for iMovie:
Monday, Oct. 22: Introduction to the iMovie--hopefully it will be at the Mac lab (room 233#, Aderhold). You will get the tapes on this day.
Wednesday, Oct. 24: Check out your video camera and take footage. We will not meet in class.
Fall break--Hooray!
Monday, Oct. 29; Wednesday, Oct. 31st; Friday, Nov. 2: video editing; 602 Aderhold (the five-member group will work on the suite in our classroom).
Monday, Nov. 5: Movie day (Due date); 616 Aderhold (the five-member group will work on the suite in our classroom)

Class 25: PowerPoint Game--Game Day!

Hello all, as you already know, today is the Game Day! After two weeks' hard work on the PowerPoint game projects, now it is time for us to enjoy the game and share with others!
Please come to the class a little bit earlier to have your game set up on the computer.
I have already reserved room 618#, which is next to our classroom, in case that the Macs in our classroom still cannot work. But I will check tomorrow morning and will let you know before the class.
For those of you who sent me email saying that you will bring your own laptop, you can still do that if you wish, but you can also use the classroom computers, because we now have two classrooms for today's showcase.

We have 19 persons in each class and the class lasts only 50 minutes. So you will first get into four groups and then each group will elect a "best group PowerPoint Game". This will take about 15 minutes. Then the four "Group Best PowerPoint Game maker" will show the whole class your game on the teacher station. You will need to first introduce yourself and the game's name. Then you need to introduce your subject area and the educational objectives of your game. In the following you can talk about your story or strategy, game direction, the strengthens and how you will use it in the class. Every presenter will have 7 minutes for the presentation. During their presentations, the rest of the class will need to judge the quality of their games according to the score chart that I will distribute in the class. After all the four presentations, you need to vote for the "Best Game Creator".

For Friday, we will start talk about the iMovie project.
Plus, please send me your PowerPoint game and the URL for your PowerPoint game reflection page before the class starts on Friday. Thanks!

Class 24: PowerPoint Game-- Optional day

Hello, all, today as talked is an optional day. You can choose either come to the classroom or stay at home to work on your PowerPoint game based on the feedback that you have already received from your partners. Please notice that you can use today as a "makeup" day for your previous absences.
On Wednesday, we will have the game showcase. You will need to set up your game on the computer. For those of you who have been working on the Macs, please bring your UGA ID and check out a laptop before the class so that we can set up your game on a "working" computer. If you decide to bring your own laptop, please email me in advance. I am sorry about those unworkable computers, but let us work together to make our Game Day joyful!
You will vote for a "Best-game" in the class. I will come out a score-chart later and put it online.
I am looking forward your games!

Class 23: PowerPoint Game-- Peer Review

1. If you are not ready for peer review, then you will have 20 mins at the beginning of the class to continue working on it.
2. Find a partner!
3. If you and your partner are both ready, please come to get the review forms from me.
4. The review forms include two parts. Form #1 asks you to give suggestions and feedback for improvement, and Form #2 asks you to give the grade to the game.
5. You will use 15-20 mins to review the project and fill out the forms.
6. When you complete the forms, please give both forms to your partner.
7. Discussions with your partner are encouraged.

If your partner is not here, please use the electronic version of the forms and email it to him or her when you are done at class.

Please bring both forms back to me on next Monday. Thanks!

Notice: The only thing you need to do for now is to submit the electronic copy to my email Monday!

Class 21: PowerPoint Games-Bloom's Taxonomy

By now you should have created these slides:

• Title slide
• Story slide
• Direction slide
• Game preparation slide (optional)
  
• Game piece slide (optional)
  
• Credits slide
• Educational objective slide
• Feedback slide for correct answer
• Feedback slide for wrong answer
• The headquarter slide

As you continue working on your PowerPoint games -- it is important to focus on the instructional value of your game -- and value is added through good questions. What makes a good question?

Bloom's Taxonomy is an easy way to learn more about various levels of questioning. Even young children can use Bloom's Taxonomy to improve their work.Here's a video of a class of children who use it to design literature units. Use the resources from the Website : Thinking about thinking to help your understand what makes a good question.

Bloom's Taxonomy PowerPoint Presentation

After the presentation, you are going to take your three questions "up a level" on Bloom's Taxonomy. Use these improved questions as a model for all 25 questions to be included in your game. Don't forget that you can checkout textbooks from the Curriculum Materials Center in room 207, Aderhold, for more ideas for questions (just make sure you're not plagiarizing!)

For Wednesday:
Continue working on your game in class. I will be in oral defense for the Comprehensive Exams to be qualified as a doctoral candidate. Ms. Gretchen Thomas will help with your projects in the class.

You have a handout on scanning in gameboards if you choose to draw yours by hand. As you work -- review student samples and the PowerPoint Games Project Rubric to ensure that you are meeting the expectations of the assignment.

For Friday:
Please have all the components of your PowerPoint game ready for peer review on that day. Your review will be counted for 0.5 point in your final grade.

Class 20: PowerPoint Game-- Action button

Please turn in your Learning Puzzle chart for the PowerPoint game before the class.

We started to create the basic slides on Wednesday. Today we will start working on action buttons.

Action buttons are easier than they seem. Being slow and methodical makes it easier to create action buttons that direct the user to the correct feedback.

Here are some links that will review what we learned in class today:

Creating question slides
Creating the headquarters to access your question slides

There are two parts of your game that ensure students will want to use it for learning: the story and the level of questions. You want to make sure that you have an engaging story - and you also want to make sure that your game is the right level of challenge. Factual level questions are too easy (and boring) regardless of the grade level you are targeting. We'll spend time in class on Friday working on your game design and learning how to write good questions.

Before Monday's class, you should have the following slides ready:

• Title slide
• Story slide
• Direction slide
• Game preparation slide (optional)
  
• Game piece slide (optional)
  
• Credits slide
• Educational objective slide
• Feedback slide for correct answer
• Feedback slide for wrong answer
• The headquarter slide
  

You can choose not to have game boards and/or game pieces in your game, but if you choose to have them in your PowerPoint game, you will get one extra point for your PowerPoint game.

There are two ways to make the game board. One is to use your hand, the other is to use computer to draw a game board. If you choose to use your hand, you will need to scan your game board. The instruction will give it to you on Wednesday. If you want to draw the game board with computer, you can draw it in PowerPoint (one letter size) or your can draw it in Fireworks (as large as you want). This is your option to learn to use Firework to draw the board.


Next week's agenda:

• Monday (October 8th): Writing Good Questions

Bloom's Taxonomy will be talked and you are going to use it to write your questions. Write 3 questions to use in your game (on scratch paper) and bring to class.

• Wednesday (October 10th): Independent Work Time

You will have the entire class to work on your games. Class attendance is required.

• Friday (October 12nd): Peer review of games

You will share your game idea with your classmates, complete review of games.

Agenda of the week after the next:

• Monday (October 15th): Optional Independent Work Time

You will want to attend this session to get assistance with unfinished portions of your games. However, if you do not neet assistance, then you are not required to attend and your participation grade for the semester is not penalized. I also use this as an "attendance makeup day" so that you can make up an absence from the beginning of the semester.

• Wednesday (October 17th): Game Day

You bring all of the materials necessary to play their games and games are shared with peers during the class session. We will have a competition for "best game". Everyone needs to vote a game of the best.

Class 19: PowerPoint Games-- Start your PowerPoint Game project

Your Inspiration & Kidspiration project is due today. Please turn in the printed diagrams for your two activities and your Teacher Information Sheet. You also need to email me the link of your Inspiration/Kidspiration page on your Google pages.

Today you will first present your review of the PowerPoint game from last class. Your group needs to first show the class the game that you reviewed, and then share your comments on the game. You need to talk about the following:

• What makes the game fun;
  
• The strengthes and weaknesses of the game;
  
• If the game content integrate well with the technology;
  
• The way to improve it and what makes a game fun.
  

Each group will have no more than 5 minutes to present your findings.

Now we'll review the project assignment .

By now you should have a story idea. You should have selected the standards you'll be addressing with your game. Make sure that you are not creating a game that will review multiple standards. Your game should be designed to introduce content or to provide practice for student understanding. If your game is designed around basic factual recall -- think of another game!

Now we will begin working on the template. Most of the technical skill you need was acquired when we created seating charts during the Productivity Tools Assignment. Using the drawing tool bar in PowerPoint will allow you to customize your game template.

Step one: Create a introductory slide (game title and your name)

Step two: Create a slide for your storyline.

Step three: Create a game directions slide. (You should have your game board in mind when creating this). The directions should be written in the appropriate grade level. Make the game as EASY/SIMPLE as possible. You can always add more twists and turns later. Don't create more than three options or the writing the directions becomes more and more difficult. You can always add more challenge later, if you have time.

Step 4: Write a slide with game preparation directions:

Example: You will need a dice, cut out the images from the game pieces slide, etc.

Step 5: Create your game Pieces slide (Google images is a great resource and MS powerpoint has some great images too.)

Step 6: Create your credits slide.

Step 7: Create a slide with your Educational Objectives

Audience - grade level, and Georgia Performance standard (Georgia performance standards can be found at: http://www.georgiastandards.org/)

Action buttons are easier than they seem. Being slow and methodical makes it easier to create action buttons that direct the user to the correct feedback.

Here are some links that will review what we learned in class today:

Creating question slides
Creating the headquarters to access your question slides

There are two parts of your game that ensure students will want to use it for learning: the story and the level of questions. You want to make sure that you have an engaging story - and you also want to make sure that your game is the right level of challenge. Factual level questions are too easy (and boring) regardless of the grade level you are targeting. We'll spend time in class on Friday working on your game design and learning how to write good questions.

For Friday:
1. Turn in your Learning Puzzle chart for PowerPoint game;
2. Begin customizing the game template
3. Write your game directions
4. Finish the basic slides: objectives, game pieces, copyright notice, credits, etc.
5. Make action buttons.