Mapping Media to the Common Core: Vol 1 by Wesley Fryer
Some Reflections on the Introduction (p. 1-48)
* In this first section of the book, Wes speaks to his reasons behind choosing to use "non-techy terms" for various forms of media products. For example, blog = interactive writing and podcast = radio show (p. 9). He points out that acronyms and jargons can easily confuse and/or turn off some people. Wes advises to avoid the "intimidation factor" and use terms that may be more comfortable for all users of the technology, from newbies to most experienced. I can see how this advice will be helpful when dealing with my school staff. When discussing possible media projects with them, I'll remember Wes' wise words.
* Wes also reminded me of an important technology use philosophy:
Start where you are.
Use what you have.
Do what you can. (p.11)
At Orchard School, technology users are all over the map with regards to their skills. Patience is needed to assist each person in moving a few steps along their personal journey of finding a comfort level with technology use. It's amazing how quickly means of accessing information and communicating or sharing digital content changes. Everyone just needs to take one step at a time and be open to whatever new tool or resource becomes available.
* Wes also reminded me of an important technology use philosophy:
Start where you are.
Use what you have.
Do what you can. (p.11)
At Orchard School, technology users are all over the map with regards to their skills. Patience is needed to assist each person in moving a few steps along their personal journey of finding a comfort level with technology use. It's amazing how quickly means of accessing information and communicating or sharing digital content changes. Everyone just needs to take one step at a time and be open to whatever new tool or resource becomes available.
* Digital sharing - There is a fear by some teachers that if student work is shared in a public platform, it might be seen by some as imperfect and the teacher might be negatively judged. If the student work contained errors, someone in the public might see this as a teacher mistake. Some teachers fear copyright and don't publish student work publicly. They feel most comfortable sharing within "digital walled gardens" that require a password or login. As an Edmodo user, I guess that I'm guilty of this to some extent. I like that my students may connect with others in special groups, such as the upcoming Global Read Aloud. I haven't thought so much about the fear of errors as having the opportunity to share thoughts with others reading the same book. I understand the importance of students attaining digital literacy skills that come from sharing publicly and interacting with others online. Wes suggests that media communication be a regular part of weekly classroom routines (p. 25).
* I've long been a fan of Alan November's idea of having students take on various roles in the classroom (p.26). Wes mentions tutorial designers, scribes, researcher and global collaborator as a few of the roles. This has been fun to do when participating in Mystery Skypes with students at my school. I haven't thought about using the roles in other situations, though.
* I've long been a fan of Alan November's idea of having students take on various roles in the classroom (p.26). Wes mentions tutorial designers, scribes, researcher and global collaborator as a few of the roles. This has been fun to do when participating in Mystery Skypes with students at my school. I haven't thought about using the roles in other situations, though.
Some Reflections on Interactive Writing (p. 49-80)
* I love Wes Fryers' definition of digital interactive writing. On page 52, he says that it "involves the production and sharing of electronic texts which (in most cases) can be readily: Conveyed (transmitted), Copied, Connected (hyperlinked), Commented On, and Collaboratively constructed. He goes on to quote the authors of Digital Writing Month in their examples of types of digital writing (blog post, email, text message, tweet, book reviews shared on GoodReads and so on). I know that I can do better with students' writing of book reviews so I plan to introduce Biblionasium to my fourth and fifth graders. I'll be creating a challenge for them to record their thoughts on this year's Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award nominees. I know that, in Biblionasium they are able to recommend books to others in the group and I'll explore how to best use this tool with my students.
* We already tweet using the handle @OrchardVT. Last year, students tweeted during special events, such as encouraging voting for their favorite book during Mock Caldecott voting, or Picture Book month. They've also tweeted with favorite authors or experts, as well as other children around the globe. I'll see if I might expand our Twitter use even more this year so students see the value in social media connections. (Two Red Sox players visited our school as a result of a tweet. Authors have visited either virtually or in person, thanks to Twitter.
* I've already shared how we have used Edmodo for connecting with classes around the world for various projects. I appreciate that Wes Fryer recommends to go beyond this "digital walled garden" that hides content and restricts access (p. 57). I will definitely look into using the hashtag #comments4kids and the comments4kids.blogspot.com web site for future writing projects. I'll especially try this out with third graders using Chromebooks in a one-to-one pilot. Since they'll be writing in Google docs, it will be easy to share their work publicly for comments, encouragement and/or questions.
* Kidblog looks like a promising place for student work. Wes says that it automatically creates student pages with excerpts from previous posts. Moderation is said to be easy and fast (p. 67). I like how students may use a Google login to avoid trying to remember multiple login and passwords. I'm not positive which teacher I may ask to try this out, but I have an idea. She is usually open to intriguing new ideas. She's part of the Chromebook pilot so she may have her hands full at the beginning of the school year. I'll keep it in mind for later.
* We already tweet using the handle @OrchardVT. Last year, students tweeted during special events, such as encouraging voting for their favorite book during Mock Caldecott voting, or Picture Book month. They've also tweeted with favorite authors or experts, as well as other children around the globe. I'll see if I might expand our Twitter use even more this year so students see the value in social media connections. (Two Red Sox players visited our school as a result of a tweet. Authors have visited either virtually or in person, thanks to Twitter.
* I've already shared how we have used Edmodo for connecting with classes around the world for various projects. I appreciate that Wes Fryer recommends to go beyond this "digital walled garden" that hides content and restricts access (p. 57). I will definitely look into using the hashtag #comments4kids and the comments4kids.blogspot.com web site for future writing projects. I'll especially try this out with third graders using Chromebooks in a one-to-one pilot. Since they'll be writing in Google docs, it will be easy to share their work publicly for comments, encouragement and/or questions.
* Kidblog looks like a promising place for student work. Wes says that it automatically creates student pages with excerpts from previous posts. Moderation is said to be easy and fast (p. 67). I like how students may use a Google login to avoid trying to remember multiple login and passwords. I'm not positive which teacher I may ask to try this out, but I have an idea. She is usually open to intriguing new ideas. She's part of the Chromebook pilot so she may have her hands full at the beginning of the school year. I'll keep it in mind for later.
Some Reflections on Narrated Art (81-109)
* Narrated art projects combine a digital image with an audio recording (p. 81). The only tool for narrated art that I've used so far is Voice Thread. Wes recommends three others: Audio Boo, Narrable and Sound Cloud. I really like how multiple takes are possible in Voice Thread and I'll bet they are available in all suggested tools. I hope to create a web page specifically designed for sharing narrated art. Orchard School has a new art teacher and I look forward to collaborating with her on some projects this year. In past years, I've worked with classroom teachers to create web pages that linked student artwork with their voice for projects such as reading color poems or Civil War letters. Working with the art teacher will add another level, and help for students to realize that technology tools may be used in any subject area.
* Wes reminded me that by drawing a picture representing a concept or idea, students process at a higher level (p. 86). Hand drawn pictures place more cognitive demands and can produce deeper and more transferable learning experiences. Although I have limited time with students, I'll make more of an effort to extend their learning through images they take the time to create.
* Wes reminded me that by drawing a picture representing a concept or idea, students process at a higher level (p. 86). Hand drawn pictures place more cognitive demands and can produce deeper and more transferable learning experiences. Although I have limited time with students, I'll make more of an effort to extend their learning through images they take the time to create.
Some Reflections on Radio Show (p. 110-141)
* I really thought that a radio show was the same as a podcast until Wes Fryer explained that to be a podcast, the show must have subscribers (p. 110). A radio show is simply a pre-recorded audio file that is available for on-demand listening. I'd like to create a web page for audio files of students reading this year's Red Clover books. These files might be used with younger students, or people of any age, to allow folks to listen to the book as they turn the pages. Non-readers or beginning readers would especially benefit from this type of web page.
* Common Core State Standards require that students improve oral communication skills and also practice publishing digital content online. In class, students might share information about school learning or events (p.111). It's times like these that I wish I had a class of my own. I can imagine having one of the classroom jobs as being the person in charge of recording the news of the day in an audio file that gets posted to the web on a daily basis. This might have been one of Alan November's student jobs in his original postings of a few years ago. (If not, it should have been!)
* I learned several new terms when reading this chapter. A "bumper" has the radio show's name, episode title, subject, date, musical clip - a sort of introduction to the whole show. The "teaser" in an enticing preview to the content of the show. It hooks the listener into staying with the show. "Spots" or "corners" are segments in the show, often separated with musical bumpers. Finally "interviews" may be recorded and inserted as segments, or they could be live (p. 114).
* Common Core State Standards require that students improve oral communication skills and also practice publishing digital content online. In class, students might share information about school learning or events (p.111). It's times like these that I wish I had a class of my own. I can imagine having one of the classroom jobs as being the person in charge of recording the news of the day in an audio file that gets posted to the web on a daily basis. This might have been one of Alan November's student jobs in his original postings of a few years ago. (If not, it should have been!)
* I learned several new terms when reading this chapter. A "bumper" has the radio show's name, episode title, subject, date, musical clip - a sort of introduction to the whole show. The "teaser" in an enticing preview to the content of the show. It hooks the listener into staying with the show. "Spots" or "corners" are segments in the show, often separated with musical bumpers. Finally "interviews" may be recorded and inserted as segments, or they could be live (p. 114).
Some Reflections on 5 Photo Story (p. 142-168)
* I'm still not too sure about whether I'll use the five photo story. This is a collection of five images which tell a story of some kind without supplemental text, audio or video (p. 142). The five images are supposed to stand alone as a story. Wes likes this idea for five reasons: flexible devices may be used; higher order thinking skills are involved; active learning is needed; it's non-linguistic; and collaborative. I like how this type of project invites student creativity as they think about which concepts they represent in their images and how they should be represented. I also like the collaborative nature of a five photo story since students will need to make decisions together in deciding how best to tell their story.
* I do like that there is a Flickr group "Tell a Story with 5 Photos for Educators." For this project, the five photos are already provided and students must create a story based upon the five images. There is a discussion on the story that was created (p.143). I might give this a try sometime.
* Wes gives examples of fairy tales or fables that have been told using the five photo story idea (p.155). Some classes have taken the idea a step further by creating narrated slide shows with the images. For this project, students may need to create a storyboard for ideas on which scenes the group will depict. This seems like a wonderful extension to a fairy tale or fable unit. It would be fun to share the finished product with another class; with parents on a sharing day; or with the world on a web page.
* I do like that there is a Flickr group "Tell a Story with 5 Photos for Educators." For this project, the five photos are already provided and students must create a story based upon the five images. There is a discussion on the story that was created (p.143). I might give this a try sometime.
* Wes gives examples of fairy tales or fables that have been told using the five photo story idea (p.155). Some classes have taken the idea a step further by creating narrated slide shows with the images. For this project, students may need to create a storyboard for ideas on which scenes the group will depict. This seems like a wonderful extension to a fairy tale or fable unit. It would be fun to share the finished product with another class; with parents on a sharing day; or with the world on a web page.
Some Reflections on Visual Notetaking (p. 167-192)
* Visual notetaking is a process of representing ideas non-linguistically (p. 168). It may include concept mapping, but also more artistic means of capturing and representing an idea. It's basically using images to communicate ideas to others. Like Wes, I don't consider myself to be a talented artist, by any means, but some students may find that doodling helps them to be a better listener, problem solver and/or communicator. Orchard School students have access to Inspiration and Kidspiration form concept mapping.
* In her TEDxUFM presentation, Rachel Smith presented a compelling case for exploring the use of visual notes (p. 173). She states that in traditional note taking, students attempt to copy as much information as possible in a largely passive process. According to Smith, his type of learning does not lead to short or long-term retention. She says that for new ideas to be understood, retained and learned, they must be connected to existing knowledge. (I guess that I should get away from writing about this section and grab a pencil and paper and doodle a bit.......) Image to the left from Giulia Forsythe "Why Doodling Matters" https://www.flickr.com/photos/gforsythe/6061101946/ * At the close of the chapter (p. 185), Wes reminds us that many students and adults (like me) lack confidence in drawing skills. With more practice, a creative potential might be realized. Orchard School library has incredible collection of drawing books, primarily due to incredible student interest. I can't keep drawing books on the shelf (not that I'd want to)! I didn't realize, until this chapter, that I might not only be helping students to learn to draw, but by providing drawing books, I'm helping students learn personal methods for better retaining and transferring ideas from the curriculum into their long term memories. Thanks for the "Ah ha," Wes! |
Some Reflections on Narrated Slideshow - Screencast (p. 193-225)
* A screencast is a digital recording of a computer screen with audio narration (p. 194). This type of tool may be used effectively in all content areas. An example would be Khan Academy, which provides instructional videos on all forms of mathematics. MathTrain.tv also provides all sorts of student-created math videos (p. 209). Videos like these can be extremely helpful to students around the world when screencasts are openly shared on a website.
* I've used Jing for creating directions for various computer applications. I've used it with students, as well, since it's great to have kids teaching other kids something that they've learned. Wes provides several other programs that would help create narrated slideshows at the end of the chapter (p. 227-228).
* I've used Jing for creating directions for various computer applications. I've used it with students, as well, since it's great to have kids teaching other kids something that they've learned. Wes provides several other programs that would help create narrated slideshows at the end of the chapter (p. 227-228).
Red Clover Award 2014-2015
Orchard School participates in Vermont's Red Clover picture book award program for kindergarten through grade 4. Here are the 2014-2015 nominees:
A Splash of Red by Jen Bryant
Eat Like a Bear by April Pulley Sayre
Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
Papa's Mechanical Fish by Candace Fleming
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
The First Drawing by Mordicai Gerstein
The Mighty Lalouche by Matthew Olshan
Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great by Bob Shea
Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors by Tanya Lee Stone
Some fabulous resources have been shared by Vermont librarians. They include:
Red Clover Award 2014-2015 created by Carol Scrimgeour and Kate Davie
Red Clover Award 2014-2015 created by Liv Perry
When thinking about Wes Fryer's book, in relation to the Red Clover nominees, here are some thoughts:
Interactive Writing - I plan to pilot using KidBlog with my fourth grade classes. I'd like to use #comments4kids for an authentic audience for students' writing. It will be the first year for Orchard School fourth graders to hear and vote on Red Clover books, so a personal blog will give them the opportunity to reflect of the selections. (Only K-3 students at Orchard have participated in Red Clover voting in past years.)
All third grade students will be receiving Chromebooks as part of a one-to-one pilot this year. I'd like for these students to share documents they create in Google Drive with the #comments4kids hashtag, as well. Our Twitter handle is #OrchardVT so students may see responses through this social media channel.
Narrated Art - VoiceThread has been the means for Orchard School students to share narrated art. I'm anxious to try out Audio Boo, Sound Cloud and Narrable to see how the various tools compare. Perhaps a retelling of one of the Red Clover books, using student illustrations might be fitting.
Radio Show - I'd love to have audio files of students reading Red Clover books available for non-readers, or perhaps just for the enjoyment of having someone read to a child. I'm working on a web page on our school site to store these files and have them readily available.
Another idea might be to use Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? and create interviews with students pretending to be Elizabeth Blackwell. A panel of students could ask the questions of a couple others who have taken on the character.
Five Photo Story - Several of this year's Red Clover books might be used for this project. I'd especially like to try it with Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, Papa's Mechanical Fish, Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great, and The Mighty Lalouche. After reading these four books, I may ask children to choose a group and then collaborative plan how they will retell the story using just five images. Results could be shared with another class or possibly through a Skype visit with another Vermont class who have read the four books.
Visual Notetaking - The First Drawing would be the perfect Red Clover book for this section!
A Splash of Red by Jen Bryant
Eat Like a Bear by April Pulley Sayre
Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman
Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
Papa's Mechanical Fish by Candace Fleming
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
The First Drawing by Mordicai Gerstein
The Mighty Lalouche by Matthew Olshan
Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great by Bob Shea
Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors by Tanya Lee Stone
Some fabulous resources have been shared by Vermont librarians. They include:
Red Clover Award 2014-2015 created by Carol Scrimgeour and Kate Davie
Red Clover Award 2014-2015 created by Liv Perry
When thinking about Wes Fryer's book, in relation to the Red Clover nominees, here are some thoughts:
Interactive Writing - I plan to pilot using KidBlog with my fourth grade classes. I'd like to use #comments4kids for an authentic audience for students' writing. It will be the first year for Orchard School fourth graders to hear and vote on Red Clover books, so a personal blog will give them the opportunity to reflect of the selections. (Only K-3 students at Orchard have participated in Red Clover voting in past years.)
All third grade students will be receiving Chromebooks as part of a one-to-one pilot this year. I'd like for these students to share documents they create in Google Drive with the #comments4kids hashtag, as well. Our Twitter handle is #OrchardVT so students may see responses through this social media channel.
Narrated Art - VoiceThread has been the means for Orchard School students to share narrated art. I'm anxious to try out Audio Boo, Sound Cloud and Narrable to see how the various tools compare. Perhaps a retelling of one of the Red Clover books, using student illustrations might be fitting.
Radio Show - I'd love to have audio files of students reading Red Clover books available for non-readers, or perhaps just for the enjoyment of having someone read to a child. I'm working on a web page on our school site to store these files and have them readily available.
Another idea might be to use Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? and create interviews with students pretending to be Elizabeth Blackwell. A panel of students could ask the questions of a couple others who have taken on the character.
Five Photo Story - Several of this year's Red Clover books might be used for this project. I'd especially like to try it with Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, Papa's Mechanical Fish, Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great, and The Mighty Lalouche. After reading these four books, I may ask children to choose a group and then collaborative plan how they will retell the story using just five images. Results could be shared with another class or possibly through a Skype visit with another Vermont class who have read the four books.
Visual Notetaking - The First Drawing would be the perfect Red Clover book for this section!