Instructional Technology Blog

To Flash or Not to Flash: That Is The Question.

Posted by mablache on December 1, 2009 in Digital Photography, Photo Story 3, The Arts

By: Meredith Blache

Today’s digital cameras have the ability to meter the existing room light and adjust the camera’s setting in ways that are quite amazing.

In general is it a good rule of thumb to keep the flash turned off at all times and see how the camera handles the current lighting. If the image comes out blurry (because the exposure time is too long) then consider either adding in more natural lighting, such as moving closer to a window, using a reflector or turning on more room lights. Another quick in-camera adjustment is the EV value. (more…)

A Middle School Teacher Uses Photostory for the First Time

Posted by Juli on May 12, 2009 in Internet Research, Photo Story 3, Social Studies

Barbara Beers, 8th grade geography teacher at Whitman Middle School, was tired of using Power Point for student projects. (She’s not alone, a fun video – How Not to Use Powerpoint.) With the support of her librarian and Instructional Technology Specialist, she decided to try Photostory for the first time. In this post, you will find an overview of the project phases, links to her project files, and student work samples.

Project Purpose: to create a “sense of place” about a country in North Africa or Southwest Asia. See her project handout for details about student expectations. This project was part of a larger unit that included a UNESCO essay designed to use a research gathering tool which prompted students to gather background information about an assigned country (essay handout).

Key Resources: UNESCO website, eLibrary (great resources for pictures & maps), Photostory3 handout (QRD)

(more…)

Digital Storytelling at SBOC

Posted by Janice on April 6, 2009 in Content Areas, English Language Learners, Photo Story 3, Social Studies, Teacher Voices

What makes the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center unique is their student body. Students who come to the SBOC are newcomers to the United States often with little English and limited formal academic skills. They also have varying social and life skills, which makes it difficult to cope with their new home in Seattle. In order to support them, and help them adjust here, it is important to know what they feel about their country of origin.
(more…)

Supporting a Principal’s Book Club

Posted by Abbey on February 1, 2009 in Internet Research, Language Arts, Photo Story 3, Podcasting

A book club is a great way to bring people together to share their thoughts about what they are reading. Organizing such an event for students and /or parents in your community can send a powerful message to establish yourself as a reader and as a leader in literacy. Whether you are considering developing a book club with face-to-face interaction or through online social interaction, there is a wealth of resources online which can help you throughout the process.
Mark Federman, principal at Eastside Community High School in New York, has been conducting Book Clubs for his students (6-12 grade) for the past 8 years. He advocates, “ The most doable way to create a culture of learners who value reading and to launch the start of Readers Workshop is through a Book Club.” Click More to continue reading: (more…)

Digital Media in the Classroom

Posted by Gary on November 5, 2008 in Internet Research, Language Arts, Photo Story 3, Podcasting, PowerPoint, Science, Social Studies, Teacher Voices

An excellent example of teachers and students using digital media in the classroom is Nathan Hale’s 10th Grade Academy. These students are creating movies about the effects of worldwide epidemics as a research project. The Hale teachers realized that the video editing process would consume too much time and decrease the time students spent learning the content. Their solution was to imitate the “Ken Burns” style and create movies using only digital photos instead of video. To do this, the teachers designated Photostory 3 as the “movie” making application. These changes helped simplify the movie making process and reduced “creation” time significantly. (more…)

Fun With Photo Story 3

Posted by Darla on October 3, 2008 in Language Arts, Photo Story 3

Teachers like to do “get to know you” activities with their students at the beginning of the year. This usually entails pairing up the students, having them ask each other questions and standing in front of the class introducing each other to their peers. This year Mrs. Watling at Wing Luke Elementary decided to integrate technology in her “get to know you” activity by having her students take pictures and record their interviews using Photo Story 3. The students were in charge of creating a movie about each other for their peers, teachers, principal and parents to view. This was no longer the same activity the students were use to doing. They had to rehearse and be prepared, speak clearly and loud enough so their voices could be heard and hopefully they could include some excitement and expression. Plus, the students had to learn how to collaborate by listening and verbally supporting each others efforts. The level of concern and investment towards the project increased, this activity was going to be published and saved for years to come.  (more…)

Reflections of a Writer

Posted by Abbey on March 13, 2008 in Language Arts, Photo Story 3, Teacher Voices

Here is an example of a teacher who is engaging her students in reflecting on their own progress as writers. Kristen Eckert, a 6th grade teacher, uses Writer’s Workshop pedagogy extensively in her classroom.

At the end of a narrative unit of instruction, she takes the time to allow her students to pause and reflect on how they have improved as writers. Each students collects evidence (samples of writing) of their growth and insights are captured in the form of a digital scrapbook. In this case they use Photostory3 to collect and create their final product. However, there are other tools that can be explored like podcasting, blogs or wikis. This teacher may venture in that direction some day.

You can view this podcast to follow her journey as she explores the process for the first time.

[display_podcast]