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Action Research Cycle One Report Action Research Literature Review Action Research Blog |
Action Research BlogThis page hosts my reflective writings about my Action Research Project. It will most likely be the most active part of the larger site as I will use it to reflect upon the process of my Action Research Project. There is now an archive section because I have written so much and I want to keep the page load time down.
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How has the course been effective in broadening my perspective and skill set for managing technology for change? How could it be improved? I think the exposure to public policies, like NCLB or the Spellings Commission Report, have given me greater understanding and perspective on the modern reality of education, accountability, assessment, and the ways in which classrooms are currently run. It is an unfortunate state of affairs considering the other grand idea, globalization, that we also were exposed to through our coursework. Students need to be educated to contribute to a global community. This means an ability to collaborate, to use technology in ways that connect communities with other communities, and in ways that allow the individual voice to emerge from among the many voices. Instead, in America we are teaching students to pass tests that have little connection to real learning or constructivist education. With the modern reality in mind, I think this course has given me skills and ideas that provide an alternative to the standard now in place. There is no reason why students cannot study to pass the mandated tests while they are still mandated, but make the study engaging, inclusive, and meaningful for the student. Allow for collaborative work, like podcasting, that covers subject matter, technical skills, collaboration, communication and expression. Create learning communities that express the individuality of the community and the individuals in the community, and which are linked to other like-minded communities. I think the course may have been improved by creating more collaborative projects. The TappedIn session in which we paired off, developed and argument, then held a debate (pro-video game versus con-) was the best use of that technology demonstrated in the program. Unfortunately there was only session like this. I think we should have been challenged to create projects, utilizing web 2.0 technologies, that would have allowed for increased communication and collaboration while exposing us to the use of these new technologies.
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From where does global change derive? How can we use global change to promote deeper learning across the globe? I think global change derives from individuals with ideas about how to improve their own situations. Their ideas, however, are so powerful and scalable that they might affect the world. An example I found today was William Kamkwamba's blog.
Despite dropping out of high school because he could not afford the fees, Mr. Kamkwamba took advantage of a local library to read books about engineering. He devise a windmill to provide electricity for his parent's and his houses. His original system was built with scavenged parts and about $5.50 in purchased parts. As he scaled the project up, he teamed up with a local company, struck a reasonable price for the needed parts, and received the help of three other individuals from a power company to assist with the upgrades. Along the way he documented his work, created a blog, got a Flickr account, and ended up being interviewed at a TED Talk in Tanzania. Mr. Kamkwamba is doing amazing work that could easily be reproduced and scaled to provide others like him electricity and the benefits dependable electricity brings. Back to the question. We can use global change to promote deeper learning across the globe by providing the means and opportunity for individual voices, like Mr. Kamkwamba, to emerge and for their important ideas to be shared with a larger audience. Already Mr. Kamkwamba has benefitted from his increased social network: he is back in school, his TED Talk interview exposed his ideas to a global audience, and he has made valuable friends and connections. We have benefitted from Mr. Kamkwamba's ideas, too, and his blog. This is a scalable, reproducable idea with global ramifications.
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I set up a Blogger account and started my post-OMET blogging over there. Head over, take a look, and leave me some comments!
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From where does personal and local change derive? How can we use change to promote deeper learning as individuals and in our local settings? There are two readings I recently encountered that go far, I believe, in addressing personal and local change. The first, Guy Kawasaki's Selling the Dream, has a section on local change in which he quotes Tip O'Neil, who stated "All politics is local." This quotation, Kawasaki notes, was used as the basis for other authors to interpret Toshiba's wranglings over a sale that was not sanctioned by the U.S. government. Toshiba faced heavy fines, but by reducing the issue to a local level and showing how punative action by the government would affect U.S. workers, they walked away with a slap on the wrist and better public relations. Bruce Sterling's insightful and hilarious "Dispatches from the Hyperlocal Future," for Wired Magazine, takes the reader to 2017 where we are introduced to the Hyperlocal: "That's hyper as in linked and local as in location. It's a new kind of city in which you're never out of touch and never, ever out of options." The article introduces the notion that our mobile phones will provide us with constant connectivity and multilayered proximity-driven access to information pertinent to your needs. These readings emphasize the real change comes from the individual, whether it is looking out for the good of the individual within the group, or by the empowerment technology might provide individuals to make sense of and interact with her or his world. I believe that personal and local change derives from the desire by change agents to share with others a vision of the world as they see it, and when the change agents can explain why this vision of the world is worth sharing and working to create. Personal and local change comes from wanting to communicate a vision and by getting others to share and grow that vision. We can use change to promote deeper learning as individuals and in our local setting by making our change apparent and public. By sharing the successes of the change we create in public forums, whether it is on the Internet, in conferences, or in publication, we share the skills, strategies, and research that we use to affect change. The lessons to be gleamed from our examples are reproducible and scalable. Success is contagious, and providing stories of success encourages others to create their own success.
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How might the U.S. respond to the tides of change resulting from globalization? What role does education play in this response? Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat suggests that the rise of globalization is shifting jobs overseas. The technology industry in particular has taken advantage of the reduced wages they are able to pay skilled, educated, English-speaking workers in India, for example. This suggests that the U.S. needs to respond to the loss of these jobs in some way. I suggest America needs to reframe its educational priorities to teach students the skills that they will need to have in order to work in the positions that remain here. Additionally, education needs to create in students the skills they will need to effectively communicate in a global economy and community. Education needs to teach students the value of collaboration if they are to succeed in a global economy. They must know how to work effectively with people of different countries, cultures, and ideas. Students should be versed in technologies that promote communication and allow for collaboration through their communications. Most importantly, I believe, students must be taught the power of the individual in an increasingly globalized world. We need to encourage individualism in an increasingly global world and community. We need to teach the means by which one might make her- or himself heard in the world. Technologies like podcasting, digital video, and digital photography are examples of skills students might be taught to make their individual voices shine in the global mix.
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School ended for the students yesterday. We had an assembly to honor students who participated in different clubs, including Tech Club. Students were asked to stand and be recognized for their participation in the different groups. Larry stood when they announced Tech Club, which was pretty awesome: he was aware of his participation in the club and his membership! I've been screening my PSA for people around the school and the district, as well as Debby and David, and it is being very well received. I talk about podcasting and an autistic student. Today a teacher cried after watching it, so it captures the emotional part of the project, as well. I'll be sharing it soon. I also gave my presentation this afternoon to the Director of Curriculum for the district. Since I conducted research in the district I was obligated to submit my report. I also thought it was the perfect opportunity to give my presentation. It was well received and prompted a few good questions, which I was able to address. It will be good to have the summer off and recharge my batteries. I've already been thinking about different Action Research projects I can engage in next year to try to improve my practice.
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How does globalization change the needs and demands on the US K-12, higher education, and corporate learning environments? Globalization necessitates that we transform our educational institutions and corporate environments into much more collaborative communities of practice. The 18th and 19th centuries notions of education creating a whole individual must be modified to account for the increased need to communicate, collaborate, and work with diverse individuals. No longer can we support an education system that attempts to empower the individual but does nothing to empower the group. I believe that corporate culture has changed in many respects to better respond to the changes brought by globalism. Perhaps the education system might learn something from corporate culture. As stated, the existing education system values the individual. This is not bad: education seeks to improve the individual by equipping her or him with the skills and literacies necessary to succesfully work and interact in the world. However, I think that education has shifted too much from emphasizing the learning potential when the class is treated as a group, or learning community, instead of seeing education as a means of transferring knowledge to individuals who happen to be in the same room. Recall the one-room schoolhouse and the type of learning and teaching that occurred therewithin. Students of different ages and abilities all worked in a common room. Older students were often tapped to act as teachers for the younger students. Vygotsky's concept of the Zone of Proximal Development was embodied in the one-room schoolhouse as knowledge building was a community affair, with students influencing one another's learning and growth. Fast forward a century. Classrooms, while sometimes offering group work, have transformed into places where learning is much more solitary. Testing emphasizes personal assessment. Collaborative possibilities for creating a community of knowledge are few and far between in the K-12 educational environment. If we expect today's students to be the global collaborators of tomorrow, we must transform education to be a more collaborative experience.
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Last Thursday I worked with Gerald, a paraprofessional, and Larry, to try to figure out the conclusion to Larry's movie. I typed a list of the actions that I saw happening in Larry's movie and read it to him. Larry got a little frustrated and wound up, I think because he thought I was trying to dictate what actions his movie needed to have. I got my laptop and played Larry's film for him, pointing to each of the sentences to illustrate that I was merely stating what Larry had already filmed. Larry typed up three more sentences describing the scenes that would conclude the movie. We then went to work on filming in my office. Larry's work during this extended session was much different that his previous efforts. He spent about twenty minutes manipulating the figures, setting them up in different rows like pictured above. Gerald and I let him work and observed him. He filmed a little more then announced "The End." I burned a CD of the finished work so he could work on composing his song for the film to help describe the narrative. I missed school on Friday and Monday as I worked to finish my Action Research Report and bargaining with the school district. On my return I met individually with the students whose projects were yet to be finished. Henry immediately got to work to finish his movie. Henry's film has many paper "explosions" in it, but beyond that I am not really certain what the plot is as I have let Henry work very independently on this film. He says he plans to compose a soundtrack for it, too. Rachel and Vanessa also worked to finish their stop-motion film. We finished recording the dialog, so yesterday the two girls started working on the Soundtrack. Rachel attempted to help Henry with the soundtrack for "Mission to Earth," but Henry was hard to follow as he worked very quickly in GarageBand. Rachel has experience using GarageBand at home, and this project will build upon her skills. Beth's film may or may not be finished by the end of the school year. I've realized that the change to work with the equipment and the process itself was very important for Beth. It does not matter to me if the film is finished: what was important was providing a context in which digital literacy skills could be developed and refined. I think in Beth's case I may have stepped back too far from the project, as it now seems overrun by students who are there to get in the way of the camera and otherwise slow down the process. I will attempt to bring a little order to the process by being present when Beth tries to film.
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How do NCLB and the Spellings Commission affect change in the use of educational technology? Interestingly, I think that NCLB and the Spellings Commission have different effects on education and the use of educational technology. In the case of NCLB, I think educational technology will be adversely impacted, while in the case of the Spellings Commission I think educational technology might help meet the standards the commission recommended. Based on my observations at the elementary school where I work, as well as walking the exhibition hall at the FETC conference in January, 2007, assessment is the name of the game in K-12 education. State-wide assessment of learners drives curricula and teaching in many schools now as they are accountable for adequate yearly progress. In terms of educational technology this leads to the old "drill and kill" routine. So many products demonstrated and touted at FETC this year seemed to be related to drilling students on the "facts" that they needed to know in order to pass the state achievement tests. Instead of looking at the collaborative, constructivist use of technology, computers are being used as glorified flash cards to try to instill the test-taking skills necessary to pass the state tests. Educational technology takes a big step back when confronted with the realities of NCLB. However, I think that higher education fares a little better in the face of the Spelling Commission report. The report warns about the limited skills many college and university students enter school with. It decries the inequalities in education because of high costs. It recommends setting higher standards for students. I think educational technology might provide solutions for some of these issues. Distance education or online learning is one area where educational technology might prove to make a college education more possible for more people. Differentiated instruction made possible by educational technology might bolster the skills of students who are under performing. The collaborative possibilities offered by technology might augment one school's capabilities by joining it with other educational institutions. I believe the differences in these scenarios bears additional research and consideration. While technology might not solve all of the world's problems, I think that its proper use might help use better our educational systems.
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During lunch recess I screened "Mission to Earth" for the Kindergarten through second grade students. I made an announcement at lunch, then met the students in the Library. There were too many students to count when we started the film! We literally filled the library with "puny humans" there to see our film! Before hand I asked a second grade girl whose brother worked on the film, to explain to the crowd how we make stop-motion films. She explained, then I echoed in my "teacher voice," that we posed the Lego figure, took a photo, moved it a little, took another photo, and kept going until we were finished. I explained to the crowd that we shot our film at four frames a second, then used the calculator on the laptop I was using to screen the film to do the math with them. I asked how many seconds in a minute: 60. So we multiplied 4 X 60 to figure out that there were 240 photos in one minute of footage. I told them that the movie was about eight and a half minutes long, so we took about 2040 photos! That amazed the crowd. They enjoyed the film, laughed at the funny parts, were quiet during the serious parts, and gave Tech Club a big round of applause afterwards. One student stayed to ask questions about some of the models we used. It was a fun time. I also had the opportunity to work with Larry and his paraprofessionals to record him reciting the story of "The Three Little Pigs." You can listen to an excerpt below. Today when I passed Larry on the playground I said hello to him. For the first time he replied on his own without prompting, "Hello Josh Burker!" Larry has clearly been working on vocalizing and he's doing a great job.
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Tech Club premiered "Mission to Earth" today and the turnout was great! There were 44 students in the library to watch our film, and it was very well received. Paul introduced the film as the third in a trilogy and thanked the cast and crew. Henry made sure the volume was loud enough and we screened the film. The students laughed at the funny parts and paid attention during the tense parts. Tech Club's hard work was very well received by their peers. Afterwards, a student asked me how to download the podcast episodes Tech Club recorded, so I provided him with instructions. Hopefully the success of this film will make additional students participate next year. Larry continued working on his version of "Mission to Earth" this afternoon. I arranged with is paraprofessional to meet up with Larry after third recess. Since Henry filmed earlier in the day, the initial work was devoted to getting his models set up. He started filming, but it is awkward to take a photo and animate at the same time, so I asked him if he wanted me to take the photos for him. I said, "Tell me to 'Take it' when you are ready." Larry would move the model then say out loud, "Take it." It was spectacular! After he worked for a while he paused and looked at the set. I tried to make sense of what he was looking at and wanting to communicate. Finally he tugged at the backdrop a little and noticed it was thumbtacked to the wall. I asked him if he wanted to change the color. He said, "Purple," and I pointed out the rolls of paper I had in my office. I pointed to a black one, and he said, "Black." He wanted to cut the big piece of black paper down a bit, but after pinning it up I noticed that we needed to cover the green construction paper on the table, too. So I unpinned it and adjusted the paper so it covered the table and got Larry's approval. He worked on setting up the models, a veritable compendium of all the models we used in "Mission to Earth." We did not have time to finish because the school day was over. Larry's movie is now over a minute long, which I pointed out to him meant he took over 120 photographs! I was very encouraged by Larry's vocalization and collaboration with me on his film. I also talked up the idea of him singing a song about his movie, and on the walk back to the classroom he started giving me snippets of song. This is going to be an excellent project for Larry!
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Larry and Henry, two students on the Autism Spectrum, have been helping Paul and other students on "Mission to Earth," as well as working independently on their own stop-motion films. Today they both came by my office to work on Henry's film. Henry had Larry help take photographs. While Henry animated the Lego, Larry took the photos for him. It was great to see these two students collaborating and working together. Larry came by during third recess and worked on his film again. We had to re-setup the models so they matched where we left off. Larry did all the work himself, though this time he was open to my suggestions, like when I asked him if we should remove a frame that had his hand in it. My next goal is to have Larry write a song that helps explain the narrative of his film. Songwriting is one of Larry's strengths, so it will be interesting to hear what he comes up with and see how it illuminates the action of his animation. |
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Tech Club premiered "Mission to Earth" today during lunch recess, and turnout was great! I arranged to work with Larry today during third recess so he could continue his version of "Mission to Earth." |
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Tech Club finished "Mission to Earth!" Last year it took Tech Club 5 months, with much help on my part, to complete a stop-motion film. This year they did it in under two months with very little help from me. So, puny humans, we dare you to watch "Mission to Earth!" |
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Do wikis make a difference in educational experiences? What role might Web 2.0 play in fostering change in education? How does voice and/or presence change the way learners interact with one another? I believe that wikis can make a difference in education. I started experimenting with wikis in 1999 as a means of the Multimedia Club I ran to track bugs in the programs they wrote. I ran a wiki inside a SmallTalk environment and received much support from Mark Guzdial at Georgia Tech. Students who tested the applications could use the wiki to enter bug reports, which the programmers could read and use to debug their software. I ran the wiki at a middle school, where one might expect issues with students defacing the pages. However, in the two years I ran the wiki, which was open to the public internet, I never had an issue with anyone defacing or erasing pages. During the OMET program I have been ranting to anyone who will listen that I think students ought to have wikis that follow them throughout their educational careers. Imagine a student starting a wiki in kindergarten and maintaining and updating it as she progresses through the grades. More than a standard web page, a wiki page allows for collaboration and serves as a record of the interactions the student might have. The wiki would reflect the individual learnings of the student but also the interactions and learnings of the community that utilizes the wiki as a point of collaboration and social contact. I believe Web 2.0, with its promises of customized content, will foster massive change in education. Because Web 2.0 emphasizes customization, collaboration, virtual "presence," and the power of the individual, I believe that Web 2.0 tools stand to make education much more differentiated and important to the individual. People will be able to build their own curriculum from already established "pieces" of discrete knowledge. Learning will be personalized and customized, making it more relevant for the student. Voice and presence changes the way learners interact with one another by removing the physical "distance" between individuals collaborating on the internet. Since so much communication can occur without speaking, it is important to be able to read facial expressions, body language, and other communication markers. Since Web 2.0 tools also allow for a virtual presence, students might be more comfortable interacting with one another when it seems as if they are in the same room, or at least on a workstation in the same room.
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How can authentic learning tools improve student engagement and deepen learning? What does the apprenticeship model tell us about learning? Engaging students through authentic learning tools is effective and helps deepen learning because of the level of engagement the tools provide. Students who go to a bog to study water quality, or who build a PC from off-the-shelf parts are actively engaged in their learning. The lessons they "study" are applicable to their own lives and they build knowledge, oftentimes without "realizing" they are learning. With this personalization authentic learning tools can expose a student to subject matter that might open career paths, or encourage further learning. Just as we do not teach basketball with a textbook, as one analogy we have examined recently explains authentic learning, we should examine how we might change the education system to better engage students through authentic learning tools. The apprenticeship model, in which the apprentice serves under a master, practicing a trade or craft under the guidance of a more skilled individual, is a time-tested and proven means of teaching and learning. Since the apprentice is actively engaged in her or his work, but under review and able to consult with a person versed in the subject, she or he is more likely to be personally invested in the work and able to improve the quality of her or his work. The apprenticeship model also helps ensure the continuation of knowledge from generation to generation, as apprentices step into the role while others ascend to the status of master. The apprenticeship model might be a good system to consider as we strive to make school learning more authentic. An issue, however, is finding the diversity of "masters" to whom students might apprentice. The interests and skills of a particular student community might be too varied to expect their to be enough qualified masters under whom the students might apprentice. However, if the entire teaching and learning paradigm at a particular institution were built around the idea of educating as a type of apprenticeship, then we are entering bold new waters. A learning community focused on academia, and all the work that true academic scholarship requires, would be revolutionary. Faculty and staff would not deliver stale curriculum. Instead, the teachers and administrators would be actively engaged in research, writing, presentations, and intellectual contributions to the field of education, modeling for the students what it means to be an educator and an academic. The students would be actively engaged in subjects that mattered to them and to the larger community. Used in this way, apprenticeship in schools might change the very nature of education.
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Yesterday Beth reported that some of her cast had quit the movie because they wanted to spend more time at recess. Fortunately, actors who had previously quit were pulled back into the production. I had a pep-talk with the actors, without Beth present, to try to encourage them to see this project to its completion. They all seemed intent on working together to make this film a reality. Additionally, Beth had yet to cast the one male character in her movie. I suggested she ask one of the boys who has been working on "Mission to Earth" and who I knew to be an enthusiastic Tech Club member. We found him on the playground, I pitched the role, with its two lines, and he accepted the part. Beth and the students rehearsed during the first two recesses today. They practiced their lines in the library, and Beth helped block the scene. By the end of lunch recess they seemed prepared to do the first scene, so I arranged to meet them in the library during third recess. Everyone showed up at the pre-arranged time; even actors who were not in the scene came by to check out the action. Beth allowed her friend Laura to choose which role she wanted: director, cameraperson, or sound engineer. Laura chose to be the sound engineer, holding the microphone close to the actors but out of frame. Beth directed and filmed. There were a few missed lines but we re-filmed the scenes as needed. The students all did a great job. It is great that this production is underway and the cast seems committed to the project. I downloaded the footage from the camera to a laptop after recess, and there are a few lines we will have to re-record, but the film is coming together nicely.
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I was away from school for two days this week while I helped bargain the new contract. Students continued work on their projects in my absence. Paul is working on the final scene from "Mission to Earth." Larry came by as Paul and a couple other students worked to complete a couple of parts of the final scene. He kept trying to add additional figures to the scene, so I suggested he be given the opportunity to take the photos. I told Paul and the others to ask him to take the photo when they were ready. The other students were surprised that I asked him to participate and equally surprised that Larry was able to do the work just like they did. It took some work keeping him focused at times, but he helped to shoot three scenes on Friday. Beth took this week to rehearse during every recess with her cast. One of the students reported to me that they have nearly the entire script memorized. It has been very interesting how much Beth expects of her cast and the quality of film she is working to produce. Hopefully she will resume filming next week. Two third grade girls who helped with "Mission to Earth" and the construction of the dragon props started a film of their own two weeks ago and are working hard preparing everything for the stop-motion feature. They constructed their props from construction paper and cardboard, which I helped to cut up for them so they could build backdrops. They constructed four different backdrops, as well as furniture and other props out of construction paper. The characters in the film will be little yarn "puffs" that they animate using stop-motion. Both worked on storyboarding the film, while one of them is writing the script. Rachel worked a little on the "Mission to Earth" soundtrack but Henry dominated that project and took it in different directions. This film will give Rachel an opportunity to create her own soundtrack, which will be an aesthetically rewarding project of which she has ownership. They are working to cast different people for the voice roles. I pointed out to them that the casting has been one of the biggest obstacles in Beth's film, and that we could record the two of their voices and filter them to sound different, so they would not have to find ten different actors but could use fewer to greater effect. They seemed amenable to this idea. Again, I hope to give them the opportunity to film next week so they have time to edit and score their film. The students are also excited about the prospect of a film festival at the end of the school year. I suggest they work to finish their films before we think about exhibiting them, but it is a good goal towards which we can all work.
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Why do educational organizations choose to employ portfolios? What value does the use of rubrics in evaluating activities and portfolios bring? How can peer review affect learning progress and growth? From my limited exposure in last term's class, where a group had us create eportfolios, to my observation of the high school in my district that is implementing a cumulative project, I believe that educational organizations choose to employ portfolios because it allows the observer to see a record of the student's process. The portfolio might contain revisions that led to a cumulating piece. Additionally, the portfolio might cover a large span of time, so it is possible to see the progression a student makes as she or he acquires and builds skills. I think a portfolio is important because it allows an observer who might not have been present to see the process that occurred to produce the work there within. Using a rubric is vital is evaluating activities and portfolios. The reason for a rubric is to provide expectations and transparency. The rubric should clearly define the areas in which the student is being assessed. The rubric should also define each level at which a student's performance is assessed based on the assessment: not meeting expectations, at expectations, and exceeding expectations. The expectations provide both the student and the assessor with responsibilities: the student has responsibilities to exhibit what is expected of them according to the rubric when assessed, and the assessor, typically also the teacher, is expected to help the student develop the skills or build the knowledge necessary to face such an assessment. The rubric codifies the expectations and responsibilities, as well as the particulars of the assessment and the the results of the assessment. Peer review can affect learning progress and growth because of the zone of proximal development. Students, exposed to peers who are less capable, as capable, and more capable in particular areas or subject stand to benefit from peer review because each student is given opportunity move beyond her or his areas of expertise and push her- or himself to build new skills or knowledge. Additionally, peer review helps to set a standard for that specific educational community and ideally works to help each member obtain that standard. Input from peers can be more meaningful than input from somebody outside of the class, or perhaps even the teacher. Most importantly, peer review is yet another opportunity for the student to hear disparate voices and points of view as she or he seeks to improve her or his work.
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I debriefed with one of the paraprofessionals who works with Larry about how Thursday's project fell apart. He explained that perhaps Larry got frustrated when we re-took the second scene, or the change in the camera angle threw him off. He and I discussed different strategies, and he thanked me for working with Larry. Larry came by first and second recesses to watch Paul and a couple other students work on the next to final scene in "Mission to Earth." At one point Larry even tried to add the model he built to the scene, which was funny. I explained to him that we were working on Paul's movie and that he could make his own movie later in the day. He returned during third recess. Henry was in the lab, back from the fifth grade overnight trip and waiting to go home. Henry had decided to play with one of the DV video cameras instead of working on the soundtrack, the activity I was trying to urge him toward. He hooked the camera up to an eMac and used iMovie to capture footage of the lab, me and Larry, which he also provided a running commentary. I rebuilt the scenery after the students finished the ocean scene and set up the launch pad again. Larry added additional props and models to the scene: a house, a car and drive, the model he built, the rocket, and a bunch of Martians. I asked Henry to not try to help Larry with the filming, explaining that I had worked with Larry on Thursday and he got upset when I interfered with his film. I asked Larry the name of his film: "Mission to Earth," he said. He wanted to make his own version of the film that the others were making, and which he had also participated in by helping to film. Larry did all the animation and photography himself while I watched and Henry did his best not to try to involve himself. To facilitate the filming I configured iStopMotion to shoot at 2 frames per second. The animation is a little slower, and Larry does not need to shoot as many frames to get a coherent sequence. I noticed in his first film the action happened so fast that it almost made more sense to watch frame by frame. By slowing down the animation I helped Larry to better tell his story. I helped him with my height by raising and lowering the rocket to take off and land: he liked that effect. The group of figures standing in rows at the right of the frame in the last frame is interesting and evocative of a similar scene in his first film. Interestingly he used the same figures Paul is using in his film. Discussing the film with my wife, she cautioned about making film making a solitary pursuit for Larry, where he is reluctant to let others participate. However, he helped Paul film the bigger "Mission to Earth" production and is willing to participate in larger group work. I think that this work allows Larry opportunities for ownership over a particular project, one where he controls the animation and film making. This is another means by which Larry can learn to communicate with the world. I plan on involving him as we finish Paul's "Mission to Earth," so he has opportunities to socialize and work with his peers. I also think it important to continue to let him come up with projects of his own. I want to work with Larry to assist him in developing a written narrative, planned in advance, that he can film. This was my plan when we tried to make "Tom Cuts a Tree," but there was too much of me in that project. I was glad that Larry was still interested in working on stop-motion, and look forward to his continuing efforts.
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Larry came by during lunch recess when Paul's and another student were working on "Mission to Earth." I noticed he was interested in the stop-motion that the others were working on. I asked Larry if he wanted to make a movie later in the day with the model he and I built on Tuesday. I got a big smile from Larry. We went to a computer in the lab, next to where Beth was using a computer to make lists for her cast members of the clothes that they needed to bring and leave at school so she could start filming on a consistent schedule. I asked Larry what the minifigure was called; he responded, "Tom." I had thought up a narrative ahead of time, and listed verbs associated with this narrative. I thought it might be a good idea to provide a little structure so he did not have to come up with the story on his own.
I saw a picture earlier in the school year that Larry had drawn of a decorated Christmas tree, so I knew he was familiar with this concept. I showed him the list, and asked him to type out sentences. He created sentences like, "Tom leaves the house." He strung together a narrative from the parts that I created. We printed two copies, and I told him I would see him after third recess. Larry was anxious and came by my office as I was leaving to do recycling club at third recess. I asked him if he wanted to help me recycle, and he said, "Recycle." Larry accompanied me on my rounds checking in with the other students who were recycling, even helping me to push a bin back to where they are stored. I joined Larry in the Spectrum classroom. I brought a laptop with iStopMotion and a DV video camera on a tripod. For Lego I brought the model Larry built, a "house" another student built, and a tree with a brick "star" to decorate it. Larry helped me clear the table, and I left a book on it to use as a hill before taping down a piece of white butcher paper. We set up the scene, and I made sure the camera had everything framed in the shot. Larry was in charge of animating and taking photos, while I offered suggestions about how far he should move it and reminders to move his hand before he took the shot. We completed the first scene and I set the camera up differently. Larry shot the second scene but his hand was in every frame. I suggested we try it again, and he was able to reshoot it. However, when we watched it back something set off Larry, and he became very agitated and sad, screaming. The Spectrum teacher in the room did not seem overly concerned and explained that it was the end of the day and he was probably worn out. The paraprofessional tried to get him to write down what was frustrating him, so he wrote down the title of the movie, "Tom cuts a tree," and crossed it out. Then he broke a couple walls out of the house. He tried to put it back together but he got more and more frustrated, so I suggested we end for the day. It was upsetting to see Larry get upset and frustrated and for me to be unable to communicate to help solve what was upsetting Larry. I was glad to learn the skill from the paraprofessional to have Larry write down what is frustrating him. I will let Larry initiate the next film that we make, so he does not feel pressured. I want to take it slowly, have him develop the list of verbs and the characters so he feels invested and in charge of the project. Perhaps we should limit the number of camera angles we use to a single one. I hope he continues to want to work on animation. We are nearing the end of the week, so Larry is probably worn out, too. I hope the experience was not too upsetting for Larry, and that he gives it his best effort again some time.
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What will we be responsible for this semester? What is the role of an electronic portfolio in my ongoing academic and professional career in educational technology? This semester we are learning to manage technology to promote change, whatever the setting might be. A large part of this semester will be devoted to developing an electronic portfolio, or eportfolio. Based upon the experience offered by a Learning Circle last semester, the efolio differs from a web page or resume in that it shows the process through which we went in order to achieve a particular goal or milestone, or what we went through to produce a product. The efolio showcases our achievements yet allows the viewer to witness and come to understand our processes by which we achieved our intended outcomes, or our reactions to and modifications based on unexpected outcomes. The efolio will be, as Margaret Riel explained about the OMET exhibition in a May 8, 2007 Tapped In session, another part of our "professional presentation of self." Paul Sparks sold me on the OMET program when he explained that one purpose of OMET was to produce leaders. Now that we have worked with current and emerging technologies, considered the ramifications and practical applications of the technology, and worked to envision the changes that the technology might bring, or the modifications the technology might undergo, we will go out into our communities, schools, and businesses to make changes affected through our intentional and deliberate actions. Our efolios will document the process by which we became leaders in the educational technology field, which will provide credibility as we seek to convince others of the necessity of change. The efolios in turn will grow with documentation of our achievements as we affect change with those around us. This semester promises to be intellectually and emotionally challenging. The efolio process will capture the hard fun we have had this year and prepare us for a lifetime of affecting change. I look forward to creating my own and to seeing others'.
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Today I was drafted by some of the actors in Beth's movie to judge auditions. There was confusion regarding one of the roles, since one student had supposedly quit the production so Beth recast the role. However, once production started the other student said that her departure was a misunderstanding. Between the two students they concluded that they should re-audition for the role with me as the judge, and whomever did not get the role would take one of the other uncast roles. I selected one line for the girls to read. However, the line was surrounded by two acting parts, so they had to run, trip over a "rock," pick up the rock and say their line, then look at the rock and pretend to faint. The girls practiced for ten minutes. I met them in the library. One was outside, waiting for the other to audition. I explained to the first student what I was looking for in their acting:
Both girls did a great job, and actually had the same scores. However, one girl's facial expression was better for the particular scene. I consulted with Beth and she agreed. She would inform the girls. When I went to check on the girl who had not gotten the part, she announced that she had quit after the audition. I was unable to get her to fill a different role. Again, third grade drama in full effect. Beth will work to cast the remaining roles tomorrow, while I am off campus interviewing principals for the school. I hope she is able to get the others to stop bickering and to come together in the interest of completing this film. On a more positive note Larry and I build a Lego set at the end of the school day. We had a lot of fun. Clearly Larry builds Lego at home as he had no difficulty following the printed directions and getting his model to look like it did on the box. He even applied the stickers to the flag. Larry continues to come by my office while Tech Club works on "Mission to Earth." Today he sat and watched Jake and another student film a couple of scenes. He was very observant and watched both students, one who was animating and the other who was taking the photos. Later he came by and set up his own scene on the "stage" we constructed for "Mission to Earth." Larry enjoyed making a stop-motion movie last week. His mother said in an email that he had a huge smile on his face when they watched it at home! I hoped that by building this model together Larry would realize that I am interested in making more films with him. Additionally, I hoped that the act of putting together the model would help Larry to start developing a narrative that he might want to use this character to illustrate. We scooted the model around on the table a bit before I packed up to go home. I hope to have a chance to make another movie with Larry on Friday. It will be interesting to see if he has a narrative in mind, and what kind of animated adventure he takes us on next!
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The drama surrounding the casting of Beth's film worked itself out and she and the other students started filming today. As I understand it, several girls left Beth's film production last week to start up their own. When I checked in today, however, by lunch recess the girls had rejoined Beth's film, perhaps because they saw that we were serious about making Beth's film and were starting filming. This created an another issue as a different student had been cast to replace one of the drop-outs. Beth talked with all the students and evidently resolved the issues, though I will check with the student who was bumped from a role to make sure she feels the issue was resolved. I met with Beth and two other students during first recess when they came by the lab. I brought to school the $14 steadycam that I built for one of my brothers. I wanted to show Beth and the others the type of fluid, motion-filled shots that were possible if one used a steadycam. First Beth filmed a shot of the other two students walking towards the camera as she walked backwards away from them. As expected, the footage was a little jumpy because it is difficult to hold the camera steady and walk at the same time. Then we put the camera on the steadycam and I had the students walk while I walked around them and in front of them. Because the camera is dampered by the weight of the steadycam rig, there is less movement and the camera is more steady. I lead Recycling Club on Mondays during lunch recess, so I gave a tripod, a DV camera with a tape, and some basic instructions to Beth's friends. I talked to Beth about using the camera to test different kinds of shots and let them try out their skills while I recycled. When I checked back they were rehearsing and filming a scene with the waspworms. The queen and the protagonist were running from the wasp. Beth had trouble getting the tripod to pan smoothly. I showed her how to loosen the dials on the tripod and she was able to get it to pan. Additionally, we raised the legs so she didn't have to hunch over. The student who was "playing" the wasp, which has a straightened coat hanger attached to it so it can be held by somebody out of frame, was included in the shot, chasing after the students. It was pretty hilarious. We set up the scene again and I explained to the students that they were being chased. I demonstrated, running and turning my head to look behind me, exhibiting facial expressions of fear. I asked the girl playing the waspworm to stay out of the shot. Beth called "Action" and the two students ran past the camera, which smoothly panned, looking at the terrifying waspworm that was following them. With that we ran out of recess time. Tomorrow we'll take a little footage of the waspworms and I will show Beth the magic of editing, and how we can combine scenes and shots to create the illusion that the characters really are being chased by these terrible beasts. Talking with Beth's teacher after school today, she welcomed me to the dramatics of third grade. It is interesting how much the social web plays a role in girls' lives at this age. Friendships and allegiances are tested daily. I think that starting filming today reinvigorated this project. Students were tiring of the auditioning process and are eager to start filming. I asked Beth what her biggest successes were today, and she stated that using the camera was exciting and successful. Her biggest challenges were getting the tripod working correctly. I was able to help with the challenge, so I feel that I helped her to succeed. We will encounter more challenges, and we will continue to work through them and grow through the process. It is exciting work we have ahead of us!
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One of my action research goals this year is to provide the autistic students at my school a place to socialize with their peers. I have tried to include autistic students in Tech Club projects and have had great success working with Henry, who has high-functioning autism. Lately I have noticed a willingness on Larry's part to socialize with his peers and I invited him to help film Paul's stop-motion film and to paint Beth's dragon. Lately I have also noticed that Larry has been coming to my office during third recess, when there are rarely any other students around. When I returned to my office yesterday during third recess Larry was playing with the Lego that we are using for our stop-motion film. I have found him several times playing with the Lego, rearranging pieces we are using in the movie and adding to the sets. Additionally, he booted the laptop that we use to film the stop-motion films and appeared to be looking for the application that we use. I stood back and observed him. When the recess bell rang I asked him if he would like to come back tomorrow and make a movie. He repeated the word "movie" a couple of times, so I told him that we would make a movie tomorrow. This morning I discussed the idea of Larry making a movie with one of the paraprofessionals who works with Larry. I explained how I noticed that he was playing with the Lego and how he tried to use the laptop yesterday. She felt it was a great idea. Larry came by first recess to hang out with his friend Henry, who was working on the soundtrack for the film. Again I told Larry that if he wanted to make a movie of his own he could during third recess. When third recess started I went to the library, where Larry comes back into the building. I noticed him making his way towards the library and was excited to work with him. We went to my office, where I had set up some Lego: a big base plate that he could attach things to and a car with a driver. The laptop was running iStopMotion, the program we use. I started by asking him to watch. I pressed the spacebar and took a photo; the program makes a camera shutter sound to let you know it took a picture. Then I asked him to move the car slightly forward, which he did. I took another photo. Then I asked him to move it again and took another photo. We then played back the film and he could see that we had just made animation. He was very excited, with a big grin on his face. I asked him to move the car again and to tell me "take the picture" when he was ready, and he did. This elicited big laughs from Larry! We continued taking photos while he moved the car and incorporated other pieces into his scene. He also took the laptop from me and held it in his lap and started taking the photos on his own. Just then my phone rang and I answered it while he worked independently. He had a little trouble keeping the figures in the frame at times, and I helped him to move the camera. Another paraprofessional suggested that I tape down "boundaries" where the items are in the frame so he is aware of what is being filmed. He did an excellent job and had a fun time. At the end of the school day I burned to CD this movie, along with an mp3 of the song he sings in the Tech Club's final podcast. I emailed his parents to inform them of the CD and his work, and how much I enjoy working with him. I put the CD in the binder that he brings to and from home and school. Working with this student has been a very rewarding challenge. It has been very powerful for me to facilitate Larry's different forms of communication, from singing in podcasts to making short animated films. I hope these experiences have been equally empowering for Larry, too. I followed up with Beth today about her rubric and the challenges she was facing in casting. Some of the students she had cast have left her production so they could star in and direct "Zanzibar." Another third grade girl who was sitting at our table felt that the students were jealous of Beth's successes at school and with this movie (which has not yet even started filming) and were showing their jealousy by starting their own movie. Beth felt that perhaps these students were taking on too much by trying to act and direct and film all at the same time. I asked Beth whether she had shared the rubric by which she judged the auditions with the actors. She said that she had and explained what she was looking for to each actor before they auditioned. Beth felt that the defections and fracturing might have been because some people did not get the parts that they wanted even though they are Beth's friends. How are we going to get people interested in Beth's film again and start production? I asked her if she might want to start filming scenes next week that do not require all the actors, perhaps some of the dragon or the waspworm? She beamed at the idea. Our hope is that if we start filming we will generate interest. There are still a few girls who want to audition for roles, so we should be able to cast them and get the movie made. I showed her the page from Making Real Life Videos about different shots and explained how we could make things look bigger by filming close-up. She looked over the page intently. I would like to give her a video camera early next week so she can experiment with different types of shots. Problem-solving with Beth was interesting. She has a very good handle on the situation and is quite mature in her handling of the affair. She clearly wants to make the best movie she is able. I hope to facilitate her process and empower her through this project. Finally, check out the fifth and final episode for this school year of the Tech Club's podcast. We had a lot of fun making podcasts this year and exposed students and parents to this new technology.
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I returned from two very long and difficult days of collective bargaining with the school district for next year's school employees' contract to find that the fifth graders involved in "Mission to Earth" had rehearsed a few of the scenes and had recorded them in GarageBand in my absence! I was particularly pleased because I had left a note for Paul, who was ill on Monday when I was last at school, explaining that I was away and that it would be nice if they could get scene 4 recorded. They ended up recording three scenes! Today the students worked on the scene where the astronaut and his Martian friend visit Pluto. I was involved with three different projects simultaneously, so I spoke with the director about the three different camera angles that I envisioned for the scene. Additionally, ahead of time I listened to and timed the dialogue, so we knew that we needed about ten seconds of footage to complete the scene. The film is very fast-paced, like a music video. I left the students to film while I checked in with Henry and the soundtrack and got a couple of girls started with storyboarding a stop-motion film of their own. These two girls had been involved with the stop-motion film (one as a sound engineer, the other as an actor) and helped to paint the dragon for Beth's film. It is encouraging to see them striking out on their own to produce another film. By the end of the day they had their film storyboarded, so we will meet tomorrow to discuss the logistics of filming the movie and the script. As Paul and his cameraman worked on recording the scene, others reviewed the footage that I edited and with their dialogue and Henry's soundtrack added. The movie is shaping up to be excellent, their best yet. Paul added an additional scene to the three that I suggested, a scene that helped clarify the action. I went to Nick's classroom right before recess to ask him if he might be able to come by and finish the Plutonians he designed. He came to the lab where the students are filming before anyone else. I provided him with a small container of my "choice pieces" to finish his Plutonian. He found a very unique Lego for the head and added a few more features. It did not take him too long, so I found another Minifig body and asked him if he could make another. He asked if it were alright if this Plutonian could look similar to another he had already made, to which I replied, "Of course." After he finished his Plutonians, he asked me whether they had any dialogue in the movie. Two students already recorded some zombie-noises for when the Plutonians appear. I suggested that Nick might be able to come up with some dialogue on his own and we could record it in GarageBand and filter his voice so it sounded like an alien's. He came up with the first line, "Sky beings! Get them!" He and I worked on the remaining three lines. Paul, the director, heard the Helium effect when he and the others recorded their dialogue and suggested it might be a good effect for the Plutonians' voices. Nick agreed, stating that if there were an atmosphere on Pluto it would be very thin, which might give inhabitants high-pitched voices. He and I arranged to meet at lunch recess to record his dialogue. First we recorded my voice, testing the Helium effect. He thought it sounded very funny. He decided that since the effect was going to make his voice sound higher in pitch, he would speak in a high-pitched voice so it would sound even stranger when filtered. We recorded his lines. I asked him if this were real and the Plutonians were serious about catching the astronaut and the Martian, would they take turns talking? He suggested that we layer the voices over one another. We cut the clip into different clips and moved them to different tracks so we could slightly overlap them. He suggested we move one of the lines ahead in sequence. Then he thought about the Helium effect and decided there must be a better effect. We tried a couple and I suggested the Celestia effect, because his voice was clear but definitely filtered. He liked it and we presented it to the director, who also liked it. This morning I managed to turn a plastic water bottle into a waspworm, another character in Beth's movie. I covered it in construction paper and used scotch tape to hold it all together. The stinger comes out as the main character has to retrieve one for part of a potion. I taped a cut and bent coat hanger to it and brought it out to show Beth. She approved of the design but wanted the head slightly larger, which I modified. I suggested I could assemble the paper pieces needed to put together waspworms and students could assemble a couple more for the "swarm" in the film, which she thought was a good idea. She also wanted the coat hanger to be mounted to the top of the waspworm I explained that if it were mounted on the underside that the waspworm could be moved around and filmed without the person holding the hanger in the frame, so it would really look like it was flying. I do not think that Beth realizes yet how we are going to capitalize on many closely-framed shots to make the creations look much more realistic and large. I photocopied for her early in her process of starting her film a page from Making Real Life Videos that has visual examples of different types of framing used in movies. I am going to refer to this sheet with her again, along with a copy of this photograph as well as a close-up of the dragon's arm to show her how it can be made to look large and realistic. Perhaps she can experiment with a video camera and close-up shots to see how she can make her scenes look more realistic with proper framing. In my absence there was turmoil in the audition process. I went out to Beth's classroom this morning to return the paint that we used and was immediately asked by several girls whether I could come to recess to help "judge." I was not certain what they were asking me to judge but I assumed they meant the auditions. Laura confided to me, whispering that Beth had not been "fair" in her casting, she felt. Some girls were upset that they had not been given "great" ratings without receiving feedback from Beth as to how they might improve. Did Beth not share her rubric that she used for auditions and did the other students not clearly understand what skills Beth assessed ? Beth said that there were not going to be any more auditions that day when a few girls in the class started to get involved in the conversation. Clearly she felt that she had lost control of the situation and was going to take back control. I asked her if she needed any help with the audition process and she said she did not. By the middle of the day she was auditioning students for the remaining roles. She lost one actor to another film that a group of third grade girls have also started independent of Tech Club, interestingly. I provided the director, a third grade girl who is also starring in Beth's film, with storyboard sheets and an offer for her to use one of the school's video camera. She took a movie making class elsewhere and has a good sense how to accomplish her goals, but she was not certain what software she learned to edit her film with. It is interesting that Beth's film has influenced these girls to start a film as well. I wonder whether these girls will approach me to help with their film or will they remain independent of Tech Club? Regardless, these girls are using technology in a self-directed and self-initiated project that involves other students, some of whom feel that they were slighted in an opportunity to participate in the limited roles that are available in Beth's film. The role of relationships and technology use, explored in my literature review, must be noted in this real-world example. They have posted many signs around school advertising the casting of their film, open to both boys and girls. Beth's film has only one male role, which she might cast with a girl. It will be interesting to see if boys choose to participate in this other film, "Zanzibar." I am very excited by Paul's leadership and the ability of the cast, unsupervised by me, to accomplish so much work. Paul's animation and directing shows refinement from the three years he worked on stop-motion films both in Tech Club and independently at home with his siblings. Beth's management of the auditioning process breakdown shows she is committed to her project and to getting the "best," as she describes it, for each role. Her influence on her peers caused others to start similar projects independent of Tech Club, an interesting and new development. All of this occurred mainly in my absence, which is quite amazing and which shows the independence and empowerment that this project has given these students.
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Beth and her friend Laura finished painting the dragon today! We mixed yellow, white, and black paint for the teeth and fangs; the color combination gave us an acceptable plaque color, according to Beth. When I brought the dragon out to Beth's classroom, her classmates were quite excited about the dragon and started clamoring for the opportunity to "act" as the dragon in the movie. It will be interesting to see how Beth manages to cast the dragon. I am going to be away from school for the next two days. Beth is going to try to make the dragon's tail at home. Additionally, she is going to try to finish casting the remaining roles. Students who have been cast have received copies of the script so they can start memorizing their parts. It will be exciting to return on Thursday to see how far she and the other students have gotten.
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I built an arm for the dragon this morning, again basing it on the Lego dragon that I have. It turned out pretty well. The claw on the top of the hand can be removed, as there is a scene in the film when the characters have to steal the claw of a dragon. The arm is large enough that the students can slip their arms inside of it and move it around, for when we film the scene. We also worked on finishing painting the head of the dragon. Larry stopped by and I asked him if he wanted to help paint. He joined us. I showed him the type of stroke we were trying to do, and he followed my example. He and I were able to paint both sides of the arm, as well as the top side. Several students who have auditioned for roles but who did not get the first role that they auditioned for have asked about auditioning for the part of the dragon. I explain that there are several parts to the dragon: the head, the arm, and the tail, which Beth said she would work on this weekend. This will allow multiple students the opportunity to act as the dragon. I asked Beth about her rubric for assessing the auditions, and how she came up with it. She said that it was the same as the one she used at her old school, when they auditioned for plays that they performed. I helped her by typing a form based on the one she was hand writing for each audition, then photocopied them two-up for her. This will save her some time in the audition process. She has a list of people who are auditioning for the various roles, and typically auditions two or three during a fifteen minute recess. She has cast four of the roles. I gave her copies of the script to distribute to those students already cast so they could start learning their lines. She has a few more roles to cast, and will work on that early next week while I am off campus at meetings. Paul's crew worked on recording dialogue with me today. The third grade girl who was going to work on the recording was a bit overwhelmed by the process, as I demonstrated the first time. Instead, she participated in the group dialogue scenes, when we needed a bunch of voices. I am going to try to get her interested in working with Henry again on the soundtrack, though he tends to dominate that process as well. She helped to paint the dragon, so I feel that she is participating and being included. Some of the students' voices are being processed in GarageBand to give them an "alien" accent, for example, or in some cases changing the gender of the speaker. The students are having fun with it, though I did have to prompt some of them about the seriousness of the scene that they were recording, to lend intensity to the film that the other students had captured. Nick, whose photography impressed me during the digital photography project, but who had not participated in the podcast unit, came by yesterday while the students were filming in my office. There were already three students filming, the maximum that fit in my office. I did not want to turn Nick away, as he had expressed interest in working on sets. Instead, I asked him to work on designing two Plutonians. I had made one, which he modified, and he worked on the other two. He was extremely meticulous in his crafting of the aliens. He asked if they all had to look the same, to which I replied, "No." I started with the premise of having the torso turned backwards so the arms are strangely jointed, but he added the extra torso length, making them look similar to the Martians. I added the white circular part to his design to make it look more like an eyeball. Weird! I was glad he came by; I asked him to come by again and finish his other Plutonian. I built this elaborate set last weekend. The students worked with it this week, filming an important scene when the Martian Chief sends his troops after the astronaut and his Martian friend. I am impressed with their animation skills and their creativity. Henry finished the soundtrack for scene 2 of the movie. He is building upon themes that we developed in last year's movie, "Mission to Mars." I hooked up the hard drive on which the files for "Mission to Mars" are stored and had him review the scene where we first see the Martians and the music that we used. He improved upon the music in his version for this year's movie. I explained to him that he was very musically talented and understood time signatures and other nuances better than the other students and I did. Larry also came by during first recess, wanting to see what was going on with the students filming. He stood in the middle of where the students were trying to animate, so I invited him to sit down on a stool in the office. When I checked back a couple of minutes later, he was in the middle of things again. This time I asked him if he would like to help by taking the photos for the stop-motion. I explained to him that when Paul told him to take the picture, he would press the space bar on the keyboard once. When I checked back with Paul a few minutes later, Larry was doing a fine job and helping to get the film made. I was very excited for two opportunities to work with Larry and to have Larry work with his peers. This has been a very busy week on the set and in the library. I am impressed by the students' talents and drive to complete their projects. They are working independently but I am taking actions, like building the dragon or making photocopies, that support and empower them. The students on the Autism Spectrum who are participating in projects are socializing with their peers and learning new skills, in Larry's case, or collaborating and improving talents, like Henry. I am very pleased with my Cycle Three efforts this week.
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Students painted the dragon again today. Beth explained that she wanted people to paint long faint lines over the black paint, to suggest scales. Larry joined in and had a little trouble at first with the lines, but I held his hand and modeled the motion, and he understood and added a little. His participation remains short, but I am encouraged that he chooses to participate when asked if he wants to join us. Today there were more students at lunch recess who wanted to paint than there were brushes or space on the dragon. It was exciting to see students interested in our project. Tomorrow the students will work on finishing the ears, the eyes, nose, and teeth. For third recess I photocopied copies of Beth's script so she could audition peers for parts in the movie. She has cast two of the main roles, but has more roles to audition. Students used the scripts to rehearse in the library while Beth auditioned each student as she was ready. The students would memorize a few lines, then perform them. Beth asked students to stand so she could observe their body language, and expected them to act with emotion and energy. She took notes of how each student performed according to the rubric she established. She explained her rating system to me and one of the students who auditioned today:
A student who had not been selected for a role that Beth auditioned during third recess was discouraged as we walked back to their classroom after recess. I explained to the group that there were still roles that needed to be filled and if they did not yet have a role they should try out for another. This encouraged her. She also asked if she could operate the dragon, and Beth told her she could, which made her very happy. Beth's leadership is guiding this project. She has a good command of the work that needs to be done in preparation of the film. There are still roles to fill, costumes to make, and other logistics. However, we are well on our way to making Beth's film a reality. Paul's film is also progressing very well. I asked him today if it was alright that I have essentially been editing the work by stitching the clips together and adding transitions as necessary. Paul said he felt fine about this: he has many responsibilities, from directing, dialogue coaching, to animating and filming, so I think he is happy to have one big responsibility off his plate. Paul is managing the project very well, grouping students into smaller groups to rehearse dialogue, work on the soundtrack, and help animate and film. This gives every student a responsibility. It also allows students to rotate in and out of the project on any given day so they can go to recess, study hall, or other meetings but we can still be actively working on the film. Henry is hard at work composing the soundtrack in GarageBand and completed Scene 1. We also recorded the dialogue for Scene 1 and Scene 3. I was worried about whether the students working on this project would have enough time to complete the film. It took them five months last year to make the film, with sizeable contributions from me. This year, however, they seem well on their way to completing it in record time. Paul's leadership demonstrates the experience and skills he has built while working on the two previous stop-motion films produced by Tech Club. His ability to manage such a complex project is noteworthy, and speaks to his abilities as a leader and an artist.
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