Real World Example

    The video clip above was created using NewsBooth in the Apple Store.  Green screen technology is all the rage but the easiest way to put kids in front of the camera without having any technology ability is this app which superimposes the title headers onto video.  

   Throughout the year one of our enrichment activities was the creation of hoax news stories. The stories were either done as a creative exercise or were aligned to historical prompts. For example when writing on Mesopotamia students were asked to create a short story based on a student who created a time machine for the science fair and went back to ancient Iraq. Another popular prompt included students writing about finding a specific ancient artifact in the school yard and then infusing their tale with the history. In the video above students were asked to create a video for a school-wide anti-bullying campaign.

Pros

1. The process is cheap because you only need one recording device for the class.

2. Every part of the project is created by the students.

3. It is easy to align the videos to specific standards if you use a prompt.

 Cons

1. You will have to train students to work cooperatively because without it your extrovert students will dominate the technology.

Rolling out the Technology (Beginners)

The best way to have students work on a project like this is through cooperative learning. It is important to have the script done before you begin creating the video. By giving students a voice or platform for different talents you can create cooperative learning groups based on skills.

   In one position it was not possible to immediately jump into cooperative learning; that was okay because it meant I needed buy-in from a majority of the classroom.  My way to engage my class was by hand-selecting students who showed an interest and then helping direct them as everyone else was finishing up regular “busy work.” By the time we were finished with the end product the interest of the rest of the class had peaked. In the end it was easier for me to introduce the value of cooperative learning and roles. Using an old beat-up iphone I was able to have students create their videos during recess and outside of precious instructional time.

Real World Example

The video above is the introduction for our school film festival on the theme of motion. Every video in the festival was aligned to 8th grade California physical science standards. All the videos were created with the web-based subscription service Powtoons.

   I have been the lead on a successful film festival and a mediocre film festival. Both film festivals happened in the same year with the same students. The problem is in one festival we had the entire school in the cafeteria, invited guests, and presented a top 10 of videos where my charismatic principal took the lead as an MC. In the other festival we rolled the films during lunch time and each grade level could watch them as they played.  On this project I was the lead and was nowhere near as engaging or energetic as my principal had been in the previous film festival.

 The first festival was transformative and students talked about it for a long time while the second festival was a failure because the students weren’t engaged. What I got out of that lesson was that if you make it a BIG deal, it is a BIG deal. If you are going to make a film festival then go all-out; add a red carpet, pack the cafeteria, use the best projector and sound system you have, fire up the popcorn machine, create fliers and posters, and have students privately vote for film categories.

   Please, please, please, I beg you do not just tell students “here is this animation program, let’s see who can make a video for our film festival!” There will be students who will learn the program automatically and will not want any help, but for you to make a difference with all learners you will definitely need to adjust your teaching practices for different students.

Pros

1. A well-implemented film festival can change the culture of your school.
2.  You can make the film festival a community event by inviting parents or the entire school site.
3.  Through a film festival you will see new talent that was underrepresented at a school.

 Cons

1. You will need a site license for a program like GoAnimate or Powtoons.
2. Someone at your school site will need to administer the online management system.
3. You will need to have a plan in place for students to learn the technology (more on that below).

Rolling out the Technology (Beginners)

I have been part of two different roll-outs of GoAnimate and Powtoons. In one instance I taught my class how to use the software and then other teachers would send small groups of students to learn 1-on-1 from my students.

   In a separate roll-out we had 1 student teach a small group of 5 from a different classroom and then those 5 students taught another small group within their classroom. When the entire classroom had learned how to use the software they went and taught more classrooms 1-on-1. The classroom we taught from a different school site even went on to create their own “animation day” once a week after school for students to dive deeper into the software.

How can I use animation and video in my classroom?

Section 1: Overview

Objectives

At the end of this chapter teachers will be able to:

1. Identify animation software.
2. Choose the appropriate animating format.

Real World Example

My experience with animation and video creation includes the paid software of GoAnimate, Powtoons, and the Apple application NewsBooth.  In the paid software programs artwork is provided for you within a closed social media-like environment. With NewsBooth you can easily create a fake live action newscast with mock headers and titles. In this section we will review the software requirements, how to rollout the technology, how to create a film festival, and the pros and cons to each piece of media.

What is Animation?

Questions:

1. Why animation?
2. Is it difficult to animate?
3. How can I incorporate it into my classroom?

 Answers:

1. Animation can give a voice to students who are not vocal in your class. Animation gives insight into introvert students and creative storytellers. If you have multiple languages in your classroom it is possible to create videos in these languages.

2. Most animating software is text to speech and already gives you the artwork to manipulate. In this sense you are only animating and not illustrating. The most important component is the dialogue, so I advise you spend a lot of time working on this before you begin animating.

3. You can incorporate animation into any core area. Animation can be centered around themes, vocabulary, or concepts.

Hardware & Software

Requires a laptop or desktop if you are using web-based software such as Go Animate of Powtoons. If you are creating news stories you can use just your smart phone. The iPhone lets you create actual videos with the NewsBooth app and with an Android phone you can create pictures of fake news headlines using Fake Breaking News Maker.

ELA

Content Goal: On the way out that door I will be able to discuss the plot, climax, and resolution. I will be able to make a clear distinction between the climax and the resolution.

Language Goal: As a class we will continue to use the words plot, climax, and resolution in context when discussing our stories.

Social Goal: Up to this point much of our work as been done as a whole class, today we will try and work more with multiple partners.

You will begin with 20 minutes on iReady.

We will watch the following video and break down the setting, plot, main character, events, climax, and resolution.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxxo_R6u_pZKV3hWeUNtN2R4Y1U/view

We will also read “the Gift of the Magi” and break down the setting, plot, main character, events, climax, and resolution.

HOMEWORK: IN YOUR INTERACTIVE READER COMPLETE PAGES 256-259 ON “THE DOG OF POMPEII.”

History

Content Goal: On my way out that door I will be able to explain how ancient cultures expressed their religion and world view through architecture. I will also be able to explain how Hinduism developed.

Language Goal: today in class we will continue to use pair-share strategies and we will be able to effectively communicate our ideas with multiple partners.

Social Goal: Up to this point much of our work as been done as a whole class, today we will try and work more with multiple partners.

Before we get started with Hinduism today, we will be reviewing some key characteristics of ancient world architecture.

Below is the presentation on our current unit “the Origins of Hinduism.”

History

Today for history we will continue on the topic of Hinduism.

ELA

We will continue to explore the different structures of plot with the Dog of Pompeii. As we read, we will be creating mental images (like a movie) of how the plot progresses. Think of the film Fantasia, what type of music would we hear at each stage? What would the sounds be? What would the colors be? What would be the mood?

On a separate sheet of paper we will identify:

1. The setting, plot, main character, and theme.
2. Event 1
3. Event 2
4. Event 3
5. Event 4
6. Climax
7. Resolution