iMovie Preview and Project Night!

Yesterday, I brought the final version of our class movie to school and let the kids preview their  movie and eat popcorn.  Everyone seemed really proud of their work and they were all excited to show their parents later on that evening.

We had a majority of students and their families attend Project Night, and I was happy with the great turnout.  We were able to reserve the computer lab, which has an even bigger projection screen, which was great since the room was quite full. I briefly introduced the project and then turned it over to my students to explain what they did in the project and why.  We then watched the film together (twice, because some families came in a little late) and I got a chance to talk with many of the parents.   Many of them want a copy so I will be emailing a .mov and .wmv version out to them as soon as I get a complete email list.  

Overall, the project has been a great experience for both me and the kids and I am sad that it has come to an end.  I am glad it was so successful, and that the kids enjoyed their time working on the project.

Project Meeting #6

This afternoon I went back to school in order to finish the last of the recordings.  The student who had been absent was there, so I now have audio for every student who is participating in the project.  Today I also had time to rerecord a few voiceovers so that I may improve the quality of the recordings.  Since I had already completed most of the editing prior to this visit, after just a few adjustments I was able to export the final video.  When the kids went to gym class, I let my cooperating instructor preview the movie and I did a test run with the projector/speaker set up.  Everything ran perfectly and I am officially all set up for Project Night on the 11th.  I hope to go in that afternoon as well so that the students may preview their work.  I think the project has turned out really well, and I know that the students are proud of what they have completed so far... and anxious to see the whole thing!

Projecting Meeting # 4 (and 5!)

Yesterday was a big day for the project... I was sick on Thursday and missed the very important Project Meeting #4, so on Friday my teacher was kind enough to let me stay through the entire morning block in order to finish the students' audio recordings.  This task was particularly challenging to complete in one day, and a few issues (all resolvable!) arose throughout the day. 

My first challenge was finding a quiet place to record.  I ended up working with students in the teaching kitchen, which also houses some frequently used copy machines.  Several students had practiced and practiced their narrative and when we were finally ready to record, we were interrupted by the copy machine.  For many students, I simply waited out the copying.  With at least two students I settled for a less than perfect recording and was able to do some audio editing to resolve the problem (read note at end!!).

   Also, since a week had passed since their writing assignment, many students had difficulty remembering what they wrote about.  I thought it would be helpful for me to have typed up their stories so they could read nice big print during their recordings, but many students did much better and preferred to read the scrawled text and invented spellings that they had written themselves in the previous week.  Luckily I had both the typed version and the original copies on hand, and this experience is something that is great to know for the future.

Yet another challenge was the fact that I was squeezing two lessons in to one day.  My original plan had been to introduce iMovie to the the whole class prior to literacy centers beginning.  Because of the time constraints I was working under, I arrived to school early so that I could pull children during Calendar and Morning Meeting and get a few more recordings done before Literacy Centers even began.  This meant there was no whole group introduction to iMovie and I spent a few minutes with each student giving them an introduction to the program and letting them see what it was all about.  Had I just done a whole group introduction and clearly explained the task at hand before working with students individually, I could have avoided spending time with each child explaining iMovie.  It WAS great to see how exciting and cool they thought it was, and I know they felt special being able to scroll through the timelines themselves and find their picture, but I would have been a lot less stressed if I felt I wasn't trying to rope them back in to the task at hand!   I also had to work around the many transitions that happen in the morning block, which tended to eat up a fair amount of time.

And finally, my last challenge was the fact that since all recordings were completed in one day, that was my only shot at getting all my students' recordings done.  One student was absent and I will need to scramble to find time before Project Night to record her narrative.

As hectic a day as it was, it proved to be very successful.  I was right in assuming it would take about 10-15 minutes for each student to practice and record their narrative, so while it was much better suited for the two day plan I had initially set up, my teacher and I were flexible enough to make it work out in one day.  And as for the background noise in some tracks, I am particularly pleased with my process for cleaning up the audio.  I downloaded Audacity and imported a student's voiceover into the program.  Then I found a feature that actually allows you to specify what is background noise, and then it searches for that sound throughout the recording and removes it from the track. I then exported it as an mp3 and imported it back into the project and you can't even tell there was ever a copy machine in the background!  While I am glad I don't have to go through this process for ALL 20 tracks, it is a great quick fix!  

I have about a week and a half to do a few more post production work on the movie.  I set up a movie viewing with my teacher on the 11th, which is also Project Night, so the kids can see their work.  We will project it on the board, eat popcorn, and have a great time!

Project Meeting #3

Today students continued working on their learning goal narrative.  I gave each child a template to aid in the writing process and all students were able to complete between 3 and 6 sentences on their goal.  McKenna came in as an aid to the literacy centers block as I was substituting today and knew I may need an extra hand to get my project completed and ensure that all other students were remaining on task. (Thanks McKenna!) Students also practiced reading and reciting their narrative so that they may be ready to record next week.  Today was a very productive block and we are on schedule for the project.

The same two students were absent again today, so I am hoping to leave behind materials so that they may participate in the project.  Next week I will begin working with students individually using iMovie.  The students seem very excited about the project and have expressed how proud they are that their work will be a part of a "real movie".  

I also received the last disclaimer form today so 20 out of my 22 students will be completing the project in full.  

Project Meeting #2

Today was my first time reuniting with my students after student teaching, and the first lesson in my EDLF 545 internship.  The students were really excited about the project and in our whole group instruction, every student was able to contribute a wonderful idea or two for their personal learning goal.  Once learning centers began, I met with each of the four groups and every student was able to come up with their own objective and draw a picture of themselves accomplishing that goal.  Many students were able to begin the writing prompt associated with their picture, which will make tomorrow's lesson run much more smoothly.  Overall, it was a very successful day and I am very pleased with what the students have done so far.

I received 21 out of 22 disclaimer sheets back from the parents, and it looks like I will have 18 students who will be fully participating in the project.  I will be writing to the other parents to assure them I have received their request and intend to honor their decision to exclude their child from the project.  Two students were absent today and I hope that they will be in tomorrow so that they will not miss too much of the project.  Today I also spent time scanning in each child's picture so that they can use it during their writing tomorrow, and I won't have to worry about their lovely work getting destroyed or marked up in the process!

Today went splendidly and I can't wait to go back tomorrow to continue with the project!

Project Meeting #1

Today, I met with Susie Dixon at Hollymead Elementary to discuss the technology project that will be implemented in her classroom.  Susie and I have a great working relationship as I was a student teacher in her Kindergarten classroom last fall.  We have been coordinating this project via email since last fall, and today we met to solidify the project timeline and so that I may get some advice on a letter for the parents.  Susie and I are both really excited about beginning the project and we will be completing the project in time for Hollymead's Project Night, an event that showcases work from the students at Hollymead Elementary.

The project is an iMovie that reflects the learning goals of every student in the class.  The project has been divided up into 5 classroom sessions, and will allow for students to do the following:

- Draw a picture of themselves achieving their learning goal

- Write a narrative about their learning goal

- Import their illustration and personalize their title slide in iMovie

- Read and record their narrative into iMovie 

- View the class movie and reflect on generating learning goals

This innovative and inspirational project will hopefully serve to inspire students to set goals for themselves and work to achieve their personal hopes and dreams.  I can't wait to get back in the classroom and begin working with students on this endeavor.