Ukulele Update 3+4

It's been a little over a week since I last posted about my progress on the Ukulele.  I've actually got two videos to post, but rather than make them separate blog posts I figured I would post them both into the same one to save on time.
The first video you will see documents my progress from my last video.  I've learned a few new chords to help me play the song "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" as well as a new "Hawaiian" strumming pattern so it sounds closer to the original song.  You will also notice that I'm playing with a pick in the video, which is a little unorthodox, but you'll see why I decided to play that way for this Vlog.  Also good news...No animals appeared in the making of this Vlog!!! I triple checked to make sure I didn't have any stowaways before I started recording.
So here's the first of my two videos for this post:



The second video is my first real attempt at filming myself playing the song.  In the middle of the song I tried my hand at singing (unsuccessfully) but I've only got the Somewhere Over the Rainbow half of the song down.  I haven't really tried playing the "What a Wonderful World" half of the song yet.  When I filmed this I was kind of surprised that I actually sang a bit because I've never ever tried singing in front of any one before (aside from national anthems at sports games).  I think I found it easier to do because it was only me and my camera and I won't be able to see the look on peoples faces as they watch it which is nice!!
Here's my first attempt at playing the song on the Ukulele:

Tech Task #8

For our eighth  tech task we were asked to recreate our own version of the American Film Institutes "Door Scene". For this assignment I worked with some awesome partners: Heather, Rachael, Nick and Kirk.   Rather than go the suspenseful and scary route, we decided to go with a more comedic approach.  We had our entire scene take place using a car door instead of a traditional door.  To film the scene we used a Flip Camera and edited the scene using iMovie 11!
Here is our final product, hope you enjoy!


If you want to know more about the "Door Scene" check out the American Film Institutes Educator Handbook.

Tech Task #7

For our Seventh Tech Task we were asked to create a short Podcast and embed it in our blog. Once again I worked with Nick Barnes and Kirk Fiege on this assignment. We used Garageband to record and edit our podcast and used parts of the song "Purple Swag" as our intro/outro. Here's our polished product, I hope you enjoy it:

9 Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime

Recently I was checking my emails and I came across a forwarded email from my dad.  Usually whenever I see an emails marked with a FW: in the subject I almost always delete it because I hate chain mail.  However, I felt guilty simply deleting my dad's email, so I figured I would give him the benefit of the doubt and read it and  man was I pleasantly surprised! The email was actually a really interesting read that made me think about what the future holds as a result of our technological advancements.  The title of the email was: "9 Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime" and listed the following items as things that would be gone as a result of technological advancements: The Post Office, The Newspaper, The Book, The Land Line Telephone, Music, Television, The "Things" That You Own, Privacy.
Initially I wanted to write this blog entry about how it was interesting to think that if we were to mention something like a "Cheque" or a "Newspaper" to our future students, they may have no idea what we are talking about. However, when I typed the title of the email on google I found Doug Johnson's blog and an post he wrote in response to the email as well as his own list of 9 things that will disappear from K-12 Education.  I actually found this even more intriguing than the initial email because these predictions would really impact the way that we teach if they were to come true.  Here's the list that Doug created:

1. Book-only libraries and librarians. Libraries will remain, they just won't be repositories and tombs, but active places where students go to create and consult with information experts. Actually these libraries are already rapidly going.
2. Textbooks. CMS like Moodle that provide links to multi-media resources, tied to specific curricular outcomes and teacher passions will be the norm. Add curriculum guides in 3-ring binders to this list too.
3. Paper tests, worksheets, study guides, and student essays. Paper report cards, school newsletters, and student handbooks. It's all moving to the web, boys and girls. It's just easier.
4. Classrooms comprised of age groupings. This has been a dumb idea for a long time, only continued out of sentimentality and laziness. Students grouped, if grouped at all, by IEP needs makes more sense if we are serious about all kids learning.
5. Closed wireless networks and prohibition of student-owned devices in the classroom. We once didn't let kids on the network? They couldn't use their own computers in school. Grandpa, you've got to be kidding me. 
6. Technology-clueless, content-expert only teachers. Information ubiquity is requiring all teachers become process-experts as well as pedagogy/content experts. And since that information comes in digital forms, technology expertise at some level is a must.
7. Norm-referenced/summative testing. Using tests to sort kids into A-F categories just is not needed, even counterproductive, in a society where there are no jobs for D and F students. Private schools will move to formative assessments and growth models only first, but any public school worth its salt will also do what it must to placate the politicians and do what's right by kids.
8. Computer labs. Whether it is BYOD or 1:1 initiatives, personal student devices will make labs obsolete. I am even amazed at what low-powered devices like iPads can do with video editing.
9. F2F parent teacher conferences. Real-time monitoring of student progress through parent portals into the student information system makes such conferences as we know them unnecessary. If they continue they will need to be conversations about students rather than one-way reporting.

What do you think? Do you agree with Doug's list? What do you think about the idea of classrooms comprised of students grouped by IEP needs rather than by age?

Digital Story that Tugs at your Heartstrings

While I was creating my own digital story, I couldn't help but remember a video that one of my students posted in our class blog during my internship. I asked my students to each create a blog post to the following questions: "What does peace mean to you?" "If everyone wants peace, why is it so hard to attain?"  I was quite surprised with how many well written responses I received back, but what blew me away was a video one student embedded in her post to go along with her response. Most of the students wrote great responses but seemed to just type in "peace" on youtube and embed the first video they found. This particular student however, posted a very emotional video that you wouldn't find by simply googling the word peace.

Looking back on it now, I believe that this video is more than just a simple youtube video and actually an alternate form of digital story telling.  To me, this type of Digital Story Telling is extremely powerful because there are absolutely no images in this story and only vocal tracks.  The video tells the story of a young girl speaking to her father who was killed in the 9-11 attacks.  Throughout the story she tells her father about all the important moments that have occurred in her life since he passed away. This story is truly powerful because as you listen, you feel as if you are actually watching this young girl grow up, while at the same time also experiencing the pain she feels.
Here's the story:


What do you guys think? Do you think this is another form of digital story telling as well? What was your impression after listening to this young girls story?

Tech Task #6

For my Sixth Tech task I was asked to create a short digital story using any of the digital story telling tools that are available online.  Believe it or not I actually struggled with this task for quite a while! As soon as I saw this assignment I figured it would be super easy for me to do, but for the longest time I struggled with the task of thinking of a story worth telling.  I had a bunch of ideas for stories but every time I began working on them, I didn't like where they were going so I quit and moved on to a new idea.  Throughout the whole process I think I signed up for over 6 different digital story sites until finally settling on Google Search Stories as the means to tell my story.  I never imagined that just trying to come up with a story would be so hard! However, being the big film buff that I am, I finally decided to tell a story about a young aspiring film director and I'm satisfied with the end result of my story.
Here's my final product:

Let me know what you think!

Brain Based Learning: Brain Breaks

I recently stumbled across the article "10 Brain-Based Learning Laws That Trump Traditional Education".    I found this article particularly thought provoking because it took myths about how students learn and turned them upside down.  Something that I found particularly interesting was the Eigth Law: "Shorter Trumps Longer".  This intrigued me right away because it explains that as adults we have an attention span of about 10 minutes.  After those 10 minutes are up our attention starts to drift away (I'm sure I'm not the only one who has trouble paying attention for the entirety of a University class).  If as adults our attention span is that short I can only imagine how short the attention span of our students must be. This law really highlights the importance of avoiding lecture type lessons and the benefit of including short "brain breaks" into our everyday teaching.

This law was actually something that I learned through teaching a science class during my internship.  During the beginning of the semester I found that on certain days when i was doing more talking and less "hands on learning" I was having issues with students not paying attention and disrupting the classroom.  At first I was angry at these students and was temped to simply remove them from the class.  However, I quickly realized that this issue was more my fault than the students.  To combat with this I started doing a quick brain break with the students every 20 minutes for the hour I was teaching them.  This was something that was fun for both the students and myself and really seemed to help keep their attention throughout future lessons.

What do you guys think? How important is it for us as educatorsto implement Brain Breaks in our lessons? How often should we use a Brain Break during a lesson/day? What kinds of Brain Breaks have you used in the past? How did they go?

Progress Report: Learning the Ukulele

So I've kind of been slacking off here and haven't been posting much about my progress on learning the Ukulele! I've actually filmed 2 more Video Blogs since I posted my first one, I just forgot to post them on my blog, so I'll post them both in this post for you to see.
Vlog #2:
This Vlog was an interesting for me because I filmed it shortly after my first one and I learned quite a valuable lesson about the Ukulele: There are two different kinds, Soprano and Tenor.  You'll be able to view the costly lesson that I've now learned in my Vlog below:


Vlog #3
I actually filmed this one quite recently (Yesterday) which was about two weeks after Vlog #2.  I feel like having learned how to play guitar over the past few years is really helping me learn how to play the Ukulele as well.  While they are both two separate instruments they do have some common elements to playing them such muscle memory for your fingers and similar use of chords and the use of Barre Chords for more advanced playing (I still haven't gotten these down on guitar, and I've been playing for two years).  However there are some very big differences that I'm having trouble adjusting to such as strumming with your index finger instead of a pick, much smaller frets and the one that I seem to have the most trouble with is holding the Ukulele between you elbow and upper body while trying to change chords without dropping it.  However I feel like I have indeed made quite a bit of progress of the last few weeks as I am able (for the most part) to play a skeleton version of the song that inspired me to learn the Ukulele, Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World.  While I am only able to play the first verse I think it's a pretty good start, I know if I keep practicing I'll be able to get the song down in no time.
Here's my third Vlog, let me know what you think! Oh and again I apologize for my guests in the background, I don't know what it is about me Vlogging that gets the attention of so many different guests!!

Tech Task #4

For my Fourth Tech Task I was asked to create a parody of a Master Card "Priceless Commercial" using between 4-5 pictures.  The assignment gave me the option to complete this task individually or to work on it in a group of about 3 people.  Naturally I jumped at the opportunity to work with others because I hate individual assignments and love working with other people.  I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with such awesome group members, Kirk Fiege and Nick Barnes on this tech task.  At first we weren't sure what we wanted to do our "Priceless" commercial on, but after some spit-balling of ideas we landed on the idea of creating a commercial about "Bromance".  We also enlisted the help of expert photographer, Cynthia Schultz to help us take actual pictures of us for our assignment.  In the end we used iMovie to throw it all together, and here's our final product:

Let us know what you think!

Tech Task #5

For my Fifth Tech Task I was asked to browse through the images in the Flickr group, "Great quotes about learning and change" and create my own picture based of the examples I had looked at.  Before I even started looking of pictures that I could use for my task, I needed to think of a good quote to use in my picture.  After some googling for quotes to use, a different quote entirely popped into my head, "For every turned off electronic device there is potentially a turned off child"  These words were spoken by Stephen Heppell in the video "Learning to Change, Changing to Learn", a video that I posted on my blog a few days ago.  I love the quote because I believe that since students today are so engaged in technology, we need to embrace it as a learning tool otherwise we may loose them.
Here is my final product for my task using Adobe Photoshop CS5:

There was also an optional part for this Tech Task that I chose to do as well.  For the task I had to make my own album cover using the instructions from meme. This was actually quite fun to do as I was able to once again use Photoshop to make my album cover.  I would highly recommend trying this task out for yourself if you are bored and want to have some fun!
Here's the info that I had to work with for this assignment:
The random name that Wikipedia gave me was Edith Picton-Turbervill.
The last four words of the random quote that I got were one. Like with pie.
The random image that I got off of Flickr was:

 And here is my final product for the album: