skype and video conferencing inquiry

Hey all,

Here are two links to the press we have received around our inquiry project.

http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/979228

http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3460

January Authors

Hello all,

I checked the calendar this morning, and yup, it is already the beginning of January! My students are writing up a storm; wild and blustery, but writing nonetheless. While the range of mastery is wide, the one constant recently is the motivation caused by our inquiry project. Seth and I have literally jumped into this project with a "yee hah" and a prayer, troubleshooting as we go, solving a variety of SKYPE snafus that have to do with audio and/or video, flurries of emails, blog barriers as simple as how the heck do you post and label, and the occasional frantic cell phone call at 10:18 a.m. while students all over the classroom yell into their mikes: "Can you hear me?"

Through it all, the students have embraced each other as they build this unlikely community of writers: hesitate 3rd graders who have an assortment of writing challenges including phonetic spelling and the proverbial "I'm all done", and AP English students who are working hard to draw the stories out of these young writers.

You can find our work at: aronsonauthors.blogspot.com

When you click on the student author's names you'll see a variety of writing they've done to date: personal narratives, and non fiction pieces with a focus on the Winter Solstice. You'll be able to read the Ap English students "praise and polish", and then in red text, the 3rd grade author's attempt at revision using their writing partners feedback.

A few comments overheard while the students were SKYPING:

"I just read the story about your little sister. I absolutely love how you went from talking about memories from the past with all of the dialogue (talking), to the future. That flowed really nice."

"Mr. Mitchell, I'm so proud of my partner!" ( She was impressed by her kiddo's revisions (Caleb) and felt so happy to be part of that growth.

" If I could have said one more thing to my Uncle before he died I would have said "I love you."

"I think that you could help the reader understand more about how you feel about your dog by mentioning what you like to do with your dog."

"My writing partner (Cassie) has a great laugh".

"I think you should try combining sentences because you have a lot of short sentences clumped together. For example, instead of saying “She lives with our fish, Swimy. He has a lot of energy.” You could say, “She lives with our fish, Swimy, and he has a lot of energy.” The sentences flow better that way, so try combing some more like that."

"I’m sorry your gram died, but maybe you could describe what she was like before she died."

Pretty amazing stuff, don't you think? Up next, realistic fiction and then onto In Pictures and in Words: an Illustration Study.

See you all in February! MICHELE

Am I getting anywhere?

So I now have 98% of my students using Google Docs and it has certainly helped my ability to edit. It has other challenges to it...getting accounts, getting access, and getting them familiar with how to use it. One funny thing happened was that I was on one night, late, and a student came on to the same document. That was pretty cool...although it was hard to figure out WHERE to have our conversation.

I am learning...they are learning..or at least that is my hope/goal. Small...but a goal!

New Inquiry Question

New Inquiry Question:

How does the use of digital media foster students writing and motivation as they work to create a yearlong timeline of their learning?

My Vision (My Plan):

• I will create templates for each month on Impress that will be shared on each student’s computer.
• I will take pictures/video of students working in the classroom and upload them for students to choose from.
• Students will learn to open a saved file in Impress each lab session.
• Students will learn how to choose photos so they can write about one photo a month and tell what they learned/liked about that lesson.
• Students will learn how to keyboard well enough to tell a story. I will teach how to capitalize letters, how to punctuate sentences and how to spell check.
• I will document my work on my laptop. Entries will include lessons taught as well as problems and successes!

What Help do I Need at October Meeting:

• I need to learn how to use Impress well enough to teach it. I know it is similar to PowerPoint and I have a basic understanding of that.
• Is Impress the best program to use for this work?
• How do I create templates that can be sent to all kids’ computers?
• I don’t know how to download pictures onto our computers (Thin Clients). Hopefully someone is going to show me this week.
• I want to learn how to share movies on Impress so students can have the movies we create in their yearly timeline.
• I need to learn how to podcast so clips can be added to the timeline.
• These timelines will be shared with families-haven’t decided on the format yet.

Problems I may encounter:

• The server is often down. What will I do if I am not able to have the kids do this work because of the server??

Inquiry change,

I have changed my Inquiry from when to put down the pen to

How is digital media affecting the way preschool age children learn? I realize this is a broad question. I plan on narrowing it down to maybe the following.

As i interview teachers and get a better feel for what is currently being used in shcools i feel it will become more focused.

1. How does digital media affect the way preschool children learn to read?
2. What specific programs are local Maine schools using in their pre-k /kindergarten classrooms.
3. How much time is spent using digital media to teach preschool age students in local Maine Schools .
4. How do local teachers feel about digital media use in the preschool / kindergarten setting?

My Plan of Execution:


Read / Research books/articles written on this topic.

Observe and Document the time and different digital media programs my two daughters are using at home.

Interview local pre-school teachers. What digital media are they using, if any. How much time is spent per child/per digital media etc. How has teaching/learning changed when digital media is used. What are the benefits/detriments of digital media?

Interview parents of preschool age children, what type of digital media are they exposing their children to, if any.

What I need for help/October

Input of what fellow classmates know about what is being used in their schools and households.

Try out programs available, especially ones that are being used in local classrooms. Research these programs online.

*Discuss options with an early childhood Literacy Specialist/reading recovery person/ etc. One that is schooled in Early childhood literacy and would have information about how digital media effects preschool age children.