Learning Intensive with Collaborative Technology

A presentation by Abbi Gee & Linda Miles

Abbi Gee Linda Miles

English

Sociology

3 yrs. @ daVinci

English

History

3 yrs. @ daVinci

Charter School Founded in 1995 for students

who did not fit the traditional mold ◦ Academically challenged◦ Behavior/motivational issues◦ Socially awkward◦ Academically gifted◦ Almost ALL are financially disadvantaged

Small population◦ About 150 students◦ Avg. 20 students per class

A daVinci staple

In the spring--after seniors are gone

3 weeks

½ days

20 students, maximum

Same 20 kids all three weeks

2010 MACUL Conference Sessions◦ Video in the Classroom—Rushton

Hurley Abbi Flip cameras, great price, etc.

◦ Wikis in the Classroom – Lawrence Bruce Linda Posting assignments and results on a wiki

◦ Online Library—Mark Zeitlow Linda Researching resources

◦ Power Point Presentations

In 30 seconds, list as many historical sites in your hometown as you can.

Please type your responses into the chat room.

How many of you have actually visited some (or all!) of the historical sites you listed?

Please respond by raising your hand

OVERARCHING GOAL:

Use local historical sites as the lens to focus on, learn about, and reflect on

various historical eras.

In groups, students will use technology to:◦research a specific local site◦research the historical era to which the site

belongs◦create a PPT to teach a lesson to the rest of the

class about the site and the era◦record video of our field trips using flip cameras◦create edited videos of each field trip◦post their work in a class wiki to share with

others

Individually, students will use technology to:create written assignments from each visit

Historical Focus Local Sites Individual Assignment

1776-1870 • The Armory Arts Village (Historic Prison)

• Under The Oaks

• Character Letters

1870-1930 • Union Station• The Ella Sharp

Museum

• Travel Brochures• Dialogue with the

ghost of Ella Sharp

1920-1945 • Cascades Falls Park

• Cancelled due to weather

1945-1989 • The Parlour• Mt. Evergreen

Cemetery

• Persuasive Essay• Grave rubbings

and Epitaphs

Researched local historical sites

Matched sites to various historical eras

Visited all the sites

Mapped out bus routes

Built a budget

Planned out days/field trips to get cost

Ordered cameras

Purchased storage devices for

technology

Our Kids

Process very slowly

Have little or no prior knowledge of history

and/or technology

Weather Volatile spring weather Field trips rained out

Opportunities/Time Constraints◦ A curator from the local museum offered to come

spend a day at school with us, bringing all of her vertical files After Judy’s visit, and access to more cool info., the

kids wanted to revamp their PPTs. What was planned as a 1.5-day project became a

4-day project

Transportation◦ Used the city bus to get around town

Some sites required a short walk from bus stop Zero flexibility in bus schedule

In Reality: GeneralIn Reality: General

Our Goal The Set-Up Reality Next Time

To have students research their historical location and era in order to teach the rest of the class.

• List of research questions & free reign online

• Two 5-hour blocks to complete research and create a PPT

• Needed clarification in regard to historical context

• Spent a lot of time wading through search results

• More specific research questions

• List of suggested websites

• Continuously remind students how to tailor search results


To have student groups put their research into PPTs to present to the rest of the class.

• Rubric with requirements for the PPT

• Free reign with laptops and Microsoft PowerPoint

• Two 5-hour blocks to complete research and put it into a PPT

• Some well versed in the basics of PPT

• Some needed more help with visual aesthetics

• Students needed additional facts from us as they presented

• Give a short tutorial in using PPT software

• Give a short tutorial in the qualities of a good PPT


To have the “expert” student groups be in charge of recording each field trip

• Flip camera for that trip’s group

• Free reign to record what they thought was important

• Two hours of video time and extra batteries

• Very different view of what was important

• Didn’t know how to engage others on camera

• Specifics about what to record

• Interview questions and assignments


To have each student group create an edited, professional video of our visit to their site.

• Rubric with requirements for the video

• Brief tutorial using Windows Movie Maker

• Two 5-hour blocks to create videos

• Movie Maker didn’t recognize MP4 video format from flip cameras

• Battery life on laptops was shorter while editing video

• Do full test run with video editing tools

• Add to rubrics based on new requirements for field trip video recordings


To have each student upload all his/her completed pieces (PPT, video, and individual written assignments) to a wiki to share with others

• Created the wiki and its pages beforehand

• Added tutorials for Wikispaces and Windows Movie Maker

• Due to our time constraints and other unexpected issues, the wiki simply didn’t happen

• Streamline everything else so we have time

• Ideal Scenario:

When using technology, use the same good teaching practices you normally would—always have a back-up plan!

We would definitely use all these technology tools again.

There are other technological tools, like Glogster, that could also be used to demonstrate the same learning.

Some of the best learning took place from the real-life interactions we had with our kids.

Students:◦ taught us about the public bus routes◦ told us about things their parents had experienced

while growing up in Jackson◦ helped each other through every step of our intensive◦ were excited to see their

streets in a new light

Abbi Gee◦ [email protected]◦ http://achg.edublogs.org

Linda Miles◦ [email protected]

Wiki Link:◦ http://jacksonhistory.wikispaces.com

Documents

Learning Intensive with Collaborative Technology