This is the Big One!

At the culmination of our #ed584 course, we were asked to create a digital story which we could use in our current or future classrooms. We were also asked to attempt to learn how to juggle, and document our journey as well. In the name of efficiency, and because I had a lightning bolt idea for an awesome story, I chose to combine these two projects into one, seamless story. And like Redd Foxx's eponymous character from TV's "Sanford & Son," this project truly became "the Big One!"

For my digital story project, I made a video showcasing my SHS Connect group of Grade 11 students (that's a 20-minute, twice weekly advisory/enrichment/homeroom period, to you), as they attempted to open up and share a bit about themselves while also filming me attempting to learn how to juggle. My students and I filmed and took still images using an iPad, while I used a Blue Snowflake USB microphone and Windows Movie Maker 2012 to narrate and edit my video project, finally uploading the film to YouTube.

The film can be both appropriate, thoughtful and reflective at times in the way it documents my juggling journey while also allowing students the opportunity to share in this experience and tell a bit about themselves as well. Other times, it can seem pretty silly, and possibly "inappropriate;" however, that's what SHS Connect is supposed to be -- an informal, loosely structured time and space to connect students with one another, and to a teacher they might not otherwise ever interact with outside of their scheduled classes. Although I'd love to share the video publicly, some of my students who appear in the video do not have permission to have their names, likeness or work appear in public forums. The law is the law, I suppose.

I think the final product turned out really well, in my unbiased opinion! :)

Honestly, I wanted to see what editing a several minutes-long documentary film would be like using Movie Maker, which many of our students option to use for their own film projects at school. I would probably include more still images and try different transitions and filters in any future iterations of the video.

Windows Movie Maker is a relatively simple video editing program available to all students in our school, so it would certainly benefit them in any digital storytelling or documentary film-related work they're required to do for their classes. Heck, it would even be cool to make a video resume, or projects for family and friends. Unfortunately, not only is the program outdated by several years, but it's also available only to users on our networked PCs at school. At a time when more and more iPads and Chromebooks are being added to our building, it will make it more difficult to support students' use of this technology when Windows-based devices are limited or in high demand. Scheduling PC lab space for classes, or suggesting alternative video-editing options for other devices, such as iMovie (Macbooks, iPads) or YouTube (Chromebooks) could be viable ways to overcome these impediments.

I thought this was a very challenging, yet worthwhile, project, as it allowed me to try a new technology and share a story of my students that they were actually involved in making along with me. We learned a lot about one another, which is one of the goals of SHS Connect. Too bad I haven't yet learned how to juggle!

Prepare for Tomorrow...

"Prepare for tomorrow by doing your best work today," or some iteration of the phrase, is a famous quote, or idea, that has stuck with me for years. Anytime I've ever felt particularly stressed out or unsure of something, it's almost always because I wasn't prepared enough for it.

Whether completing assignments for school, tasks at work, buying a car, or heck, even deciding what to pack for lunch, preparation has always led me down the path to success. I've told this to my students before undertaking many research projects and believe this concept is essential when responding to the question: what are you preparing students for?

I believe it's my duty to ensure that my students are prepared with the tools, skills and strategies to meet the challenges of tomorrow by doing their best today. No one knows what tomorrow might bring for a child. It could be as simple and innocuous as making sure they have online access and strategies to search for information to complete an assignment on time.

Or, it could be a greater task, like making decisions on whether or not to enter the armed forces, or which college to apply to, or whether or not to attend college at all.

The world has become a very complicated and sometimes scary place for our kids. I want to make sure that I do everything I can to prepare my students to make good, informed choices for tomorrow by giving everything they've got today. That resilience, competence, creativity, confidence and independence will empower students to seize every opportunity and be prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow. All it takes is a little extra preparation today!

Thanks for sharing your comments, as well as what YOU feel you're preparing your students for!

Dicey Research? Try CARRDSS!

Check out my first attempt to make an RSA-style video; not too shabby! Big shoutout to teacher-librarian maven Joyce Valenza for the inspirational CARRDSS method for evaluating online sources of informational research, as well as the collective support of my #ed584 colleagues. About three hours of frustration, many huffs of dizzying, dry-erase markers, several palmfuls of Sour Patch Kids and a little bit of luck went into making this short, speedy, and hopefully, useful video.

Please to enjoy, and thanks for leaving any feedback for me below! 

Fear Itself

The topic of fear among our students is very intriguing. Our instincts are to protect them from fear, to always make them feel safe and nurtured. In a literal sense, yes, we should do everything within our power to keep our students safe from harm, whether it manifests itself as a third party, or stems from what we're directly doing in our classrooms.

Here's where things get interesting: how do we address what students fear?

"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." - Franklin Delano Rooselvelt, 32nd President of the United States

When faced with a difficult research task or concept, I tell my students that in order to become fearless, they need to fear less. What frightens students, and most people, I'd imagine, is failure. I know that's true for me. For students, this often comes as a result of receiving failing grades, a polarizing phenomena best left explored in a different post.

However, I always reassure my students that because I don't grade them when I co-teach a class, they have no reason to fear failure. Instead, they only need to be afraid of fear itself, because that is their only obstacle in achieving success. We all know that "success" takes different forms for individual students, so being able to overcome this fear and harness that strength to become fearless are the first steps needed for us to teach and live our mission in my library: to create competent, confident and independent users of information and technology.

To some degree, I believe that fear is a good thing. It teaches us humility and can keep us grounded when faced with adversity, affording us an opportunity to make decisions, make mistakes, and learn.

How do you address what students fear?