MACUL

__**Ideas and thoughts from the MACUL Conference - March 17-18, 2011**__

YouTube Channel for your classroom – you can have kids develop and post, great for students so that they can use at home, at own pace, rewind, etc… Social Media Stats- may make you think differently
 * Intro to Video** (digital stories) – gets people inspired through media, music, and passion – **A must Watch.** He referred to them as Conversation Starters. To me it really reminded me of the opener idea in terms of getting kids thinking or engaged. - Ben
 * []
 * They filmed this video all around the world.
 * Dashboard feature allows you to see how many are viewing your videos and when people are leaving
 * We are Every Day Teachers (fun idea for a song) - []
 * Field Trip for Staff Development
 * Find funny videos
 * Find video of something you’d like to learn
 * Find video good for your students to learn
 * 2100 educational videos by topic (math, science, business focused but other humanities included) []
 * []

Click “Tools” at the top and he breaks down many good resources you can use. Creativity, Books, Collaboration, Science, Video, Sources, Odds and Ends, Writing, Podcasting, Surveys, Math, Social Networking - this is the place to do your digital dumpster diving See Downloads for notes on three Macul sessions on website – click “Downloads”
 * Kevinhoneycutt.org- lovin it** - Ben
 * []
 * []


 * Google Docs / Forms** - Ben
 * Uses: Voting, CRS, Notes, Rubrics, Surveys
 * Templates available - []
 * Can be emailed or posted- seems very easy to utilize. Once completed you can view results in different kinds of charts – it creates a spreadsheet with the results but also the charts
 * Most common fields – fillable, check boxes, multiple choice
 * This could even be used as a self assessment where students complete a rubric for themselves


 * Technology Implementation** - Ben
 * Tech plans often way too generic and people don’t use them
 * How do we create a vision that will leverage technology to motivate teachers and engage students?
 * Will not be successful unless future goals are 3-5 years out and then 5-10 years out / also need tech leaders in each building who will support
 * Critical mistakes
 * Buy technology based on specific feature/product rather than long-term goals
 * Not considering complete life of adoption
 * Adoption based on another district and their vision

Ipad Apps - []
 * Mac Apps** (this is a far reach but if you have access, some cool resources) - Ben
 * Band - Some of these blew me away. One of them was ishred. The other one may have been Band or Jam Pad where you can do multi track recordings with audio and music as if you were playing guitar or drums. Voiceband was another. See it in action. **This is a much watch for anyone.** []
 * Voice band - []
 * [] (band)


 * LIBRARY OF CONGRESS -** Attended a session on using the Library of Congress as a Primary Source for teaching and researching. Excellent resource for the classroom. - Erin www.loc.gov/teachers


 * GOOGLE LIT TRIPS -** Also, Google Lit Trips - way cool. Allows teachers and students to follow landmarks of the setting while reading. - Erin @http://googlelittrips.org/

I was reminded of Dale's Cone of Experience (See photo attached). I need to have more kids create things.-Steve Kelly
 * || [[image:images.jpeg caption="images.jpeg"]] ||
 * images.jpeg ||  ||
 * images.jpeg ||

I really Enjoyed the TED talk given by Tony Robbins available on youtube. It was about finding ways to get things done. If you are emotionally involved in something, you will find a way to get it done.-Steve Kelly []

One of the things I learned was that students retain information and concepts if they are able to create something with it. I plan on working to have my students create more things to demonstrate learning. This is the same thing Steve said above. 21st Century Learners are very visual. We must provide more visual images in our instruction. Furthermore, I learned about several things teachers and students can use to create. They can use voki.com to create avatars, www.blabberize.com to create audio clips, www.jaycut.com to edit video on-line, they can create google search stories and post them on YouTube ([]), they can add annotations to YouTube videos ([]) to tell stories or even choose your own endings. I also learned that we don't have to create everything. There is a ton of resources other teachers have put together and they are willing to share them. It's worth the time and effort to go borrow from others. -Scott Hemker

** Using short film to assess student knowledge. (Terri Reeves) MACUL Session taught by Jennie and Bruce Holladay ** Having students create a short film to assess their knowledge of a certain topic (any content area) is fun and exciting for students. Here are some directions for creating a short film in your classroom:

Equipment Required: 1 Camera (anything that shoots video), 1 Director (can be a student or teacher) 1 Computer (must have editing software) Production Time (normal class time 45 – 75 minutes): 1 day planning, 1 day shooting, 1 day editing and 1 day reshooting/editing adjustments

** Directions: ** Step 1: Project Introduction: Keep topic simple & focused. Start short 1-3 minutes is good, 5 minutes maximum. Step 2: Production: Script & storyboard before production begins. Variety of shots: wide shot, medium shot, and tight shots. Step 3: Editing: Keep it simple, less is more. Use cuts between shots. Use transitions to show change in time.

** Here are some great classroom resources to help create short films: ** Story Boarding Software: Storyboard Pro [|www.atomiclearning.com/storyboardpro] Script Writing Software: Celtx [|www.celtx.com] Editing Tutorials: Movie Maker [] iMovie: [] Production Forms: [] Open Source Editing Programs: Lightworks [] Jahshaka: Cinefx [] Audacity: Audio Editor []

**Motivating students using creative technology ideas (Terri Reeves) MACUL Session taught by Jeff Blakeslee** Students are motivated by technology driven activities and the power to choose a project modality best suited to individual student learning styles and unique interests and abilities. A wide variety of artifacts can be produced and presented by students. Student projects involve research, writing, presenting/speaking skills as well as project-based learning. These ideas have been around for a long time; the twist is to add choices that utilize the new technologies students are becoming so used to in their personal lives. Project Ideas Include:
 * Commercials instead of persuasive speeches
 * Review games
 * Character casting
 * Choice projects
 * Motivational posters
 * Websites
 * News and radio broadcasts
 * Movie/short film creation
 * Facebook/Myspace pages
 * Digital stories/Comic books
 * Post to YouTube
 * Create Wikis and/or Blogs
 * Podcasting
 * Flash presentations