Gateway to Technology Documentary

The Journey of Creating a Documentary: Bring Technology Into The Classroom

"I like the way you use videos with us -- you get us moving, talking, writing and speaking. The problem is you make us think too much." 
                              -- "John," one of our English-Language Learner students (Ferlazzo, 2010)

If you are a teacher looking for ways to inspire your students’ creativity and integrate technology at the same time, creating videos is the best way to go and it reaches all types of learners, especially English Language Learners (ELLs).  Now, a few may think “teaching technology is time consuming” or “I don’t want to be responsible” a mindset that can be a disadvantage for our students.

To get an idea of the process of creating a video, I was assigned as part of my technology class to create a documentary. What is a documentary?  A documentary is a movie or television program that tells the facts about actual people and events about actual people and events (Britannica, 2014).  The documentary I created is about the training program that took place on the island of Guam, called the Gateway to Technology.  This training was geared towards educators to introduce them to new types of technology and software tools. So, taking my observations from work and the different interview video clips provided, I knew I wanted to use my documentary to inform teachers about the program, inform them about different resources, and to most of all motivate them to want to try and use technology more in their classrooms either for teaching or for personal use. 

Starting a Documentary

Now, when I created this documentary I had very limited resources, an issue that I am sure all of us are facing in our classrooms.  So how did I complete this project? Well, all l I needed was my smartphone, a computer, and software that was free and allowed me to edit my photos and videos into a movie. I own a PC so it already had Windows Movie Maker installed. I then had to watch all of the interview clips and figure out what story I wanted to tell in my documentary. Once I figured out the story I wanted to present, I created a script or a storyboard on Google Docs.  I actually went back numerous times to change up my script because of all the other resources I accumulated and wanted to include in my documentary. So, if you were to do this in your classroom, provide yourself and your students a lot of time to edit a script and look for resources. After all the planning was done I began creating my documentary and had to cut out a lot of footage that was not needed.  Like a student, I played around with all the tabs and buttons to figure out how to do certain things on the software which I just recently found out was updated.  When I had all my videos, text, and photos in place it was time to add some magic to the movie and add transitions, edit transition duration, and most of all some music.  This, I would have to say is the most time consuming and tedious part in creating a documentary or even a video. When everything was in place, I showed my family and asked for their input as to what needs to be changed or added. This is something that could be done with your students when presenting their work.

                Creating documentaries is one way to integrate technology into the classroom. ELLs need to be given frequent, extended opportunities to speak about content material and work through complex texts in English with small groups of classmates (Greene, 2013). Larry Ferlazzo (2012) provides 8 great ideas of using videos in the classroom with your English Language Learners and the rest of your class. 

Works Cited

Gateway To Technology: Bringing Technology into the Classroom. (2014). 4:19.

Britannica, E. (2014). Merriam- Webster. Merriam-Webster Incorporated.

Ferlazzo, L. (2010, October 10). 8 Ways to Use Video with English Language Learners. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/ell-engagement-using-video-larry-ferlazzo-katie-hull-sypnieski

Greene, R. (2013, October 25). 5 Key Strategies for ELL Instruction. Retrieved from https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2013/10/25/strategies-for-ell-instruction/

Pinterest: A Great PLN!

What do you do when you find something you like online and you do not want to forget it? Do you email it to yourself? Do you bookmark it onto your computer? or Do you print it out? As an educator, I have done everything from emailing myself, bookmarking websites with resources, and printing out information that never makes it into a binder.   Last year, I was finally introduced to Pinterest when I asked my fellow colleagues where they came up with great ideas for their classroom as far as worksheets, projects, and printables go. On that day, I went online and typed in Pinterest and till this very day I cannot get enough of the website I am “pinning” away 24/7.

 So, what is Pinterest? Pinterest is a website that allows you to "pin" things online, just as you would pin them on a real life bulletin board, but instead, Pinterest saves all of your pins on your account so that you can access them easily (Kavulla, 2012). I was drawn to Pinterest by the stunning visuals that the website provided making it easier for myself and others to see what I have pinned. Pinterest is also very user friendly and provides ways to get organized using “boards”.  Plus, I am able to follow friends on Pinterest and “repin” things that they have already pinned on my Pinterest account and browse items that are being pinned by others (Carr, n.d.).

I decided to use Pinterest as my personal PLN (Professional Learning Network) to collaborate and help fellow educators and parents who are looking for ideas to help themselves in a classroom and ideas of what to teach and how to teach a certain lesson.  The title of my PLN is Teacher’s Toolkit. In Pinterest, I am able to follow other teachers and get lesson ideas. I am also able to share what I have found by creating a board where members of my PLN can easily access and browse through what the resources I had found.

Pinterest is a great website and it can get addicting. Unlike other website where you can search for a person to follow, with Pinterest you must be invited, which I believe is the biggest downfall.  However, despite that one downfall, this online tool is fun and is filled with great resources and ideas for your net birthday party, classroom project, DIY projects, and many more. It is easy to navigate through and is the best way to organize all the websites you like and want to remember.  All it takes is just one little click on “pin it”.

Works Cited

Carr, K. (n.d.). Pinterest for Dummies. Retrieved from For Dummies: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-is-pinterest.html

Kavulla, K. (2012, January 19). Pinterest: What it is, how to use it and why you'll be addicted. Retrieved from She Knows: http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/852875/pinterest-what-it-is-how-to-use-it-and-why-youll-be-addicted

Pinterest. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/.

  

Website:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_clyfawMLs&list=UUdWw4P1QSkr0ATII3srvo9w&index=1

My PLN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy30oGWRxdM&index=3&list=UUdWw4P1QSkr0ATII3srvo9w

Course Managment System: Engrade

            

Course Management System Reflection

             In Fall 2013, I was finally introduced to a variety of Course Management Systems.  At first, I was contemplating as to what a course management system was.  According to Vanderbilt University, a course management system (CMS) is a collection of software tools providing an online of course environment interactions. A CMS typically include a variety of online tools and environments such as an area for posting materials such as a course syllabus, a gradebook, an area for student postings and other assignments, an integrated email tool, a chat tool, and a threaded discussion board allowing communication among participants (University). So what CMS did I decide to use? I decided to go with Engrade.

            Engrade is a very user friendly CMS. Engrade is a great tool to enable and encourage students who are second language learners to explore what is on the web motivating them to participate in Science and all other subjects.

              First of all, Engrade provides an online calendar that students will have to check every day for assignments and due dates, therefore, increasing participation.  Engrade also provides a discussion tab that works like a blog where students can log in and discuss whatever topic is laid out for them. Last but not least, Engrade  provides a wikis and files tab where teacher’s can upload assignments, pictures. videos, and links to online websites that align to whatever subject is being taught.

            Using a CMS like Engrade opens up the doors to new experiences for students of different backgrounds and those who are second language learners. Engrade will enable students to explore what is on the web through guidance of the teacher.  Through the integration of many other online tools such as podcasts, Powtoons, Youtube, Weebly, and many more, students will be able to communicate with one another, the teacher, and other students from around the world in a fun and interactive way.

  

Resources

Posner, Z., Lamb, T., Roberts, D., Whalen, B., Smith, R., & Lupoli, J. (n.d.). Engrade. Retrieved from https://www.engrade.com/

University, V. (n.d.). Course Managment Systems. Retrieved from Center for Teaching:           http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/course-management-systems/