Video for Class

Here is my video for class. What do you guys think???
Even though I'm going to be teaching middle school, this video is geared more towards younger kids. Hopefully, it'll help them gain an understanding of how they went from being a baby to who they are now. I had so much fun making it. I got to look through a bunch of old pictures, and Samantha and I had a lot of fun figuring out how to put them together and how to narrate it! She helped with my podcast, too. She is quite tech savvy now. :) I thought you guys might like to see the practice video I did too when I was learning to use iMovieHD. It's not as good as the one for class, but I think it's cute.

Stickers For Big Kids

This isn't an assigned post, but I'm getting into the whole blogging thing.
I went to Target today, and they had a whole bunch of teacher stuff on sale for a dollar. I got stickers to put on papers, a stamp that says "good job" and has a smiley face, and these little star student certificates that are about the size of a large index card. Oh, I got bookmarks too that say "Color Your World With Books." I know my internship is going to be in a high school next semester, but I don't think that should matter. High school students still like to have stickers at the top of their papers. Besides, I want to have cute teacher stuff. Everybody tells me my classroom is going to look like an elementary school room, but I think my room is going to be awesome (when I actually get my own classroom). I think kids are forced to grow up way too quickly. I remember when I was in high school my French teacher used to give us stickers and little certificates if we got a really high grade on a major project, and we all loved it. It gave us a sense of accomplishment, and it was always more exciting to get her tests back than to get someone else's back.
So, what do people think? Should teachers give stickers to big kids? Will it make the students think that I don't think they are mature, or grown up, or whatever? I don't think so. I think they'll like it. Hmmm....
Okay, picture for this time. This was Rosie. My poor car :(

Digital Stories in the Classroom

In class last week we watched two "digital stories." It's some neat stuff. I wish I could link them; they were pretty cool. The first one we watched was so cute. It was called A Journey Through The Rainforest. I found a link to the website for it, but not the video itself. :( Anyways, I think it was a first grade class (if not first grade, they were pretty little) who all drew pictures about different animals in the rainforest and how it was being destroyed and put them in a video that they narrated. Not only was it adorable, it seemed like the kids really learned a lot and had a good time putting together the project. The second one we watched was called Home, and it was about soldiers' views on what "home" is. I didn't like this one as much as the first one. It really had no application in the classroom. More than that, though, the person who made it wasn't in the military herself, and she even credited Google for her pictures. Doesn't seem like she put a whole lot of time or effort into it. It had emotional music paired with emotional pictures, though, and it's worth watching once just to see what you can do with the software. I've googled the video but I can't find it. Sorry. :(

I think the idea of digital story telling could actually be a good thing in the classroom. I liked how the first grade class used it as a culmination of the research they had done for their unit on the rainforest. I think using it as a final class project is a great idea. I think the videos could be dropped to a DVD pretty easily, and then the kids could have something to show for all their work. It could give them a real sense of accomplishment. Do I think I'll use it when I teach? To be honest, probably not. While it's a good idea, I don't know how to do it myself, and it would require time in a computer lab to make it that could be spent teaching. If my students would want to make one for extra credit, I think that would be great, though. It definitely has an application in the schools; I just don't know if it would work in my class.



Okay, the picture for this time... This one is me, my dad, and Sammi. You can also see my adorable new Buggie. I named her Bonnie Blue Beetle after Bonnie Blue Butler from Gone With the Wind. Unfortunately, I had to wreck my Corolla, Rosie, to get her, but I'm so glad I have her now! What the heck, I'll put up the picture of Rosie too. The wreck was pretty bad. I ran head on into a Lincoln Navigator. The Navigator won.

Okay, I lied. I tried to put up the picture of the Corolla, but for some reason it won't upload. :( I'll try to put it on a future post.

Visual Literacy in Education

Okay, so I just watched this Martin Scorsese video on his views of visual literacy in education. He said a lot of interesting things in this clip. It's 11 minutes long, but well worth it, I think. He thinks that visual literacy - movies, television, photographs, etc. - should be taught in schools. I don't really know exactly how I feel about his claims. I suppose I'm leaning towards the opinion that it should be an option in the schools, maybe an exploratory class like music or art. Scorsese treats this as a medium to be taken seriously, and I agree with him on that. He talks about the power of images and that we should teach young people how to use and interpret this medium. The classes, he says, should be more than just watching movies for a few hours a week; they should encompass the history of film and force students to ask questions and to think differently.

I think these are great ideas, but my main concern is how to incorporate another class into the school day. Music, athletic, and foreign language programs are already being cut to provide more time for academics. How can we add something else that will take away from the basic academics?

How do I feel about this as it relates to my teaching? Well, lately people have been lumping film in with English classes (as if we don't have enough to do already). Even here at West GA there are film as literacy classes, and, if I'm not mistaken, they're thinking about making it a minor if they haven't already. I do agree that visual literacy is a field to be taken seriously and that it should be taught; my concern is simply that we don't have enough hours in the day. I think it would be possible to do a short unit on it and incorporate that into English classes. It could be fun for students to do something different, and it could provide great opportunities for writing and for seeing some literary terms in action since some of them do span the genres of film and literature. Again, though, it's a question of time. Ahhh. Around and around in circles we go....



Totally not related to this post.... There are a lot of pictures I'd like to put up here, just to make things a little more personal. I think I'll put up a new one with each post even if it isn't related to what I'm writing about. :) This time the picture is me and Matt. Sammi squeezed in it at the last minute - so cute! I'm really starting to like this blogging thing....

First Day of MEDT 3401 Class

This is my first day of MEDT 3401. It's a computer class (scary!). This is also my first time blogging, so stick with me; it might get rough!

Okay, here we go. First blog assignment....
1. Who are you and what are you going to teach/do as a result of the degree you're currently seeking?
I am Kate. I am a senior at UWG seeking a degree in English/Secondary Education. I thought I wanted to teach high school, but after interning in a 7th grade class last semester, I am really leaning towards middle school now.
I hope to go to grad school after finishing at UWG. Don't know where exactly yet. UGA, Agnes Scott, UWG (again), and Emory are on the list of possible schools, but who knows.
I am very family oriented. I have an amazing little sister, Sammi. You'll probably hear a lot about her. I'm totally in love with her. I also have three other sisters - Elizabeth, Chelsea, and Mackenzie - and two brothers - Patrick and Joey - who all live in Lafayette, Indiana. I'm really close to Patrick, and I miss him a lot. The others are great, too. I try not to play favorites, but I kind of do. :) I'm the oldest kid in my family, and I'm very proud of all my younger siblings. Elizabeth is going to be a freshman at Western Michigan next year and is going to study voice. Chelsea is studying Russian at her high school and is having an exchange student come live with her (and the rest of the family) for the next school year. Patrick plays football, and loves every minute of it, except maybe the 6:45 am workouts. :) Joey is in middle school now and also likes football - big Colts fan. Mackenzie is adorable and is in elementary school in Indiana. Sammi (Samantha) is my pride and joy. I love her more than anything in the world. She is going into second grade, and is an awesome soccer player.
I am dating a wonderful man, Matthew. We just got a duplex together, and we'll be moving in July. First place together. Yay! He's the other love in my life (along with my Sammi).
Probably ought to move on to other questions now....
2. Why are you taking this class and how do you feel about that?
I am taking this class basically because it's required. To tell the truth, technology scares me to death! We'll see how it goes. Maybe by the end of it I won't be so scared of computers. I can deal with my Mac. I love it to death. We have a very deep, connected relationship. :) Any other computer, I'm not so fond of.
3. What do teachers/others need to know about supporting learning with technology and why do they need to know it?
I suppose for some subjects using technology in the classroom is a good thing. Call me old-fashioned, but besides a good ol' overhead projector and occasionally a PowerPoint or two, I don't see any need for computer-y things in my classroom. I'm going to be teaching English. I want my kids to have actual novels, not a computer screen, in front of them. I want them to be able to write. Word is fine, but there is something about putting pencil to paper that can never be replaced. I might use this blog thing in my classroom. It could be cool for keeping parents posted on what's going on.
4. What do you hope to get out of this class?
Besides an A? Um.... I don't want to lie. Unless something is really awesome, I don't see myself using much of what I learn in this class. Maybe I will, though. We can be optimistic and say I will. I guess I'll just hope to become not so afraid of all these scary words on the syllabus like blog, wiki, podcast. Scary stuff.
5. What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to using technology?
Well, I can type. I can get on the internet. Occasionally I use PowerPoint or Excel. I'm in love with iPhoto. Everything else is pretty much a weakness. Hopefully that will change as the semester progresses!
6. Anything else you'd like to add?
I think I've said a lot already. Anything else anybody wants to know, just ask. My fingers are tired from all this typing now, so I'm signing off. Bye!