Exploring Social Justice with Storybird

This is the second in a series of two posts where in a brief assignment, my students explored Social Justice integrated with technology and I share their results with a wider audience.  (Take a look at the first post on Thinglink accessible here.)  This post highlights Storybird, an online visual storytelling site. It had been a few years since I played with Storybird, and I was happy to see the teacher account now includes ways of managing classes and assigning projects.  Check it out!

Here are a few of my students’ creations and thoughts about Storybird:

http://storybird.com/books/some-girls-6/

“I really enjoyed using Storybird, even if it did take me a bit longer to finish than I would have liked. The artwork available for use is simply amazing, and if you use the right search words you can find exactly what you need. I loved being able to customize my own story, and this could be a great tool for a specific problem or occurrence in your classroom. My story was pretty simplistic, hoping to be for a younger audience; however, it is about celebrating our differences. It's pretty superficial but with more time and using more resources it could be great! Enjoy :)”  (EN)

http://storybird.com/books/what-happened-to-our-food-and-homes-by-kl/

“I really wanted to create a story about how humans affect animals’ environment for young elementary students. I wanted to show students that people do affect others by their actions by showing how we affect pandas, foxes, rabbits, and polar bears. There is a little bit of a science part to the story because people do affect the environment with global warming.”  (KL)

http://storybird.com/books/the-spotted-bird-family/?token=vz8s66cbmv

“I liked using Storybird http://storybird.com/teachers/ to create my book because you can choose an image style and they give you a wide selection of images in that same style to use as your book illustrations. Sometimes, however, the images did not really fit what your image of the right image for the page should have been, so you have to be flexible. I was surprised how easy it was, but coming up with the content to put in the book was a little more difficult. I found my book turned out pretty superficial and with a lot more time, I would have liked to come up with a more intricate story that delved a little deeper into social justice issues, tackling some of the Bomer & Bomer article points. However, I think this would be a great way for ELLs to simplify what they have learned into a short story, concreting their knowledge and using language to describe what they learned. If they did a screen-cast or presented it in class, that would also give them speaking practice too.” KG 

Thanks to my students for their work and willingness to share!

Exploring Social Justice with Thinglink

This term, I assigned a short mini assignment for my students to play with some technologies that can be easily used in Digital Storytelling, working with English Language Learners, and in exploring topics of Social Justice.  We have also been talking about the power of visuals and video.  They had several choices, but most of them chose Thinglink, Storybird, or Tagxedo.  This is the first in two posts that will highlight these sites, showcase student creations, and look at potential uses.  (Access post two about Storybird here.)

Here is a past post I wrote about Thinglink that discusses what it is.  Be sure to move your mouse over the picture and click on the dots to discover the links.  Explore some of my students' creations and read their reflections.

Women’s Suffrage

Children Living in Poverty

 

“Once we saw the example in class, I had a ton of ideas in my head of what I wanted to do. I chose to do child poverty because it is an issue that cannot be brought up enough. I focused a lot on the United States because most people don't realize how bad this issue really is.  Children deserve better than what we are doing, and it needs to be brought to the attention of others. I chose to do five different links on the picture of a child who is clearly struggling. One link that I chose to use was the NCCP website, which has state information, data tools, and news about child poverty. The second I used was a link to a Youtube video that gives some basic information and then had a very sad piece of children talking about what it is like to be hungry. The third link is the No Kid Hungry site. It discusses the problem, solution, and how to take action. The forth is a made of 35 countries and shows the poverty rate in each country. The fifth is a link to the Voices site which has articles and facts about child poverty. This was a really fun assignment and I thought it was a great way to learn about some new technologies! Some of these sites could be used to talk to older grades about this issue and what we can do to help make a change. This site could be very fun for students to make their own with many different topics. I plan on using this again in the future!” KW

Positive Body Image

“I decided to create a story about positive body image because I really enjoy talking about body image and find it very interesting to learn about. I think that it is important for students to know what positive body image is and that every individual is beautiful no matter who they are. Talking about this topic can be applied to any grade level and can open up the door to talking about how the media's representation of beauty is distorted because of the use of Photoshop. Teachers can also talk about how society creates this notion of beauty that is unrealistic as well as talking about stereotypes that are associated with body image. The goal is to give students the resources to have a positive body image of themselves and teach them not to base judgment on how another person looks.“ LW 

Civil Rights

 

“Using this tool would be easy for any subject. I think that students would find this useful for research projects. I think that I may use this as a resource in student teaching, as well as my remaining college courses!!” MF

Lyndon Johnson

 

“I used Thinglink because it is a very interesting concept and has so much potential for all grades. I love history, especially the Kennedys, and so I decided to use a picture taken after JFK was assassinated and LBJ was being sworn in. I can see how this would be interesting for students because they can easily find out additional information just by following the links on the picture.”   KC

Thanks to my students for their creativeness and willingness to share!

Play, Create, Share, Reflect Online Presentation

Play, Create, Share, Reflect is the title of a presentation at the Oregon State University Faculty Forum 2013 I recently gave.  It is the motto that provides a framework for both my students and myself as we explore technologies for educational purposes.  It contains student and instructor made examples in action.

Here are a few versions of it.  The embedded one is 20 minutes I created on my computer with Camtasia as I gave it a practice run.  Here is the actual presentation (40 min) recorded by Ecampus.  Here is the Prezi if you would like to access any of the links in the video.

Enjoy other Ecampus presentations here.  I didn't have the opportunity to attend many presentations, so enjoyed watching a few, such as Stevon Roberts' presentation called Practical Video Tips for the Novice.  You are likely to get some good ideas if you watch this presentation, Step in Front of the Camera.  Here's one from two of my colleagues in the College of Ed, Maggie Niess and Henry Gillow-Wiles, entitled Building Educational Bonds Among Learners in Blackboard.

And, there's always more for those with an interest.  Here's a link to my presentation last year, Connect Using Screencasting and Web 2.0 Tools.

Happy watching!

Quick QR Code How-To

Wondering how to use QR codes in education?  There are many ways!  In my online Tech for Educators course, I have a creative librarian working towards integrating QR codes and ipods.  In my quest to aid her, I aggregated the following.

 She is using The QR Code Generator: http://www.the-qrcode-generator.com/ 

Unitag:  http://www.unitaglive.com/qrcode looks like a good site to customize QR codes.

QR Voice is another fun variation to explore:  http://qrvoice.net/
Tag My Doc allows you add a QR code to a document, so others can simply scan it. http://www.tagmydoc.com/ 

Watch how I created and embedded the QR code above.

What could you do with QR codes in your instructional setting?  (The topic of immersive technologies in education is a good extension to this conversation.)

Happy creating!

The Up-Goer Five in Education

Guest Blog Post:

Hello all! I am a Biology teacher currently masquerading as an English teacher in South Korea. Since I don’t have much in the way of experience teaching English—much less English as a Foreign Language (EFL)—I am taking some online courses to improve my teaching skills.

When Tech: I discovered The Up-Goer Five on Nik’s LearningTechnology Blog.

Users are challenged to explain a complex idea using only the ten hundred most used English words. The program identifies any words that you use which are not simple enough.

Here's an example.  Can you guess where it is?  " I live in a big place with one people group that is not my own. The big place I live in is broken in two parts because the two parts were fighting. I live in the lower part. People here are nice. "

Met Ed: TheUp-Goer Five could be used either to help English Language Learners (ELLs) explain an idea using words that they are familiar with or with non-ELL students to show how difficult it is to express complex ideas when you don't have the proper words. Sites such as these can expose educators to new ideas and give them tools to implement the use of these ideas.

Go ahead and try it! Leave your definition in the comments so mine won’t be lonely. 

The Teachers Should See This: Let Them Own It

My class watched Alan November’s TEDxNYED and had an engaging discussion on it.  I pulled out a few of the main concepts and quotes they selected to discuss.  My young guest blogger then helped me create the below video using Camtasia and Flickr Poet. Enjoy!

With all of this whirling about in my brain, I enjoyed a Seedling book talk on chapter 2: “Students as Tutorial Designer” of Alan November’s book, Who Owns the Learning?  Here’s a link to their chapter 1: “Welcome to the Digital Farm” book talk.  It's all good stuff!

Can you guess what’s next on my ed tech reading list?  Happy watching/reading!

(This post was co-created with my young guest blogger.)

Online Education Book Clubs

Books bring thoughts to life, create shared vocabulary and concepts, and often act as a change agent.  A natural progression of reading something that opens up new ways of thinking, just plain makes you mad, smile, question, etc. is to share and discuss with others.  We are all watching the digital age of books evolve around us—pretty cool potential with augmented reality and transmedia tapping into multiple senses and spaces.  We are questioning the future of textbooks, publishers, and entering a new era when authoring for an authentic audience is easier than ever.

This blog has touched on all of these topics.  (See links at the end of this post.)  For some reason, I haven’t put much consideration into online book clubs.  If you are like me and need a starting place, here’s one from Steve Hargadon.  The next paragraph is a regurgitation of some of Steve’s email he sent out on Classroom 2.0.

Check out Steve’s new BookClub20.com  It is a wiki for sharing and finding book clubs and more in education.  Steve has started two of his own book clubs in Mightybell “spaces”  (an interesting space I’ve been considering for classroom use).  Steve’s book club choices are Seymour Papert's Mindstorms and John Dewey's Experience and Education.   It is interesting how Steve is taking it a step further by layering technologies.  On March 14^th and April 11^th, he will hold discussions in the Blackboard Collaborate live as a part of his FutureofEducation.com.  There are plans for more in the future if these books don’t strike your interest.  While you are exploring, take a look at Book Club 106. Google Hangouts is one of its components.

As I think out loud here, I can see potential in online courses for discussing chapters of assigned texts in this type of Mighty Bell "spaces" organization.  I can see the potential to facilitate hybrid book or video discussions.  Hmmm... there are many possibilities awaiting exploration and application. 

I’d love to know if you are a part of any online education book clubs and where this is headed in our schools and libraries.

Happy reading and book clubbing!

Related posts:

Book Spine Poetry

For the Love of a Book

What's a Book?  It This a Book?

picture by h.koppdelaney 

One Day on Earth 12-12-12

Last year on 11-11-11, my kiddo and I participated in the One Day on Earth 11-11-11 project by shooting and uploading this very short video clip as we walked through our local forested area.  See the 11-11-11 video trailer below.  What will you be doing on 12-12-12?  Consider participating.  The One Day on Earth site explains, "Together, we are showcasing the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occurs in one day."

Not sure what to submit? Get inspired here.  I particularly liked the Educational and People and Culture sections. The Educational Toolkit has some ideas for educators.

I should be in a pretty interesting place somewhere in the world on 12-12-12.  This time I'll be sure to record at least a minute to gain access to the final online copy of the film.

My One Day on Earth 11-11-11 post.

Happy filming!

Ed and Tech Play With Web 2.0 Tools Part 3: VoiceThread

VoiceThread is a handy, easy-to-use tool in education with potential for digital storytelling and beyond.  It can be used to hold debates, explain, describe, persuade, etc.  It allows participants to interact on one platform in five different ways: writing, recording audio, doodling, video, or phone.   My online class will soon be experimenting with VoiceThread (VT).  I’ve used it in my College of Ed classes, a middle school classroom, with my adult ESOL classes, and at a personal level for several years now; I continue to see its benefits.

Getting Started and Examples in Education

I presented on VT back in 2007ish and hadn’t returned to the how-to’s since.  I was tickled pink to find that they still have their original (updated) directions. If you don’t get anything else from this post, do yourself a favor today and watch slides 5 and 6! (Use the arrows to access them quickly.) The first avatar still cracks me up.  What a great example of digital storytelling!

Viewable in a lovely world where I never age is my first attempt at a VT. I was surprised when a year after creating it, I returned to it and discovered people from around the world had responded.  It was memorably one of my first “ah ha” moments that this thing called social media, multimedia and digital storytelling had a bright future.  Embedded below is one my kiddo created years ago explaining her learning from a travel experience.

Wondering how to use VT in your content area?  Here are examples from various content areas and age groups aggregated on the VT site.   Search VT within a defined field to see how other educators use them.  For example, in my field I search for ESOL, ESL, EFL, ELL, assessment etc. Michelle Pacansky-Brock is a great resource to follow on Twitter or at Teaching Without Walls as well.

Ways I have used VoiceThread and things that have worked for me

Set-up: A. Use ones already created. (Do a search by browsing on VT.)  B. Make my own that I use either in the classroom or have students respond to.  C.  Guide students in making either a class, group, or individual VTs and in responding to each other.

Instructions/Purpose: It is important to have a clear set of instructions and purpose for the VT assignment. 

Storyboard/Process:  When students create their own VTs, I often have them storyboard their responses first.  This works well in a process oriented assignment.  For ELLs, it gives them the opportunity to use all modes of the language: reading (if they did research on the topic), writing/editing, speaking, and listening.  I provide checklists and grading rubrics with expectations along the way.

Collaboration: I have experimented using VT when working with multiple sections of a class.  I teach two sections of one class, and the students never see each other, but they are able to correspond, discuss questions, etc. via VT.  This also works in online courses when students enter VT from around the world.

Things I have learned as I’ve used VT

Privacy settings: I need to be mindful of students' comfort levels and privacy.  At this point, I do not have any VT that my students have made to share in public because as a class they opted to keep them private for various reasons.

Comfort level: I once had a middle school student who did a phenomenal job on a VT.  He was engaged in a way I hadn’t seen him engaged before.  He put a ton of effort into his VT, from the writing process to recording his voice several times.  When we got ready to share with the class, he hit “delete.” It was beyond his comfort level to share with others.  I think this is important to honor and another great reason if it is a project to be assessing with a rubric and/or checklist along the way.

Recording Issues:  The reality is that the tech doesn’t always work.  With best efforts, particularly in online courses, some students have hardware limitations and experience difficulties recording audio/video.  This is where the writing option comes in handy.

Potential I see in VT beyond what I have done 

Portfolios: VT could be a portfolio for students to showcase their work and reflect. 

Global Collaboration: VT could be exciting to work in a more global way with other classes.

Course Development: It could be fun to add to the same VT with subsequent classes.  This could work great with vocabulary.  Students in Spring term class create VTs for vocabulary on chapter 1 and Fall term create them for chapter 2, etc.

Get started with the free version of VT.  So far with planning, I have been able to use only the free version.  There’s an app for that.  Last year, VT introduced an app.  It’s straightforward to use and allows students yet another way to be mobile with their learning.  

How do you use VT?

Happy VoiceThreading!