Digital Writing Project: Lake Superior's North Shore

The final project... The unveiling...

Drum roll...

I hope you'll enjoy reading, listening, and watching! Let me know what you think.

At the end of the tunnel...?

Well, at the end of the tunnel there is the proverbial light and I detect a faint glimmer right now. That’s what happens when you try to do waaaaaaay too much! On the positive side, my Voicethread is done, my Smilebox is done, and the PhotoStory project I somehow got talked into doing is also done! Now “all” I have to do is put it together in a Glogster poster that is half started, and cross my fingers hoping all these formats can be uploaded without issues onto the web.

As I was working on all these separate pieces, I kept thinking that I should change my project and do something strictly educational. Should I do a piece about amazing Lake Superior facts? Should I do a PhotoStory about the devastating ice storm of March 2009? How about a “fabulous places to visit on the North Shore” Glogster complete with Google Earth map (don’t laugh: I started the map…)? Yikes! WILL SOMEONE PLEASE KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO ME?

I have enough pieces already. I’m done.

Really.

So what was it like working on all these writing pieces? Well, Glogster has been somewhat challenging; mostly because I tend to be wordy (you didn’t know, did you?) and “posterizing” yourself as Glogster says means using few words. I’m hoping (worried?) that I’ll be able to link Glogster to everything else I have created. With so many formats, that’s the unknown.

PhotoStory was plain FUN! I picked a few pictures from last year’s North Shore vacation and asked my 7 year-old to tell me about his favorite things to do Up North. He talked about the pictures, told me in what order to put them. He decided what he was going to say and I asked a few questions to get more details. We did one recording, ad lib. He did great! A natural storyteller… Then he wanted to add more and more to the Photostory: what about climbing the rocks at Gooseberry Falls and the time his shoes got all wet? What about when Dad taught him how to skip rocks last year? What about…? What about…?

So I asked him to pick his top 5 things to do Up North. We found some videos but couldn’t upload them to Photostory. So with a few additional pictures we settled on the Photostory you’ll see. We recorded narration for the new pictures (twice, since the first time I forgot to replug the microphone…). He helped me choose the music. I said no to the Midnight Sonata: too dramatic. We talked about the mood of the story, the pace of his voice, how music changes everything. It was great! And when it was all saved and done, I realized we didn’t have an end slide or credits. A couple of PowerPoint slides later, bingo! Start to finish: 90 minutes. Fabulous!

I know I will cherish that PhotoStory of Christopher’s North Shore Memories forever: it’s a slice of his life, a glimpse onto his 7 year-old self and what was most important to him. Nothing compares to hearing the voice of the writer, especially when that writer is your baby and is growing up way too fast. Christopher is so excited by the final product that he can’t wait to tell more stories about the time we went to Disney World, the butterflies we raise every summer, on and on and on…

His excited smile is the real light at the end of the tunnel: it makes it all worth it!

People’s Choice

Preface: I misunderstood the directions, thinking my selection for People’s Choice was supposed to go to Candance. Sorry…

I understand that I can’t give three separate awards but indulge me in recognizing my group members for their contributions. If you haven’t read their posts, you have to pay their blogs a visit so you too can enjoy how their unique voices come through so clearly and how their reflections stretch your thinking. Let me introduce you to them:

• Debi’s lighthearted tone and humor always make me chuckle, while her deep caring for students reinforces my conviction that general ed teachers have so much to learn from special ed teachers.
• Janice’s calm and serene tone clarifies issues yet continuously probes deeper, with words always carefully weighted, whether in person or on her blog.
• JoAnn’s strong voice shows her deep convictions: she challenges me and pushes my thinking in amazing ways through her blog and her diligent comments.
• Molly’s cheerful voice celebrates successes yet fearlessly admits doubt even as she keeps looking for the silver lining of this digital endeavor.

They deserve a group award of their own!

Choosing ONE post that shows strong voice, multimedia/multimodal, AND thoughtfulness, was tough because there are so many great examples of EACH of these separately in our cohort’s blogs yet few that have all three elements wrapped up in one… But if I must choose one complete post, it would be Mary’s post about digital literature.

Her voice comes through in the calm thoughtfulness that permeates her post as well as in the personal connections Mary makes with the artistry of digital literature and remixing.

The multimodal/multimedia aspect is evident through the embedded videos and the links.

And Mary’s thoughtfulness comes through in her understanding of the angst felt by many artists who, like us, are people who “want to have their voice heard.” It’s also evident when she explains the value of creating digital literature with students as it involves so many individual choices and “all the choice means everyone can be creative.” Mary’s thinking, here and elsewhere, prompts me to also “see life anew in our lives and our times.” Powerful stuff indeed.

And the winner is…

OK, this is really hard… I need to select three winning entries from this blog? It’s so much easier to pick what is great about other blogs! Before the drumroll begins though, I must admit it was fun to re-read the stuff I had written (and forgotten I had written). I see a true evolution from cautious to more deeply reflective, inquisitive, and unafraid to take chances. Cool...

Professional:

To Share or Not to Share was a post that brought forth a real issue for all of us: should digital work be private (and monetarily rewarded) or should be free for all to use? This question has implications that go far beyond the classroom. Because this post was triggered by a blog from “out there” (in the real world) it felt more authentic than a simple “respond to chapter 4” type of assignment. When I read the original article I instantly turned to blogging as a way to process the information while also reaching out to get other’s point of view. I loved the feedback I received through the long string of comments. This exchange of viewpoints helped me make new connections and form new understandings. This post exemplifies all that blogging has to offer. This was truly a full circle post.

Creativity:

Superior View: A Digital Writing Project was the first post where I showed a polished piece of my writing. Beyond the creative process of writing and putting together the Voicethread, it also shows my reflections on the during-writing and post-writing stages. This post shows the learning I experienced through the process of making a Voicethread. It’s the kind of reflection we want to encourage in students as well: reflect not solely on the product but also on the process so the process (and your creativity) improves each time you repeat it.

Design:

I think of design in two ways: the little baby steps I’ve taken in design and the infinite possibilities the digital world offers for design. So I’ll pick two entries.

Smilebox shows my baby steps into design. It started as a fluke: I was exploring Smilebox and thought “I have to create something to show that this is more than an online scrapbooking website: it could really be applied to classroom instruction!” Once I set out to create one, I had to think of content, page topics, the choice of pictures, the order of the pictures, their captions, which personal details to leave in and which ones to take out, etc. It turned out better than I expected on a first try!

I also chose my Digital Literature post because the whole topic made me think about the importance of design. Perusing these resources was like entering a whole new world where the conventional rules had been thrown out the window. There was so much creativity, so many emotions portrayed. I felt that I was barely cracking the door open onto a new world. Design: another thing I have to learn a lot more about!

So, feel free to agree or disagree with me: that's the beauty of blogging!

Glogster as a Teaching Tool

Check out this neat primary-level example of Glogster as a teaching tool! Listen to the songs at the bottom of the Glog then figure out which pictures are part of the -at family. If you're thorough, you'll even find the mouse hiding from the cat. What a great way to practice blending and segmenting onsets! Can you think of other teaching applications for Glogster?