Sunday, November 20, 2011

Media Asset Creation: Week 4 comment on Marc Hunt's blog

Marc's Post:

MAC: Week #4 - PPP

My CBR project's big idea was motivation. I am a teacher of video and sound production in a career and technical school and motivation is a main factor that determines your success in the industry. My students are interested in becoming successful in the video and sound industry which is why I choose motivation. The presentation that I choose to do was to work with my original CBR group to present how we all used motivation to change behaviors in our students and various curricula. Some of the group members and I are pursuing a group presentation at a conference for KYSTE this spring, and I have already sent an email to the ACTE magazine, Techniques, about writing an article and also submitting my literature review for their May 2012 issue that deals with the topic of "Today's Student."

Here is the link to my Week #3 PPP Blog post.

Here is the link to my Week #2 PPP Blog post.

Here is the link to our group presentation. I have also embedded the presentation as well below:



I have also included a link to my presentation notes.

My Comment:
This looks great Marc! It's unfortunate that the timing for presenting at the ACTE conference wasn't a little better. Perhaps you could present there next year. I also wanted to thank you for bringing up the webinar about Challenge Based Research by our own Dr. Holly Ludgate during your presentation. Very informative.

Media Asset Creation: Week 4 comment on Wayne Nelson's blog

Wayn'es Blog Post:

Wk 4 Publishing_Presentation Project


I have chosen Edutopia to showcase my CBR project due to the fact that they have a project-based learning component to their Website. My presentation will cover two formats, and I will be able to blog my presentation as well as use the media to accompany the written material. The written and visual data are very important to the outcome of the project; therefore, this makes the EdutopiaWebsite ideal for displaying all of the visuals with the project presentation. The project includes the use of technology in field work for conservation purposes therefore making this an excellent project-based learning experience.

Week 2 PPP: http://thenelsonianway.blogspot.com/2011/11/wk-2-publishingpresentation-project.html
Week 3 PPP: http://thenelsonianway.blogspot.com/2011/11/wk3-think-out-loud-ppp-post-another.html
Prezi Link: http://prezi.com/he8qoa_s6n1a/the-effervescent-sevens-presentation/
Presenter notes:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1psaVOQj66u5P78qRZz83r6zjkUUOQoI19mMStuIxSmw/edit?hl=en_US

My Comment:
Wayne,
I think your use of Edutopia is really quite brilliant. It will give you a far reaching audience. The research you have done is important and I hope you and others will continue finding ways to incorporate technology into conservation education.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Media Asset Creation: The Art of Possibility Chapters 9-12

Although the idea of reading a self-help book as the culmination of a masters program has completely tweaked me out, I decided this week to apply these 4 chapters to the next step in my life.  My robe came in the mail, the tassel is hanging on my computer, I’m contemplating the perfect shoes to wear, (so I won’t trip across the stage) but really my biggest concern is what happens when there’s not a group of people, a program, or a set of assignments to guide me and the gravitational pull of that downward spiral, that is sometimes more like a bureaucratic, educational black hole, exerts its grip.

A revenge creature!!
Remembering my initial forays into the field of education, I was naïve, optimistic and completely certain that I would not only light a spark but also ignite a fire.   And while some of the “no’s” I’ve heard along the way should have been an “invitation for enrollment”, many of them were completely earned due to a limited, unrealistic vision of what it takes to educate a community of children.   I hope that my re-discovered optimism is more tempered by realism, a larger picture of success tempers those manic tendencies by those on the eve of success, and my zeal is tempered by the now-glimpsed multitude of complexities that are human development.  However, I am grateful to Full Sail for re-igniting the spark.

Chapter 11 of The Art of Possibility, entitled “Creating frameworks for Possibility” stirred many options for me. Of the things I have learned in my 15 years of teaching, one of the greatest is that learning seldom, very seldom, happens in giant leaps.  It’s the daily grunt, the daily practice, the daily head banging, and the persistence (on the parts of student, teacher, parent, administrator, community members) that make it happen a little bit every day!

This past year at Full Sail has taken me from an educator who meets the challenges teaching serves up, to one who can design the stage on which her students and colleagues can learn.  Yet, for continued advancement, a framework of possibility is needed.  One that attends to those details of educating students.  One that attends to the need of perfection in the daily grind.   At the brilliant suggestion of a fellow conspirator, and the encouragement of my iPad donor, I will create a wiki as a means of charting progress and, hopefully, as a means of creating a “WE” story, for all of us who are trying to find our way through the unchartered waters of appropriately educating the next digital generation.  Here’s a link to its humble beginnings.   Care to join?

Media Asset Creation: Week 4: Publishing Presentation Project

The aim of my CBR project was to motivate third grade students to increase their literacy skills through the use of technology.   Phase 1 was a technological reexamination of my traditional first day of school, "Why do we come to school" discussion/activity.  Phase 2 gave students options of creating a digital timeline in addition to an analog one in order  to practice sequencing skills and explore Web 2.0  & software digital timeline possibilities.   A literature review was conducted about digital storytelling.
Here is our group prezi:



This is a link to my presenter notes for my part of the prezi.
Link to my First Think-Out Loud Post
Link to my Second Think-Out Loud Post

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Media Asset Creation: Week 3: The Art of Possibility Chapters 5-8



(FYI: This post should be read with a sense of humor and a southern drawl)
A book report alternative I make available to my students is to offer a gift to either a character in the book or the author, and to explain the reason for the gift.   And so, assuming this freedom, I would like to offer a trip to the Southeast to Ben Zander, one of the authors of the book, The Art of Possibility.  This gift has a dual purpose, first to recognize his extraordinary talents, but also to open him to an experience furthering his human development.


Kind Sir,

On your trip to the southeastern section of the United States, known in the western world as “The South,” you will discover people who will relish your storytelling talents and people who will challenge the way you portray yourself throughout your book, The Art of Possibility.   Prepare for the trip by packing an etiquette book.  Want a preview? You see, here in the South, when we respect a person’s skills, knowledge, or talents, yet feel it necessary to express disagreement, we present a critique in the form of a question.  Let me caution you that respect does not imply that we view said person as “omniscient”.  It merely means we respect her — or even him.  However, when said person portrays himself as omniscient and our experience argues otherwise, the respect we actually hold for that person regretfully declines.  By the by, as you seem inclined to rodomontade and thrasonical bombast, in The South you’ll find that the wise wait until they have something substantive to offer before they speak.  A conductor’s presumed status or self-regarding swagger will neither intimidate a southern audience nor elicit special consideration.  He shall only produce amused expressions. We benighted southerners have indeed a different way of viewing and greeting the world.  Just something to keep in mind, dear heart, as you plan your adventure to the South!

Too, as you brace for engaging conversations with southerners, consider that it’s not just the heads of hierarchies and large corporations who are shy to admit mistakes.  A keen observer discovers that nobody likes to admit mistakes — including store clerks, kids, housewives, the homeless, the drunken, the unemployed, and those too who work at cultural or philanthropic organizations.  It’s a common human trait, sadly, so perhaps you can tear a leaf out of your own book and bring it here with you. We’ll share favorite (that’s how we spell it here) passages, sip a Bourbon uncontaminated with water, and soon you will feel better. And better! You might gain a better balance and see things as they are. If you weep softly, we shall understand. 

Speaking of taking a leaf out of your book, bring the whole of Chapter 6 with you.  We here in the South will agreeably bless your efforts to not “take yourself so goddamn seriously.”  

Better still, bring sheet music of Stravinsky with you in your suitcase, play that most difficult violin piece, and tell the story attributed to him: “I don’t want the sound of someone playing this passage, I want the sound of someone trying to play it.”   Spontaneous humility and unpracticed sincerity might win back the respect you lost with the self-depiction of your omnipotence. 

But perhaps I err. You know we southerners have issues of our own. So if my perceptions are upside-down, like my pineapple cake, then might it be possible for me to take pupilage with you and learn the intricacies of your world-striding success and storytelling.

Still eager? Good! Now that your bags are packed, come on down, jump over your own fences, come inside, embrace southern culture. Oh, Ben. You might just realize that when we starkly see and acknowledge the layers of opinion, entitlement, pride, and inflation in ourselves, we are closer to clearing them away and being free than those who denounce and call for their eradication in others.  So we welcome you in advance to our gentle honesty and humble kitchens. You may not lose weight during your southern sojourn, given our delicious fare, but you may trim that profile. If you’re open to it, you’ll feel the connection. We look forward to saying, “Y’all come back!”

Media Asset Creation: Week 3 Comment on Rosetta Cash's blog


Rosetta,
A giant congratulations!  Well done and well deserved!   I hope you will keep your blog going after we graduate so we can keep up with your career.  I also can completely understand that writing out speaker’s notes for a presentation when you usually present from the bullets on the slide could make for a different presenting experience.   Your attitude is, typically for you, one that will bring you success and make the Zander’s proud!  Can’t wait to see what you put together for us on Wednesday!

Rosetta's Post:
This past weekend I attended the ASCAC (Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations) Midwest Regional Conference at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The board of the international organization met during this conference and I took the opportunity to address the group. The board reviews and selects those who will present at the conference. I explained my assignment and they agreed to allow me to make a presentation of my proposal to present at the 29th Annual International ASCAC Conference, which will also be at Kent State University, March 22-25, 2012. I created a Prezi presentation to give them a brief overview of the EMDT program and the CBR project. I had the presentation of my proposal videotaped. After I concluded my presentation they voted and I was given approval to present my work at the conference in March 2012.

I will make some revisions to the proposal presentation and expand on it for the formal presentation in March. Much of the process is already laid out in the Prezi. I need to add the results of the Phases, my conclusions and reflections. What I am finding challenging is writing the speakers notes for the presentation. I usually make sure that the bullet points are listed in the PowerPoint or Prezi and then I speak to those points. I don't write out what I am going to say. Well, I love challenges, so let me get cracking and create my speakers notes. 

Media Asset Creation: Week 3 Comment on Marc Hunt's blog

Marc, I agree with you and Rosetta who found the “white sheets” to be very inventive and a great way to re-tool the “instructor-learner” relationship.   However, giving “white sheets” to my students and telling them they could write whatever they wanted on it would produce a bunch of, well, white sheets.  While perhaps a blank slate works well for accomplished and suppressed musicians, my younger students would do much better with an evaluation form with questions (like yours) which could get them thinking and evaluating.  Your form generates lots of ideas for me.  Thanks!


Marc's Post:
I have found that "The Art of Possibility" has been an interesting  read and also a fast one.
This week I enjoyed hearing about the 'White Sheets" the author would give to the orchestra as a way for them to critique him and also communicate their needs. I found this part of the book to directly relate to the ADDIE model we have studied through the EMDT program. I have always put value into the evaluation and and have began to use this method in my class as well. During the year when the students are given progress reports or final quarterly grades, I allow them to also grade me and give me ideas on how I can improve what we covered.
Here is the form I have given my students after the first 5 weeks of school: