SMART Project

We are in the process of winding down and gearing up. Students have finished their Famous Canadian Story and are studying for their test. The test takes students through many of the things they learned while working with Pictello to make their FC story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it came time to plan for our summative assessment, the students wanted to have a party. We had a discussion around the kind or party we could have that would showcase our work. Therefore, we have planned a Techno-Party. Students came to understand that this was no ordinary party, rather it was one that was all about sharing what we have been learning about for the past few months. That proved to be quite a learning experience for all the students, especially when they learned that having music and dancing is part of some parties, but not this type of party. The students helped plan every aspect of the ‘party’ once they understood the purpose and are looking forward to it.

Parents and friends are invited to a morning of technology. They will learn about the iPad, Pictello, the student’s Famous Canadian and watch videos of using technology in the Life Skills Progam, other classes and in the work place.

Stay Tuned!

Eve

 

  Here is Akash using Wordle. Wordle is an easy way to have students     show what they know using key words. The Wordle to the left is an example and not Akash’s.

 

 

 

 

Kirn and Azrah are working on their draft script for their video. They are using a desktop computer as the iPads are all being used. We are so pleased to have added “Pages” a word processing app that allows our students to use the iPads  as a stand alone writing tool.

Over the past couple of weeks, students have been working hard on creating their stories about a famous Canadian.  At this point, most students have finished their story and are working on putting the final touches on it. The best part of this project is the sheer joy the students have when they push the Pictello start button and watch their story play before their eyes. The sense of accomplishment and pride is palatable!

We wanted students to learn more about some of the options they have to create a product using different programs on the internet. To that end, students were able to select from the following options that were extensions to their Famous Canadian story, and will be an integral part of our Techno Party (a show-n-tell for friends and family). Here are the options:

Name: _________________

 Famous Canadian Activity Choices

Please choose 4 of the 7 choices below to do as part of your

Famous Canadian Smart Project. Please circle your 4 choices

 1. Riddle: Who Am I?

I work at MacNeill Secondary, I am a Life Skills EA, I have long black hair, I have three            daughters  and live in Richmond.

I am _________________________

Create a riddle of your FC- Don’t tell us too much!

 2. CUBE CREATOR: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/cube-creator-30850.html

This site allows you to create a bio cube or a cube of your choice where you type in information that prints out in the shape of a cube.

 3. On-line puzzle maker:  http://www.jigsawplanet.com/

This site allows you to create an on-line puzzle of your Famous Canadian for others to make.

4. Shape Collage: http://www.scrapblog.com

This site will allow you to create a collage out of photos of your Famous Canadian

 5. Create your own timeline of your Famous Canadian at:

https://timeglider.com/login.php or

http://www.timetoast.com/ or

http://www.tiki-toki.com/ or

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/timeline-TC001016266.aspx and finally-

http://www.dipity.com/

 6. Create a word collage: www.wordle.net

7. Create a magazine cover of your very own Famous Canadian: http://bighugelabs.com/magazine.php

8. Make up your own!

 

 

 

Hi Everyone,

I attempted to enlarge the learning logs I posted, it was not successful so I will write them out for you. I create two, as there is such a range in abilities. The first one is for more capable students:

1. One thing I learned today:
2. What am I most proud of today:
3. What am I most frustrated about today:
4. One thing I did on my own:
5. One thing I needed help with:
6. One thing I will do next time:

The second one is for less able students, it is done on 8 1/2 X 11 landscape with the paper divided into 4 quadrants, each  quadrant is large enough for a drawing, photo or… The captions are:

1. 1 thing I learned today…
2. I am most proud of …
3. I thing I needed help on…
4. 1 thing I will do next time…

Eve

We are now coming to the end of February and are continuing to learn more each day as we work on our Famous Canadian project. Figuring out what photographs to use for our projects has turned out to be more time consuming than we thought, as there are so many photos to choose form, you can get lost in the mire and before you know it, it is time to turn off the iPad and move to the next class.

Equally important and even more critical, is to always strive to maintain the integrity of the students’ developmental level while supporting them as they create the text for the many images that have selected.

Please enjoy the images below that show an example of our iPad user and Official Photographer badge (bighugelabs.com)- Our students love showing off their new skills

 

Guess which Famous Canadian this is-

 

Here is an example of our two learning logs:

Looking forward to more of the same and something different!

Getting closer to becoming more independent. We now have learning logs, resident blog photographers complete with press agent badges. Here we are with our SMART Partners learning how to save photos from google (iPad) and insert them into Pictello.

Hi Elyssa, we got an VGA adapter from the Apple Store; it cost about $40.00.

In the past few weeks, we have introduced the use of the iPad and two of our apps (Pictello, and to a lesser degree, TouchChat) using a series of  “mini” lessons, along with  a model of Gradual Release. Today was the first day our students were on their own using the knowledge they have gained to plan out part of their project on a Famous Canadian.

To begin today’s lesson, students watched a powerpoint that highlighted criteria for their project; as well, they got to view an example (I do, you watch) of what the first stage of their project can look like.

Our students are really enjoying learning how to become more independent users of technology; the tricky bit is sharing the 5 iPads amongst 11 students. Although this remains an interesting challenge, we have been thinking of creative ways to get around it.

As I look back over the past few weeks, one of the obstacles  we had to overcome was figuring out how to project images from the iPad onto our LCD projector. This may seem simple to many of you, but I still had to wrap my head around this, since the connection cord used for my laptop did NOT fit!!! Thank goodness for the internet and a team approach! I am fortunate to to work with a large team, many of whom either know a lot more about technology than I do, or are quick learners!

One of the things I want to start doing that I got from the teleconference today, is a learning log- this will prove to be a good way to track not only what our students are doing, but how they feel about it. I think I will use some of the log entries on upcoming posts… A second thing I want to start doing is having students take pictures they want to upload on both this blog and our class blog.

I can’t wait to see what our students will teach us next!

The Smart Project Group

PictelloWe have been spending the past couple of days learning the ins and outs of Pictello. Thankfully, Pictello does a great job of introducing all of the components of writing a story through a story sample. I am so thrilled  that  our students are quickly learn what to do. It is true that what has been said about the iPad, it really makes learning fun! The format we are use is to introduce a skill, have students practice it a few times, then try it al over again the next day. When the next day comes, students are so keen to practice what they have learned, they can hardly wait to get started!