My Daughter's Keynote

(If you are in school, you can not see the video.  So go to this link:  http://pserve1.pre.k12.hi.us/users/laurabrown/weblog/d3474/My_Daughters_Keynote.html

Can only access from PRE.)

Melissa made this keynote slideshow on Saturday in 4 hours.  It all started when she said she was bored.  I was awaiting the start of the Little League baseball game.  So, to keep her occupied, I told her to make a Keynote on the computer.  She said she didn't know how.  So, we first made a plan.  She picked her topic, and on scratch paper, we storyboarded her presentation.  Then, I had her draw her arrays using Kidspiration.  Since she already knew how to use Kidspiration, I let her do it on her own.  She created the four pictures in about 45 minutes.

Then, Little League Baseball started and I wanted to watch the game.  So, I quickly gave her a tutorial on how to make the Keynote slides.  I told her to select the white slides first, and we will add the background later.  I taught her the basics of choosing a slide, and typing in the information from her storyboard.  I also showed her how to drop the pictures onto her slides.  She made all the slides by herself as we watched the baseball game.

By the fourth inning, the Little Leaguers from Waipio were winning 7-0, so I started to pay more attention to what Melissa was doing.  I showed her how to choose a background theme for her slideshow.  It took her awhile to decide which background she wanted.  Later, I taught her how to add transitions to each slide.  After showing her how to do the first one, she was able to do the rest by herself.

She finished her Keynote about the same time as Waipio scored their 10th run.  We were all jumping for joy!  We cheered because the Waipio boys won, Melissa cheered because she was done.  It had taken her about 3 hours to complete the Keynote slideshow, but I wasn't done with her yet.

I taught Melissa how to use Garageband to create her own music.  This one took a little more one-to-one.  I had to teach her about music, like tempo, beats, and keys.  Together, we created a short song that she liked.  We added this song to her Keynote.  We saved it as a QuickTime movie.

Melissa created this short video in less than 4 hours.  I didn't teach her everything there is to know about a Keynote.  So, later, when she feels inspired again, I will teach how to add builds and voice, and possibly make her video into a podcast.

You can teach your students using this same process (minus the baseball game, of course.)  I've used this same process with my students several times.  The key is planning.  Make sure your students storyboard their ideas first, even before they touch the computer.  Making Keynote presentations are fun.  Take time to do it with your students.  It only takes 4-5 class periods.  I'll gladly help.  Just let me know.  Thanks for stopping by.

Building Relationships

I was very surprised by our school's WE SURVEY score, in which the students responded that our teachers do not know what their interests are.  So, here is my blog about building relationships.  

An important part of the Rigor Relevance framework is Relationships.  Because humans are naturally social beings, the development of positive relationships between teachers and students is essential to learning.  One way to build these relationships and move to a more student-centered learning community is through a strategy known as Community Circle. This idea is adapted from the popular book called Tribes by Jeanne Gibbs.

Why Community Circle

Building relationships is a deliberate process that the teacher facilitates over time.  It begins by creating inclusion for every person in the learning community. Community Circle could help establish that inclusion by setting the tone for respectful learning and establishing a climate of trust.  Community Circle motivates children by addressing their need to feel a sense of importance and belonging, as well as the need to have fun.  When Community Circle is held at specific times of the day or week, it creates a repetition of many ordinary moments of respectful interaction, which enables some extraordinary moments.  Finally, Community Circle merges social, emotional and intellectual learning.

Consider holding Community Circle daily, weekly or biweekly, depending on your needs and preferences. Some school years, you may have a particularly delicate classroom environment that needs extra attention, and daily Community Circle. Other years, getting together every other week may be enough.

Budget approximately 10-15 minutes for each Community Circle session at approximately the same time on the pre-determined day.

The Community Circle Agenda

As a group, sit in a circle on the ground and stick to the Tribes Agreements, which are:

·  Appreciation of Others (i.e. no put-downs)

·  Listen Attentively

·  Mutual Respect

·  Right to Pass and Participate

Additionally, designate a special gesture to keep things under control. For example, when the teacher raises her hand, everyone else raises their hand and stops talking. You may want to make this gesture different from the attention signal you use during the rest of the day.

At each class meeting, announce a different prompt or format for sharing. The Tribes book offers a wealth of ideas for this purpose. For instance, it is effective to go around the circle and finish sentences, such as:

                   “Something that I enjoy doing after school is …”

                   "One thing I like about our classroom is...."

                   "I'm grateful that...."

                   "One good thing that happened to me recently is...."

                   "I wish...."

                   "I'm bigger than a ______. I'm smaller than a ________."

                   "I hope that...."

Fifteen minutes per week is a small investment to make in order to strengthen the bonds between you and your students. Students sense that their opinions, dreams, and insights are valued and treated with respect. It also gives them a chance to practice their listening, speaking, and interpersonal skills.

Try it in your classroom. See how it works for you!

Amazing Race

I hope all of you had a wonderful time competing in our Amazing Race.  I especially enjoyed watching all of you building positive relationship with each other.  What I didn't expect was the competitive spirit amongst all of you.  Who knew PRE teachers could be so competitive?  Despite all that, I heard lots of laughter, appreciations, and sounds of high fives.

Before I go on with the current Team Standings, I would like to appreciate Laureen for suggesting we take our festivities off-campus.  She really wanted it to be a celebration of our efforts, and I am grateful that she made it all possible for us to truly celebrate our accomplishments.

So, for our Amazing Race, each team received 100 points for each destination, plus the number of points for your team's average bowling score.

Okay, now for the results . . . drum roll, please.

Team	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5	Bowling	Total Points
Pupu Party	100	100	100	100	100	75.7	575.7
He-Man & She-Ras	100	100	100	100	100	94.6	594.6
PRE All-Stars	100	100	100	100	100	69	569
Kung Fu Ghettopandas	100	100	100	100	100	91.25	591.25
Nacho Amigos	100	100	100	100	100	70.5	570.5
Six Pack Attack	100	100	100	100	100	77.2	577.2
Vintage Spice	100	100	100	100	100	63.3	563.3

So CONGRATULATIONS TO TEAM HE-MAN & SHE-RAS!  They are currently in first place.  A close second is Kung Fu Ghettopandas, and third place is Six Pack Attack.

Thank you to everyone for participating.  But wait . . . this is not the end.  We have planned other fun challenges for you teams.  Stay Tuned!

Technology can be fun!

To me, the First PRE Tech Day was a great success.  Everyone learned another computer application that they can use with their students.  Here are some other online programs that you may want to try with your students.

Wordle - http://www.wordle.net/

Wordle is a program for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds are arranged in an artful and creative way. You can adjust your word clouds with different fonts, layouts, and colors. The images you create with Wordle can be used to create posters or book covers.  Here are two samples of Wordles that Melissa and I did.

Another online program that you can use is from New York Zoos and Aquarium.  It is called Build Your Wildself (http://www.buildyourwildself.com/).  This program is fun for all ages.  It is a creature creator, mixing human and animal parts. First, you design your human self. Then, choose your favorite animal parts and go wild.  Here are Melissa's and my creatures.

An online program that I use with the older students allows them to create "avatars" of themselves.  It is called Portrait Illustration Maker (http://illustmaker.abi-station.com/index_en.shtml).  Here are some of last year's students' avatars.

Greg

Haley

Teani

Me

Toshiro

With these online activities, I also required my students to complete a writing assignment.  Using technology and online programs can be fun and educational.  It can enhance your lessons and engage your students.
Please feel free to ask me how to use any of these programs.
Have a great day!

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!  I am excited to be able to bring this way of sharing information and my commentary to our faculty and staff.  Blogging will allow me to share things that I have learned from the professional development workshops I attend and the educational literature that I read.  By writing this blog, I hope to extend our learning and growing together.  My goal is to write a blog once or twice a week.  I will be sharing ideas, websites, books, research, or words of wisdom from top educational researchers.  Please feel free to post a comment to my blogs.  I am looking forward to  a wonderful year of learning and blogging.