At the beginning of the school year, I found out that 1/3 of my kids had never been in our computer lab. The first time I took them, many did not know how to log in or use a mouse to click on things. Fast forward to May, 2010, and behold thirty-three fifth graders who are recording voiceovers, doing keynotes, making movies, creating their own songs, and taking some wonderful digital pictures.
This was also a great growth year for me. I learned so much right along with them! We did lots of fluency and reading comprehension activities using the iPOD's, and will continue to do so (an upcoming state report involving evaluation, summarizing, and connections will be completed using Sonic Pics), but for my blog, I decided it would be more fun to put in some samples of things the kids submitted to the EYMF, because they are SOOOOOOO excited about that.
All of these projects were not only things the kids had never done, they were things I had never done. That was a neat thing! In reflecting on what we did, particularly in Garageband, I know several things I would do differently next year. I would model creating a song more. Although I cautioned them to pick loops in the same key, some did not listen (!) and threw any old thing in, with predictable results. I also want to encourage them to bring different instruments in at different times. The song I've included, "On the Road", does that, and most did not. Finally, we took baby steps on the sound effects stories. We listened to sound effects FIRST and made a list of ones we liked, then created a commercial or story that would incorporate them. I love to teach writing, so next year, I would play sound effects for them as a launch and to inspire their thinking, but without having the kids list them. We would then focus on the story or script, and find sound effects for it later. I think the caliber would be a great deal higher.
All said, it's been a wonderful year, and I am excited to keep exploring technology with my kids!