When we first started this program back in August I never would have thought that I would become a director, writer, producer, and voice actor. Subsequently I'm also in charge of wardrobe, craft service, script research, hair/make-up, and editing. I'm really a one woman show. Back in my undergraduate career I helped some fellow actor friends by doing small parts in short films. Creating this capstone video feels a little bit like your boss calling you out for some obscure special skill you lied about on your resume. "But you said that you have basic video editing skills!" Over these past few months I've gotten comfortable using Adobe Spark. Now I don't want to use anything else. But, we're pushing to use new tricks. I thought about doing some cute stop motion stick figure stuff. Big mistake. Drawing isn't my thing, not even stick figures. Plus you need 1.5 billion stills to make .02 seconds of a stop motion reel. I felt like Ben Wyatt in Parks and Rec. So, while I'm camping this week I'm forcing my friends to take some shots of me doing some breathing. I don't have to draw anything and hopefully the natural light will be kind. I appreciated that in Visual Storytelling and the Digital Documentary the author says it's more engaging to use humor. Which is great. I love to laugh and make people laugh. Tough part here is that I want people laughing with me...not at me.
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Technology, pedagogy, and content are all deeply connected in a 21st century classroom. The need for students to be comfortable using technology is huge in order to be successful in a world full of apps, gadgets, and tools. I try to incorporate the use of technology for two main reasons: promote collaboration and ease of data collection.
Since the CAASPP test is given all through a computer medium I knew that students needed to engage with technology in order to be as comfortable typing as using a pencil. Their familiarity with technology would also, in theory, ease a portion of stress associated with test taking. Students have grown up in a world of technology. They have not known a life without smartphones or tablets. With this in mind I turned to GoNoodle to show students interactive videos about breathing and focusing. Breathing is a simple way to reduce blood pressure and increase focus. Before tests students take the Westside Test Anxiety Scale through Google Forms. This is convenient and easy for teachers since the data is collected and sorted automatically. Based on students’ scores the teacher can assess how students are feeling before taking a test. Being in the classroom together creates a strong shared experience for students much like the bond between co-workers or family. They learn to become strong on their own and encourage each other. I really wish I had a big white board to help with my script or two big screens to move stuff around on. If I wasn't trying to reduce my paper trail I would have printed and reprinted my script about 10 times now. But I'm still chugging along.
In class last week I was thinking out loud that there is a fine line between a funny capstone video and an unprofessional one. I like to think that I'm a pretty funny person. However, not everyone would agree with me. That being said I'm going to stick to a more informative style script while using memes that (hopefully) people will find professionally amusing. As far as video editors go I'm sticking to old faithful: Adobe Spark. It took a long time for me to get comfortable using spark, and there are still components that I'm getting to know. THIS IS MY CAPSTONE! I want the video to turn out nice, so I'm not taking any big risks. I feel like I've already been pretty risky even thinking that I could complete a Master's program. "Our Mission is to meet or exceed our goals in the area of equity, excellence, educational effectiveness and economic sustainability which determines our daily efforts. We will foster collaborative teamwork to accomplish these goals. We recognize that we must build powerful home to school relationships that support the success of all students. Because safety is critical for each school campus; we will enforce high adult visibility and respond to student matters in a timely manner.
In order to assess whether students are meeting academic and social expectations, we will consistently monitor student progress using a variety of data: observations, walkthroughs, progress reports, test scores, etc., and commit to focusing our resources to best support our students." Read more from Dr. Adam Clark here. While, there isn't any true reference to technology in this mission statement...I don't hate it. Vallejo has a relatively new superintendent, Dr. Adam Clark. He's already made some controversials cuts in the district, but these cuts were necessary (I feel) for the the survival of the district. The team at Vallejo City Unified School District has their heart in the right place. They strive to, "meet or exceed our goals in the area of equity, excellence..." I realize this phrasing is broad. But over the 4 short years I've been with the district I've witnessed more technology coming into the classroom. We've gone from having a computer lab for the whole school to almost each classroom having 1:1 chromebooks. VCUSD is really trying their hardest to play catch up right now. Buildings are in need of renovation and the budget is small. But VCUSD is committed to, "...focusing our resources to best support our students." Do they talk about technology? No. However, to suggest that the district lacks a technology policy and scold them for that would be akin to telling a toddler they should start looking into Ivy League colleges. When VCUSD is in a more stable place I would love to suggest some ways that our mission could incorporate 21st century learning more explicitly. In a revised mission statement they could say: VCUSD strives to ensure that all students are 21st century learners. VCUSD students and staff are fluent in digital literacy. Students are not only using technology in the classroom to ensure their success in a 21st century classroom, but also in a digital workplace. There are countless resources that are simple and user friendly to get them started. I would suggest becoming a Common Sense Media district. Logos: a good one will grab your attention, a bad one will grab your attention for all the wrong reasons. If we look at our favorite brands, companies, and fast food restaurants their logos all have something in common. The bold use of color, simple word choice, and strategic white space. This week I tried my own hand at creating my own logo. I knew that I wanted bold colors. But I found that it was difficult to create something of my own imagination. I started on Logomakr. Through this website the user has freedom to choose a variety of icons or graphics. This website is user friendly and has many options. Maybe too many options for me personally. Ultimately I went back to Logo Joy, or Looka.com, which I had explored during class time. This site takes a little of the creative freedom out of the process, but for someone like me it simplifies the process by asking a series of questions then Looka generates a few options for you to choose from. See my first draft from Logo Joy here. While, I like the simplicity of this logo (I'm a sucker for black and white), I don't think it really captures the feeling of my capstone. So, it'll do for now, but I'm going to keep playing with it. Third grade is a big year. It's the last year students are part of the "lower grades" and it's the first year they are subject to taking the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress or CAASPP. As the long title suggests the test is long and grueling. It very much so reminds me of another terrible and long test, the dreaded: SAT. However, the SAT is designed to assess students twice the age of 3rd graders. Which makes me wonder-why are we making 9 year-olds take a test that would fatigue an 18 year-old? Test taking is hard. It's stressful, frustrating, and just plain awful. When I was a young student testing never affected me. But, when I got to college assessments of any kind became daunting and intimidating. Last year was my first year teaching 3rd grade and in my first year having to administer the CAASPP to my students. As my students took the test I started noticing many familiar symptoms: frustration, fatigue, and heightened anxiety. I knew that there had to be someway for my students to manage their feelings and be able to push past them so that they could perform well on these state tests. Next year I am moving to a new school site. I could see myself suggesting some strategies to the 3rd-5th grade team. I believe this work is important in order to give students language to voice how they're feeling. I want to keep trying different strategies and programs with students that incorporate socio-emotional learning in the classroom. One of my colleagues just received her yoga certification for educators. The breathing strategies and meditation practice could be a very powerful tool in addition to using language to express feelings. |
Catie GoldsteinInnovative Learning Master's Student. Teacher. Napper. Dog Petter. Archives
June 2019
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