What I did at school today: Uploaded our green screen projects

Reporting from TES, fourth grade hall: Ms. Phillips and I completed her class's green screen projects.  Each group of 4-6 students researched one of the regions of VA, as outlined in the VA Studies SOL.  They compiled information about their regions, including local industries and geographic features.


To share their findings, they planned, created, and edited their own news programs.  One student took the role of news anchor.  Sitting in front of the green screen with an image from a real news program superimposed behind them, the anchor introduced the region, gave some background info, and then sent the audience to one of the reporters in the field.


Depending on the length of the report, they would go from anchor to reporter, back to anchor, back to reporter, and repeat this until they returned to the anchor for the wrap-up.


I was impressed by the quality of the students' final products and their ingenuity, creativity, and independence.  Here are links to their projects.


Coastal Plain News: https://youtu.be/GlvLSwq-Hdc
Piedmont News: https://youtu.be/uXI8OuwDGDc
Blue Ridge Mountain News: https://youtu.be/GbQP80o4Dag
Valley and Ridge News: https://youtu.be/5iovNwVK4gI
Appalachian Plateau News: https://youtu.be/NyV5EiDSJIc

What I did at School Today: Playing with PVC

I try to write about what I did at school today, but this is more about what I did yesterday. My story actually begins Saturday night and won't be finished until tomorrow, but we won't quibble with that.  On the way home from dinner, we stopped at Lowe's to make a small purchase: 4 ten-foot, half-inch PVC pipes and a bag of 3-way connectors. I knew what I needed, so was a quick visit, and thanks to self checkout, we were in and out within 15 minutes.  

The next part of my story is a bit of a digression, but it involves a reality of modern life.  When I got home, there was a message on my answering machine from my credit card company. After a bit of investigation, I discovered that right after I made my purchase at the Lowe's in Newport News, another purchase was made using my account number from a Lowe's somewhere in Pennsylvania.  This is at least the third time there was fraudulent activity on my account, and now I'm patiently awaiting for my new credit card to arrive. It's fortunate for all of us that banks are so quick to recognize when crimes like this occur, but it's such an inconvenience when they close down your account.  I've gotten smart, and now I have a list of all the accounts which have to be updated with the new card number.

Anyway, back to my story.  So, yesterday I sorted the PVC pipes and cut them into 10 pieces, threw them into a box, and cleaned up.  Sliding the miter saw back in place turned out to be a mistake, as I threw my back out yet again.  I was in quite a lot of pain for the rest of the day, but thanks to pain relievers, muscle relaxers, ice, heat, and electrical stimulation, I'm slowly feeling better.  

That brings me to this morning.  I dropped off my box of pipe pieces and connectors at TES on my way to MVES.  I was looking forward to putting my masterpiece together, but it would have to wait until after lunch.  Finally, at about 1:30, I brought everything down to the computer lab and began connecting it all together.  This is not a photograph of my own work, but it will give you an idea of what this project is all about: a portable green screen frame.  

It was an easy project, as I had made one during the summer.  That one required finding a design and using trial and error to get it right.  This one was a breeze.  I was disappointed when I realized that there was one piece I forgot to cut, which is why my story won't be finished until tomorrow.

The inspiration for this project came after years of securing green fabric to bulletin boards and magnetic white boards.  Hanging fabric this way leaves places where the shadows prevent the green from being monochromatic.  This frame solves that problem.  Last week it became a priority so I could help out one of my fourth grade colleagues. She wants to do a green screen project with her students next week, so although I had already planned to make this, the time for action had arrived. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

What I did at school today: Weathering the Storm

It takes the near miss of a hurricane to make weather conditions like we're seeing today a relief.  The heavy rains and flooding make it a serious situation, but I think I speak for everyone when I say that it could be worse.  However...

My day started with a 6:00 AM visit to the Y.  It was raining steadily, but no worse than a dozen other times drizzly mornings.  I had an 8:00 appointment with my doctor, which put me on the road during rush hour.  The rain was still nothing more than an annoying nuisance.  Even when I arrived at school around 9:00, I was able to move from my car to the school door at no more than a slow trot.

Tick, tock, the morning proceeded as many mornings do.  Then, it was time to switch schools.  I had a prescription to pick up, so I thought this would be a good time to make a quick stop.  By then, the skies had opened up.  The rain fell in sheets, traffic moved at a snail's pace, and a walk from the car to just about anywhere was akin to swimming upstream.  I toyed with the idea of picking up a hot lunch somewhere, but that idea was quickly washed away.  I crossed a small bridge that almost swallowed up my car, and decided it was best to go directly to my afternoon school.

Luck was on my side . . . sort of.  When I arrived, there was a parking space up front.  I did have to get out of my car to move a small, fallen branch, but at least I wasn't walking from the back forty.  Still, I arrived soaked to the bone, but glad I was settled in for a while.  There was a cabin fever feeling throughout the afternoon, but we were all safe and dry.

Oh, I was busy before I left for my midday transfer and busy after I arrived, but when I think back on today, all I think about is rain.  TGIF!

What I did at school yesterday: Colonial Chicken Nuggets

The York County School Division was awarded a very large grant from the DOD a few years ago.  Some of this grant money was spent on supplying schools with sets of iPads and providing training to teachers.  Several groups of teachers were known as "DE Cohorts" because we partnered with Discovery Education to provide a large portion of our training.  The final cohort was interrupted last year by mother nature and her snowy sense of humor, and some of their training had to be postponed.  The grant ended at the end of the school year, leaving those teachers hanging. 

Before the new school year began, we were given permission to extend the cohort into the first quarter of this year.  Four days were set aside for additional training, two this week and two at the end of October.  No longer the DE Cohort, as that partnership was not extended, half the group met on Tuesday with half of the ETFs.  I was one of the ETFs who met with the other half yesterday.

We began at Bruton High School with a light breakfast and an Alan November video.  (I don't know who makes his videos, but this one was pretty slick.)  Then, we broke into smaller groups for more focused training.  Every member created a Skype in the Classroom account in preparation for the afternoon's work. 

After lunch we moved, en masse, to the Finney House in Colonial Williamsburg.  Teachers were grouped into 5 or 6 member teams, and they were tasked with developing a lesson that would be taught remotely in late October from a predetermined location somewhere in the restored village.

I worked with six teachers, two from TES, two from MVES, and two from my old stomping grounds, Magruder Elementary.  They ranged from first grade to fifth grade, so coming up with an idea that was relevant to all grades was a challenge.  One member of my team suggested we walk over to the Governor's Palace kitchen.  There was a wonderful interpreter there, and my group spent about 20 minutes listening and videotaping her.  During her presentation, she made a comparison between chicken nuggets and what the colonists ate, and that became the hook for my group's lesson.  Go on Skype in the Classroom and search for "colonial chicken".  It was great day, and it made me hungry for . . . pulled pork!  Go figure.

What I did at school today: An Interesting Discovery

If you've read my recent posts, you may know that I am following a different schedule this year.  I start my morning at Tabb Elementary and then sometime as early as 11:00 or as late as 1:00, I pack up and head to Mt. Vernon.  Depending on what's on my schedule, I may have barely enough time to catch my breath before hitting the ground running.  Lunch is a "whenever" proposition.

I made this change because I didn't like being away from a school for even a few days.  Now I'm at each school every day!  I love it! 

I repeat, I love it, so I'll preface my next thoughts with this: I'm not complaining.  I like to be busy, and this schedule keeps me busier than I have been, probably since I left the classroom 10 years ago. 

What I've discovered is that when I was at one school for Monday and Tuesday, my workload at the other school was minimal.  I'd still get the occasional email from the other, but I would be able to focus on what was needed to be done at the Monday/Tuesday school. 

Well, now that I'm at each school every day, I end up with projects and tasks and at both schools simultaneously.  If a need pops up in the morning and I'm busy with other commitments, I don't have the luxury of finishing up in the afternoon; I have another school full of teachers and students who need my attention.  I've always wanted to learn how to juggle. 

The key is to try and stay organized.  It's all about lists and folders and calendars and email.  Now, where did I put my keys?

What I did at school today: Videos by Mr. P.

This was the first year that I was at Tabb Elementary on the first day of school.  With teachers busy getting their students acclimated to the new year, I knew my duties would be limited to reconnecting speakers, reinstalling printers, and other non-instructional tasks.  I decided to use some of my time to put together a welcome back video.  As the doors opened to the 2015-16 school year, several of my colleagues and I took short video clips of the students arriving, walking down the hall, meeting their teachers, finding their desks, etc.  By the end of the day, I had stitched together a video montage using the theme song from the old "Welcome Back, Kotter" television show.  Here is a link to that video.

https://youtu.be/6It8R40lzhw 

I certainly didn't want to neglect Mt. Vernon, so I came up with a different idea for them.  Since I am only there in the afternoons this month, I decided to make a video montage showing what teachers do after their students leave.  As far as I was concerned, there was no other musical choice than Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Taking Care of Business".  Her is a link to that.

https://youtu.be/NthasZXoVwo

I enjoyed making that video so much, I decided I'd make another.  This one was back at Tabb, and it was about what teachers do in the mornings before students arrive.  Educators know that teachers don't arrive after their students are seated, waiting for them to make a grand entrance.  Despite what we often see on television and in the movies, there's much to be done to prepare for students' arrival.  The song I chose was unfamiliar to me, but I thought it fit the mood.

https://youtu.be/ZRi7qVfYALk

As you can see, video creation is one of my favorite things to do.  Last year I experimented with recording using multiple iPads at different angles and editing it with quick cuts from one perspective to another, make it more exciting and visually interesting.  Perhaps one day I'll create my masterpiece and you'll see me on the Oscars.  I'll be that guy who get drowned out by the orchestra as his acceptance speech goes on a little too long.

What I did at school today: Wixie and the third graders

Many years ago, back in my Gloucester days, we used KidPix as a creation tool.  KidPix was a computer program that allowed students to "paint" pictures, add clip art and graphics, and insert text.  One story I have told repeatedly over the years is about the time a fourth grade teacher brought her students in to the lab and told them to open KidPix.  Their assignment was to draw and label a parallel circuit and a series circuit.  What a great assessment: simple, engaging, and exactly what she needed.

There were two problems with KidPix.  Although it had an undo button, it only undid the last move, so if a student needed to back up two or more steps, he was out of luck.  The other problem was that the eraser tool erased the background as well as any layers above it, ruining a student's work.  

In 2009 I joined the York County School Division and soon after I discovered Pixie from Tech4Learning.  It did everything KidPix did and solved the two problems we had with KidPix in Gloucester.  It was not difficult to get approval to purchase Pixie for all the elementary schools in York County.

Then, Tech4Learning came out with Wixie, a web-based version of Pixie.  It had two additional advantages.  Work saved automatically in the cloud, and a teacher could choose or create a template and assign it to her students.  

Yesterday and I today, I had two third grade classes come to the lab for their first attempts at logging on to the computers.  Once they were on, I had them go to Wixie and sign in.  I assigned a template that looked like an iPad (see picture above) but without the apps.  I modeled how to make solid colored squares, how to add and resize pictures, and how to insert and move text.  They loved creating their own iPad app icons.  This was mostly a "just for fun" activity, but I believe that the potential for Wixie is limitless.