Here is a sheet that I used to help me keep track of each student's progress. I felt this was very useful as it also helped the students to stay on task and have accountability for their work.
http://wagner.nesd.ca/room6/DBR%20Task%20List.pdf
I've also included the rubric I used to mark them on this project. I would make a few changes for next time, such as, expression in voice and clarity of recording.
http://wagner.nesd.ca/room6/DBR%20Rubric.pdf
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
The Students Hard at Work!
Things get very busy and it is important to remember to take pictures throught the process. I wish that I had done more- actually Arlene took them all so I wish I had taken at least 1! 
Friday, March 5, 2010
Second Week Success!
Well, this week went great! The students are becoming very self-sufficient and they are also so helpful to one another, I am extremely impressed with them and their progress.
A few things that had to be adapted this week were:
1. I have a student that will be missing the final week due to reasons out of her control. This student has very supportive parents and we don't want her to miss out on this experience.
Because Kirk is overly accomodating to the students, he has arranged for her to have a laptop,
headset, etc. available to take with her so she can continue working on her DBR (he also
spent time showing her how to use it). One problem was that she won't have access to her
school account so he put everything she would need access to on a memory stick (pictures,
etc.) that her mom purchased to make this possible. We have given contact numbers in case
help is needed as well.
2. The student that I have adapted this assignment for has made pictures out of plasticine and
we've taken pictures of them and have started her DBR as well. She spent quite a bit of time
today practicing reading her summary with her EA and then to me. Next day, we will see
how she does with reading into the headset!
Something I learned this week!
I have mentioned before how I had them do a rough draft. Before they can add it to their DBR, corrections need to be made. I discovered a student had gone ahead and recorded around three audio slides without making any corrections, so Kirk, Arlene, Vicky, and I have to check before they do another audio session to avoid this or if their entire rough draft has been checked and initaled, they can go ahead with all audio without checking with us first.
One helpful thing I used today!
I had made a chart out at the beginning entitled- I NEED HELP!. I hadn't used it up until today but quite a few students needed editing checked as well as computer help so we pinned it up in the lab. The students would sign it if they needed help and then there is also a spot for the helper to initial once that particular person has received the help. I felt good about this because I knew I was being fair and helping the students in the order they needed the assistance and it also gave the students the opportunity to help each other as well. They felt pretty good about themselves when they got to inital the chart that stated that they had helped someone else. ( I hope this explanation makes sense!)
P.S
Quite a few students have made items out of plasticine and/or drawings. We have taken pictures of them and they are able to get them off of students shared. They are getting so good at copying these to their folders! Yay, progress!
A few things that had to be adapted this week were:
1. I have a student that will be missing the final week due to reasons out of her control. This student has very supportive parents and we don't want her to miss out on this experience.
Because Kirk is overly accomodating to the students, he has arranged for her to have a laptop,
headset, etc. available to take with her so she can continue working on her DBR (he also
spent time showing her how to use it). One problem was that she won't have access to her
school account so he put everything she would need access to on a memory stick (pictures,
etc.) that her mom purchased to make this possible. We have given contact numbers in case
help is needed as well.
2. The student that I have adapted this assignment for has made pictures out of plasticine and
we've taken pictures of them and have started her DBR as well. She spent quite a bit of time
today practicing reading her summary with her EA and then to me. Next day, we will see
how she does with reading into the headset!
Something I learned this week!
I have mentioned before how I had them do a rough draft. Before they can add it to their DBR, corrections need to be made. I discovered a student had gone ahead and recorded around three audio slides without making any corrections, so Kirk, Arlene, Vicky, and I have to check before they do another audio session to avoid this or if their entire rough draft has been checked and initaled, they can go ahead with all audio without checking with us first.
One helpful thing I used today!
I had made a chart out at the beginning entitled- I NEED HELP!. I hadn't used it up until today but quite a few students needed editing checked as well as computer help so we pinned it up in the lab. The students would sign it if they needed help and then there is also a spot for the helper to initial once that particular person has received the help. I felt good about this because I knew I was being fair and helping the students in the order they needed the assistance and it also gave the students the opportunity to help each other as well. They felt pretty good about themselves when they got to inital the chart that stated that they had helped someone else. ( I hope this explanation makes sense!)
P.S
Quite a few students have made items out of plasticine and/or drawings. We have taken pictures of them and they are able to get them off of students shared. They are getting so good at copying these to their folders! Yay, progress!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22nd-26th 2010 And so it begins.....
On Monday (22nd) we put their rough draft into effect. We have 2 stations set up for the kids to use. The recording studio is in the classroom where we have 4 computers placed throughout the class and the other station is the computer lab. One problem that we have run into is that the computer lab is so booked up that it is hard to get 1 1/2 hour time slots. It is greatly appreciated that our staff has been so cooperative!
I spent a good part of Sunday getting ready for this first day as I was unsure of what to expect. I made up folders ,to keep their rough copy, that also contain a checklist for them to sign (and get teacher's signatures) once each section has been completed. I needed to this so I know where everyone is at. Another sheet that has been included in these folders is another checklist for extra activities that they can work on when they are waiting and have nothing else to do until theyreceive help . I've learned over this week that this was not a necessity to do as they don't have much time at all when there is nothing to do. Maybe these folders will be used more closer to the end.
I think we have come up with a solution for the student I had to make adaptations for. The first day, she was not cooperative so we made some more changes and right now she has an alternate book read, has created figurines out of plasticine, and we have taken pictures to include in her digital book report. She does not spend the full 1 1/2 on this as it is too much. We will continue next week adding the pictures into her report.
I found the second day more frustrating as the students were at different spots as they were coming and going to and from the recording studio. I was not always able to answer the questions they had. Arlene and Kirk, though, felt this day went better as the students were understanding things better. We also have had peer teaching going on in the recording room and now the lab as well.
Helpful reminder for next time:
It is important to have the students create folders at the very beginning instead of having to go back and teach thm how to do this. It is better to do it all at once!
On Friday we talked, in the classroom, about the process involved in saving and retrieving pictures,etc.. This was very helpful and through repetition the students (and myself) will become more comfortable with this, I feel that they are doing better already. Kirk and I met on Friday (26th) and I am slowly feeling more comfortable with what we are doing.
I spent a good part of Sunday getting ready for this first day as I was unsure of what to expect. I made up folders ,to keep their rough copy, that also contain a checklist for them to sign (and get teacher's signatures) once each section has been completed. I needed to this so I know where everyone is at. Another sheet that has been included in these folders is another checklist for extra activities that they can work on when they are waiting and have nothing else to do until theyreceive help . I've learned over this week that this was not a necessity to do as they don't have much time at all when there is nothing to do. Maybe these folders will be used more closer to the end.
I think we have come up with a solution for the student I had to make adaptations for. The first day, she was not cooperative so we made some more changes and right now she has an alternate book read, has created figurines out of plasticine, and we have taken pictures to include in her digital book report. She does not spend the full 1 1/2 on this as it is too much. We will continue next week adding the pictures into her report.
I found the second day more frustrating as the students were at different spots as they were coming and going to and from the recording studio. I was not always able to answer the questions they had. Arlene and Kirk, though, felt this day went better as the students were understanding things better. We also have had peer teaching going on in the recording room and now the lab as well.
Helpful reminder for next time:
It is important to have the students create folders at the very beginning instead of having to go back and teach thm how to do this. It is better to do it all at once!
On Friday we talked, in the classroom, about the process involved in saving and retrieving pictures,etc.. This was very helpful and through repetition the students (and myself) will become more comfortable with this, I feel that they are doing better already. Kirk and I met on Friday (26th) and I am slowly feeling more comfortable with what we are doing.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wow! What Have I got Myself Into???
As excited as I am to be doing this project with my class, I am worried that my computer skills are not quite up to par. It is a definate learning curve for me but I know the end results will be worth it.
After checking out Andrea's blog (impressive) I got a little nervous about what I had got myself into. Kirk and I e-mailed back and forth about what our first meeting (with the students) would consit of. When we finally met with the kids on Thursday, February 4th, it went well and the students appeared to be excited-yay! We did this first session in the class and discussed with them (mostly Kirk) what we would be doing over the next 3 weeks.
Arlene (computer savvy expert at Wagner), Kirk, and I sat down and had a short meeting after this with to brainstorm some ideas and see which direction we'd be going form this point. I do have 2 students that I am needing to adapt for and I really want them to take part to the best of their ability.
We had another meeting the following week to discuss more of the details of this project and I was a bit overwhelmed (and hungry -should've eaten lunch) afterwards. This is where I committed myself to creating this blog page! During this week my students also worked on a rough draft, of their report, that I will post on this blog page. This, I hope will help them them sort through their thoughts as we go along! They are also adding extra ideas onto their outlines that they would like to use (plasticine, pictures, drawings....) on their digital book report so they don't forget.
After checking out Andrea's blog (impressive) I got a little nervous about what I had got myself into. Kirk and I e-mailed back and forth about what our first meeting (with the students) would consit of. When we finally met with the kids on Thursday, February 4th, it went well and the students appeared to be excited-yay! We did this first session in the class and discussed with them (mostly Kirk) what we would be doing over the next 3 weeks.
Arlene (computer savvy expert at Wagner), Kirk, and I sat down and had a short meeting after this with to brainstorm some ideas and see which direction we'd be going form this point. I do have 2 students that I am needing to adapt for and I really want them to take part to the best of their ability.
We had another meeting the following week to discuss more of the details of this project and I was a bit overwhelmed (and hungry -should've eaten lunch) afterwards. This is where I committed myself to creating this blog page! During this week my students also worked on a rough draft, of their report, that I will post on this blog page. This, I hope will help them them sort through their thoughts as we go along! They are also adding extra ideas onto their outlines that they would like to use (plasticine, pictures, drawings....) on their digital book report so they don't forget.
First Reaction-What A Great Idea!
The first time Kirk and I met was not to discuss digital storytelling but to talk about my classroom 'Moodle' page. We had spent the best part of an hour doing this when I decided to mention a book report my class would be doing right away. We had done a powerpoint presentation the previous year and I was wondering about this digital storytelling that he had talked about at one of our staff meetings....thus the story begins...
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