The 9^th Annual Shortie Awards is now accepting films from student filmmakers, ages 7 to 18 years, and their teachers.   The Shortie Awards is a film and news festival for fact or fiction films no longer than 10 minutes. 

 

Entry Categories include:

- Live Action: Narrative, Documentary, Experimental, PSA, Music Video, or Other

- Animation: Stop-Motion, Claymation, Machinima, Digital, or Other

- Daily News Program

 

Good luck!

 

A teacher at Dee Elementary in Ogden, UT recently posted a stop-motion video produced by his students on an interesting website, SchoolTube.com

According to the website, “SchoolTube.com is the nation's largest K-12 moderated video sharing website that provides students and educators with a safe and FREE video sharing webster that is exclusively endorsed by leading education associations.”

If you and your students post videos on SchoolTube.com, let us know and we’ll check them out.

 

iDEA is excited to offer four Saturday workshops on aspects of filmmaking that can easily be brought into the classroom.  No matter your experience with filmmaking, you will leave each workshop with creative lessons and effective techniques to share with your students in the classroom.

 

The workshops are:

Not Your Average Book Trailer: Create a movie trailer for a book (March 6th)

Personal Narratives: Document a personal story in a video (March 20)

Claymation: Bring content to life through animation (March 27)

Bells & Whistles: Lighting, audio, and the green screen (April 17)

 

For more information and registration go to Workshops on the iDEA site.

 

We look forward to seeing you at the workshops!

 

I think almost every teacher who uses technology in the classroom has experienced moments when the necessary technology just would not work.  What do you do when this happens? 

A second grade teacher from Pennsylvania offered her solution to such a situation in the February 2010 edition of ISTE’s Learning & Leading with Technology.

“Here’s a solution: Build troubleshooting into your lessons.  When something goes wrong, don’t stress about not finishing the lesson.  Think of it as a revision to your original plans.  Just as teachers model how to read and write, we can also model what to do when a piece of equipment or software is not working.  As you talk through the problem and what you are doing (even if you eventually need to call for help), the children will be learning what they should do.  And you may just find that your students will detect the problem for you.”

 

Digitales has interesting resources related to evaluation of digital projects.  The resources include:

-       an overview of evaluating projects

-       information about peer review of digital stories

-       digital media scoring guides

 

Last week a teacher at Washington Elementary in Salt Lake City told me about a kid friendly search engine called Ask Kids. 

 

The site describes itself as “a search engine designed exclusively for young people ages 6 to 12. It's a free, safe, fun way for kids and their parents to quickly and easily research school topics like science, math, geography, language arts, and history in a search environment that's safer and more age-appropriate than traditional, adult search engines.”

 

I received an announcement from ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) about an upcoming webinar series on K-12 technology integration.   

 

"ISTE is pleased to offer a K-12 teacher and teacher leader free webinar series running January through May. This series, underwritten by ISTE 100 corporate partners, offers teachers engaging project ideas, teacher professional development resources and focuses on helping teachers integrate technology in effective and relevant ways across the K-12 curriculum.

Microsoft kicks off the series with a webinar on Digital Storytelling in the Classroom on Jan 26 (1pm PST, 4pm EST). Attendees will receive a $5 coupon for ISTE's new book on Digital Storytelling. Upcoming topics include Digital Citizenship and Critical Thinking & Web Literacy. More topics are being added, so check back often!

Click here for more information and to register: www.iste.org/webinars/spotlight.  All webinars are free."

 

I received an announcement from ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) about two books you may find useful.  I have not seen either book.  If anyone purchases the books, let us know what you think.

Digital Storytelling Guide for Educators by Midge Frazel 

Help your students bring storytelling into the 21st century with multimedia presentations that incorporate sound effects, music, and video. Digital storytelling makes this happen.

 

You can build digital storytelling into any level or subject. Teach your students skills they'll need for the rest of their lives and watch their engagement and excitement grow.

 

This latest book from ISTE, Digital Storytelling Guide for Educators, will lead you through preparation, production, presentation, and evaluation of student work. Come away with an understanding of digital stories and the tools used to create them. The book also provides ideas and more than 100 online resources, many of which are free, that enable you to bring this technology to your classroom today.

Learn more about this book by listening to an interview with author Midge Frazel on ISTE Casts.

ISBN: 978-1-56484-259-6 

$29.95

ISTE Member Price: $20.95

The Computer Lab Teacher’s Survival Guide: K–6 Units for the Whole Year, Second Edition by Holly Poteete

Students need a strong foundation in technology to be successful in school and in the future. The Computer Lab Teacher’s Survival Guide, Second Edition, equips K–6 teachers with an entire year’s worth of units, lesson plans, and materials.

 

Advice on lab management, security, and ergonomics helps you set up a productive learning environment, and the hundreds of materials on the accompanying CD provide you with resources for successful lessons. 

 

Whether you’re a computer lab teacher or a classroom teacher responsible for technology education, this updated book with lots of new material has everything you need to provide an effective, current, and relevant technology education.

Learn more about this book by listening to an interview with author Holly Poteete on ISTE Casts.

ISBN: 978-1-56484-262-6 $36.95

ISTE Member Price: $25.85

 

Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers could be a great opportunity for iDEA teachers to use filmmaking to teach science.  The grant proposal deadline is January 18^th. 

From http://tapestry.nsta.org/ -

“Toyota TAPESTRY recognizes outstanding educators who are making a difference by demonstrating excellence and creativity in science teaching. Since 1991 the program has awarded more than $8.6 million to 1,068 teams of teachers for innovative science classroom projects. Thanks to these teachers’ tireless efforts to improve their skills and increase their effectiveness, students nationwide are gaining a better understanding of science principles and methodologies. Toyota and NSTA sincerely hope these grants continue to inspire teachers and serve as a catalyst for lifetime science learning.

A partnership between Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and the National Science Teachers Association, the Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program offers grants to K–12 science teachers for innovative projects that enhance science education in the school and/or school district. 50 large grants and a minimum of 20 mini-grants, totaling $550,000 in all, will be awarded this year. To apply for funding, qualified teachers must write a Toyota TAPESTRY proposal according to the proposal requirements. The deadline for the completion of the online application is 11:59 P.M. EST Monday, January 18, 2010. Recipients of Toyota TAPESTRY grants will be notified by March 4, 2010. Non-recipients will be notified by May 31, 2010.”

 

Here is a possible funding resource for teachers.  The following is from the Jordan Fundamentals website.

"The Jordan Fundamentals Grant Program was established in 1999 to recognize outstanding teaching and instructional creativity in public secondary schools that serve economically disadvantaged students. If you and your students have a special project that requires funding or would like to create a project that helps education reach new heights, please View the Guidelines and apply for a Jordan Fundamentals grant today.

Innovation Grants: Grants averaging $5,000 will be awarded to individual teachers for projects that will impact classroom innovation and improve instruction.

Inspiration Grants: Previous awardees of Innovation Grants may apply for an Inspiration Grant. Grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 will be awarded to teams of teachers to support scaling-up the implementation of successful approaches developed with Innovation Grants."

Let us know if you apply for one of their grants.  Good luck!