Mini LACUE on the Westside

I hope everyone had a great time in Port Allen. I graduated from Port Allen High so presenting at a school that I attended is like being back in school again. I learned so much then as well as today. My presentation can be found here http://goo.gl/ymRjoe. I hope you find a tool or two you can use to bring back to your school/classroom. Peace Out!

I WANT my MTV!

SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: This post contains links to songs from the 80s so listening may result in Dancing With Myself (Billy Idol)

Remember the first time you saw Michael Jackson dance in “Thriller“? The 80s decade was ruled by music and for music junkies like myself it was Just like Heaven (The Cure). There were so many personal styles and granted we looked like a box of crayons just exploded on us and more was more (oh yeah…I am talking shoulder pads) but the one constant for a teen in the 80s was MTV music videos. I miss those great videos especially the statuesque women in short black dresses, jet black hairdos and red lips featured in Addicted to Love (Robert Palmer). They totally grabbed my attention so why couldn’t it do the same for the student in your classroom. Were we really that different from today’s student?

This was a Cruel Summer (Bananarama) with heat but Things Can Only Get Better (Howard Jones) if you attended the Discovery Education Network Summer Institute. I was there in Bozeman, Montana and I was reminded of those fun videos when Wes Fryer’s daughter demoed an app Called Video Star. She changed transitions while lip syncing Call Me Maybe. That is when it hit me like in Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics)….why couldn’t this be brought into the classroom with curriculum songs. Then someone did Send Me an Angel (Real Life) who had created fun educational songs …Lodge McCammon. His songs share concepts and even vocabulary. I am still singing 2 over 10 = x over 5 from the song I downloaded. Lodge provides the lyrics and even an explanation for the songs.

I created my own MathTV video. So What You Need (INXS)….a song, a teacher (or it could be some students), and the app.
Song: I downloaded The song “Line Up” from the Discovery Education site (search for songs) and when I downloaded it from the site it went directly into my iTunes. I synced my iPad and pulled the song into the app from my songs on the iPad. You could also download music from his website http://www.iamlodge.com/ .
Teacher: Now you are probably saying People Are People (Depeche Mode) but I had to find a teacher who would be willing to be the STAR of my video and who would not be Too Shy (Kajagoogoo). Her name was not Rio (Duran Duran) but Ms. Kaiser – 6th grade math teacher. Her teacher superpower is her enthusiasm.
App: I downloaded the Video Star App at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/video-star/id438596432?mt=8. There is a share feature that will allow you to email the video (.mov file) or send it directly to YouTube when you are finished.

You have everything you need…you can create a fun video with rock stars like this one starring Ms. Kaiser http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42xRfK_bfkw. The students will love it and this FREE app may just become an Obsession (Animotion)!

Now… it is your turn. Are you Hungry Like a Wolf (Duran Duran) to try this? What would you use for a music video? What do you think about Lodge’s site? Share your ideas or teacher/student videos.

A Board Can Say It All!

I love this teacher's bulletin board. Her board is a web representing Digital Citizenship and throughout her lessons the students take the topics/skills sheets (ex cyberbullying, blogs, collaboration, visual literacy, problem solving etc.) out of the yellow pocket (on the side) and place them in the web. This is a great way for the students to reflect on their activities and she will always know what she has covered.

Screenchomp!

I am currently working on stories of cells with a science teacher. We decided to use screenchomp http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/screenchomp/id442415881?mt=8 because of its simplicity and we have a cart of ipads. The students are going to use an image and then write on the pic and narrate their stories. I will share an example of the final product when we are done. Any other ideas of how you could use screenchomp or the similar jing http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html?gclid=CPzmmOfT5K0CFWnatgodExIzYQ as a storyteller?

Reading QR Codes With Your Computer and Webcam

Many of the attendees at LaLAMP were interested in reading QR codes in the library. You do not need a mobile device to read QR codes. Try downloading free software like Quickmark to use with your computer and webcam http://www.quickmark.com.tw/en/basic/downloadPC.asp Let us know how it works by leaving a comment on this post.