Ellen Petry Leanse has a powerful story to tell of her escape from the political unrest in Kenya during the presidential elections over the 2007 Christmas holidays. She and her 12 year old son were there volunteering in an orphanage as well as other humanitarian work.
I first encountered her story January 15th on Guy Kawasaki’s blog as a guest post. Her writing moved me. Something inside of me kept saying to contact her and help her share what she and her son went through. As Google would have it, her email came up in the first try, and by 8:11 AM I sent off a personal plea to her to share her narrative through digital storytelling.
By 9:34 Ellen had taken me up on the offer and we were off on a plan. Since she lives in CA and I live in TX, logistics said the use of Web 2.0 tools were in need. With very little instruction, Ellen had read her blog post over the phone into my GCast account (I gave her my PIN to access it). The recording quality was awesome! My next step was to gather pictures of her events. By 9:57 she emailed me a picture to get my mind rolling with ideas. A trip to her Facebook photo album allowed me to harvest a number of great shots. I visited Flickr, did a Creative Commons search, and borrowed a few very well taken photos from others witnessing the events in Kenya. I was well on my way to helping Ellen and her son. Or so I thought.
Honestly, as I moved through the process, the story began to touch me even more. Then it hit me. Now, it was helping me. I needed to tell her story to others soon, and I had plans to present a professional development session to a private, Christian school. Their curriculum is driven by the Classical Education model(I can hear them shriek from here as I link that to Wikipedia ;). For those not familiar with the model, it is founded on a trivium consisting of the school of grammar (K-5), logic (6-8), and rhetoric (9-12). Students at this school must complete a rigorous course load that includes fine arts, several languages (Spanish, Latin, with Greek as a high school option), and a senior thesis. The thesis is based on a 20-30 minute presentation (after a year of research on a self-selected topic) in front of a panel of professionals and then defend it for a like amount of time from the panel’s questions. And this is high school. Wow! Now consider that they start defending and debating their work in middle school and you have some real world preparation going on there.
Since this was a curricular program unlike many that I had been involved with personally (although I had studied in my graduate work), I knew I needed some professional opinions. Enter Jen Wagner and Vicki Davis. These two ladies gave me advice about the Classical private school setting via email, previous blog posts, and even Twitter. Both offered even more assistance, but they had done such a wonderful job with the digital archives of their blogs sharing their work, I didn’t need to bother them any more. The common thread was found, and I knew what I needed to do. Not focus on technology. Huh?
I decided I was going to use digital storytelling to help drive home the importance of these tools for students to use on their own. My focus was the six senses Daniel Pink shares in A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning. Those senses really drive home the importance of preparing our youth for a continually changing economy.
Classical Education’s focus on logic and rhetoric in the secondary classes are a perfect fit for what Pink has in mind. I zeroed in on Story because it can drive emotion in a person. How you tell a story is so important to how it is perceived/received. The strength of logic and rhetoric from the presenter’s side of the table relies heavily on one’s ability to gain audience buy-in. Story can do that. Story can make or break a case in front of a panel (or classroom). This is what these students are looking for to give them an edge in the world outside of K-12 schooling. As we have read with the articles on over-achievers and their battles to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack for college admissions, Story can be more important than ever.
Here is what I shared with the teachers after presenting Vision of Students Today (both the K-12 and Wesch’s versions), Pink’s views, and renderings of revised Bloom’s:Blog post from Guy’s blog This post had an emotional appeal to it for me, but not everyone is as visual mentally when they read as I am. So there had to be another step.
GCast GCast Podcast (Click on MP3 link to hear audio recording.)Add to my PageEllen did a wonderful job of reading her ten minute post over the phone. Not only did this add to the impact of the story, it allowed me to have an audio archive in her voice to build on to the story’s presentation. And…GCast is FREE.
Animoto Download Video: Posted by woscholar at TeacherTube.com.
This piece is perfect for those wanting a short, visually driven narrative. It delivers the story (without the personal narrative). Animoto offers a VERY easy method to create 30 second videos for FREE and with NO hassle. I find this to be a powerful way to begin a writing session. Use it for the prompt. See what develops. Voicethread-
Voicethread gave me the chance to use the entire audio clip with 25 pictures. As many of you know, the audio commenting feature of Voicethread will be a great way to extend the conversation for Ellen and her son with others interested in what they lived through. I have comment moderation on temporarily until I am sure Ellen is ready for the conversation to take place. After all, it is her story to tell.
My last piece needed to be high impact. While sorting through the pictures in my office, I dreaded the time it was going to take to choose music for the background. A story this emotional had to have something special. I had my iPod playing in my Altec docking station, randomly choosing the order of songs for me. Since I was concentrating on the photos and the story they were telling me, I was just subconsciously listening to the music. That is, until Brandon Heath’s “The Light” came on. I started humming while I was working. Then the lyrics started coming out (good thing everyone else had gone home for the day). I got to the chorus, and it hit me: “Stay close you people with your broken hearts….as we move toward the light” That was it. Perfect. The good Lord blessed me once again. I fired off an email to Brandon (music minister in The Woodlands, TX) to ensure permission to borrow his song for this cause with the understanding that if he did not like the final product I would pull his music out of it immediately.
Next thing, download Ellen’s audio narrative, edit out parts that fit the pictures and music and yet keep the strong storyline intact. After a bit of time in GarageBand editing the audio and iMovie piecing the video together, I was ready. One week, almost to the minute, after reading Ellen’s post, I found myself presenting her moving story to a K-12 school needing to hear what she has to say and willing to learn about the tools it takes to tell the world.
TeacherTube Download Video: Posted by woscholar at TeacherTube.com.
Thank you, Ellen, for your wonderful heart and willing spirit. Your words are now a part of the many that hear them from this blog and beyond. I pray your works in Kenya expand the lives of the families you touched there.Thank you, teachers of CHS, for your open minds and hearts. I know you have the best things planned for your students. Your enthusiasm is unmatched by any group I have worked with. I thank you for inspiring me to keep up the faith. We can improve what our students face in the classroom. I will be your willing guide any opportunity you will let me.
Photo Credits from Presentations:
Ellen Petry Leanse
http://flickr.com/photos/tarique/archives/date-posted/2005/02/15/
http://flickr.com/photos/dennissylvesterhurd/
http://flickr.com/photos/iaindc/
http://flickr.com/photos/runningtoddler/
http://flickr.com/photos/lo_/
http://flickr.com/photos/7270375@N03/
http://flickr.com/photos/httpwwwactionpixsmarukocom/
http://flickr.com/photos/bjornsk/
http://flickr.com/photos/paulkist/archives/date-posted/2007/11/26/
http://flickr.com/photos/44222307@N00/archives/date-posted/2008/01/01/
Music in iMovie: The Light by Brandon HeathTechnorati Tags: Scott_S_Floyd, podcasting, Kenya
To piggyback my previous posts about design and photography and Flickr usage, I would like to offer this short tutorial video about online photo sharing. Thanks to the folks (Lee LeFever) at Common Craft for once again making this an easy to understand topic. So don’t let a little fear of a software program slow you down from joining the fun and learning of photo sharing. Download Video: Posted by leelefever at TeacherTube.com.
Here is a great list of Google Maps links to all types of mash-ups. Look at the clouds, track a package, explore and map the Bible, map 2008 campaign contributions, track terrorism, or even find a public toilet. You name it, it seems to be a part of this great list. This might even give you some ideas to try out on your own.
I found a neat collection of free videos that are online for streaming right to your PC/Mac for many purposes. Take a look at the following topics.
Teaching Reading 3-5 Workshop- This video workshop will show intermediate elementary teachers how to help their students transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Supplemental classroom programs provide further exploration of each topic.
Teaching Reading K-2 Workshop- This video workshop addresses critical topics in teaching reading for K-2 teachers.
Teaching Reading K-2: A Library of Classroom Practices- This video library shows the teaching practices of K-2 teachers across the country as they introduce their students to reading through a variety of methodologies.
Teaching The Children of Willesden Lane- This set of video and Web resources with curriculum guide helps middle and high school teachers teach the Holocaust-survival book The Children of Willesden Lane by Mona Golabek.
Write in the Middle: A Workshop for Middle School Teachers- This video workshop helps middle school teachers learn effective practices and strategies for writing instruction.
Teaching Multicultural Literature: A Workshop for the Middle Grades- This video workshop introduces middle school teachers to ethnically diverse American writers and offers dynamic instructional strategies and resources to make works meaningful for students.
These are just a very few of the listed topics. They range from administrators creating great campuses to science(tons) to math (tons) to pedagogy to many literacy-based videos. The registration is free. Don’t miss out on this. There is a lot of great information provided here by Annenberg Media whose goal is:
Advancing Excellent Teaching in American Schools Annenberg Media uses media and telecommunications to advance excellent teaching in American schools. This mandate is carried out chiefly by the funding and broad distribution of educational video programs with coordinated Web and print materials for the professional development of K-12 teachers. It is part of The Annenberg Foundation and advances the Foundation’s goal of encouraging the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge.Annenberg Media’s multimedia resources help teachers increase theirexpertise in their fields and assist them in improving their teachingmethods. Many programs are also intended for students in the classroomand viewers at home. All Annenberg Media videos exemplify excellentteaching.
If you found yourself in need of some geography lessons for your K-12 classroom, then do I have a deal for you. National Geographic Xpeditions has been nice enough to share lessons, projects, and maps on their site by grade level. There is a wealth of information available for educators to take advantage of.
Here are just a few of the items that the My Wonderful World blog pulled from the site to share:
Map your class! - (can be adapted for various age groups)Have students locate on the map (e.g. with removable stickers) countries from which their families immigrated to the United States.
20 QuestionsPlay - 20 questions with a world map!
Name Game - Have students name a world location for each letter of the alphabet.Name GameHave students name a world location for each letter of the alphabet.
Country Comparisons - Have students research and then compare and contrast two countries.
Map your community - Have students look at a variety of maps, and then get them to create a map of their neighborhood or school with a key, title and appropriate map conventions.
Locate Earth’s Physical Extremes - Maps4Kids - Maps4Kids provides a series of “top 10” lists about the Earth.
Locate Earth’s Political Extremes - Maps4Kids - Maps4Kids provides a series of “top 10” lists about the Earth.
Seven Wonders - Maps4Kids - Use the lists at Maps4Kids to have students locate and research the history of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Top 10 lists - Have students use other available resources to research and compile their own “top 10 lists” and locate them on the map.
These are just a few of the items National Geographic has made available. Go try it out for yourself. There are some awesome resources out there for free for EVERY grade level.
Tim Wilson, a technology integration specialist from Minnesota, hosted a session at NECC last year (NECC will be in San Antonio June 2008). The audience put together a list of classroom uses for podcasting. Tim blogged about it and offers this list:
Collect field notes during a science field trip Living museum, researching characters “Radio shows” Creating audio guides for local museums Teacher powerpoints Early language learners, (rhyming, etc.) Staff development Screencasts Language learners recording assessments Discovery Education videos Science reports Art projects Digital portfolios Weekly classroom news Serial storytelling Reflective journals Summaries of school events Broadcast school sporting events Roving reporters Capturing oral histories (family history) Podcast vocab words and spelling lists Flashcard practice with iFlash Musical compositions Soundseeing tours
Since podcasting is new to many in our school district, I thought I would offer this list up and see if anyone was interested in trying it out. If you are, give me a call. We have the equipment available for our staff to try these things out.
Any other ways to use podcasting that you can think of?
Fellow edublogger and San Antonio ISD Director of Instructional TechnologyMiguel Guhlin wrote today about Tony Stead’s presentation in his district concerning the literacy needs of primary age students. Having been a primary teacher in my early years, I know the struggles educators encounter in this arena.
Tony’s book, Is That a Fact?: Teaching Nonfiction Writing K-3, seems to be a wonderful step in the right direction to overcoming those struggles. Tomie dePaoloa says in the foreword that Snead’s books is the “first, middle, and maybe even the last word on nonfiction writing for young, young children.” Wow! Strong words from a respected author.
Miguel points to several interesting statistics from Stead’s presentation. The one that jumped out at me was that in K-2 classrooms, 95% of writing experiences were with personal narrative and story. Now I love the fact that these two writing styles are covered. There is nothing easier for a child to write about then what they know best: him/herself. And at this point we are all well aware of how important story is for the development of right-brain-engaged students. But I see Stead’s point here. What type of writing do you do most now? Me? Persuasive passages/narratives (grants), blog posts to inform others, blog posts as a brain dump for reference personally, and last but not least, emails. Nonfiction writing is at the forefront for me because I need to present facts in everything I write in my professional setting. Even grants, filled with dreams and hopes, are based on facts as we know them and predicted outcomes based on research. While I can include a personal narrative about my learning experience, it would mean little to nothing to a grant reader.
His research showed that 96% of all read alouds were with shared fiction. Yet how many kids incessantly about their vast knowledge of dinosaurs, bugs, alligators, etc? Should we not share more of these types of nonfiction books with them at the earliest stages? The library generally is loaded with them, so why not take advantage of them? Then load up Google Earth and show the kids where the animals originated or currently are found (remember Google Earth is on those flash drives we gave out during inservice). Stead even has a modified KWL-ish chart in his book for these types of read alouds. He gives students manila folders to keep track of their own learning. Linda McKinney and Peggy Rains taught me something similar when I began teaching. They used a spiral and the kids self-selected topics to read about and learn from. Personal Research on Basically Everything (PROBE) Journals is what they called them. The great thing about Stead’s approach with his chart being used in this manner is that the students share their thoughts and new knowledge and can cross check facts in a group discussion.
You can read Miguel’s notes of the presentation here. Or you can listen to the podcast of Stead’s talk here. He was gracious enough to record himself for Miguel.
Thanks for posting this, Miguel. And thanks to Tony for allowing it to be shared. You know sharing knowledge like this is what makes our virtual community better and our classrooms stronger.
Geography Travel with Rick Steves - 30 years of globetrotting for PBS has helped create this content
Language Arts Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing - one of the top podcasts regularly, great for everyone not just ELA teachers
To take advantage of these podcasts, do the following: 1. Open iTunes 2. Go to the iTunes Store (menu on the left side of screen) 3. Click on Podcasts in menu of iTunes Store 4. Click on Power Search in the right hand side of screen 5. Copy and paste the titles that are in bold print above into the Description box on the power search screen 6. Click the name of the podcast, and then click subscribe 7. If all else fails, call me to come help you out
If you find any great podcasts you want to share here, email them to me or leave the information about them in the comment field and I will make a post about it.
Here is a 
If you found yourself in need of some geography lessons for your K-12 classroom, then do I have a deal for you. 
I recently came across several really neat podcasts that you might be interested in:
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