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Children’s Literature Inspired Comics in German
Wendy Burgbacher, Intermediate German, US World Language Department
“We first read a children’s book by Janosch and studied the style and themes. As a project, students had to write their own comic inspired by the story and author. They needed at least six pictures with a mix of narration, thought bubbles, and speech bubbles. It had to be in the past tense in the narration, have vocabulary from the unit, and the cultural component was that it had to mimic the author´s style by using the same characters, some of the same expressions, and a similar but new theme.”
Students had the opportunity to use any technology tool or even hand draw their comics. Tools that could be used: PowerPoint, GoAnimate, StoryboardThat, OneNote, etc.
Example PowerPoint. dick_s_adventure_final_for_real_this_time-trv4o8
Dick’s Adventure:
Short Films in American Literature- The Globe Theatre
Kristi McGauley, American Literature, US English Department
This project was an extension of the second trimester American Dream Theme in American Literature for the Independent Reading Project for Native American Literature. The project was an outgrowth from learning about The Globe Cinema while on her trip to SEGL with students.
Starting with a Theme:
“I want you to see the short films as an extension of the novels and stories that we’ve read in class. You should already be familiar with a basic narrative structure: a story needs characters and a setting. In the story, the main character faces a crisis that he or she must deal with. Along the way, the story builds until it reaches a climax and finally there is some form of resolution to the story. But to create an original story we needed somewhere to start. ”
Student Brainstorm! A Padlet (so easy to use and powerful)-
The Importance of Shot Composition & Basic Filmmaking Techniques:
“Distinguishing between shooting some video and making an actual film that an audience would actually want to watch is paramount. In making a film, you need to carefully consider the composition of each shot, the type of camera shot and camera angle.” Students analyzed composition by viewing photographs and still shots from movies. They looked for symmetry, focus, foreground, background and the rule of thirds.
Storyboarding:
Students storyboarded their focus/story using StoryboardThat. Example storyboard by Brent S.
Shooting and Final Product:
As per the Globe Cinema Smartphone Film Festival, students shot their final works using their smartphones. Students used desktop and full-size tripods for video shooting. Editing was accomplished via a variety of software including iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Premiere, Movie Maker, etc.
Students shooting video with iPhones and Tripods:
Student Product by Brent S.
Kahoot to Review!
Kahoot to Review!
Jessica Bartling, Biology, US Science Department
“I recently used Kahoot in the classroom for the first time, when our 9th grade biology students played a game to review for their first trimester test. Kahoot plays like online trivia, and it’s loads of fun! With the help of my students and other Kahoot users, I was able to quickly construct a multiple choice quiz covering a breadth of biology topics. To play the game, I displayed the questions on the television screen, and students used their tablets or mobile phones to select the best multiple choice answer to each question. Points are awarded not just for correct answers but also for the timeliness of responses. The fast pace and suspenseful music make for a very competitive and exciting game! Most importantly it’s an inclusive game, as EVERY student was enthusiastically engaged, even those who had been reluctant to speak up in class all term! I’m impressed by how easy it is to construct a quiz and share it with my students. It’s an excellent tool for students too, as they can create their own review quizzes and share them with their classmates. I’m so happy to have discovered Kahoot. I am hooked!”
Student Participation (Could use cell phones instead of tablets):
Create Your Own Dystopia
Create Your Own Dystopia
Allyson Buie, Reimagining Classic Literature, US English Department
This project was an extension to the “Handmaid’s Tale”, a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood.
“For this assignment, you will be creating your own dystopian world set in 2100. You will want to review your dystopia notes from the beginning of “The Handmaid’s Tale” unit to help you move in the right direction. Remember, dystopias are usually the most frightening and powerful if they take something that seems good to us now (for example, equality) and take it way too far (e.g. everyone is forced to be exactly the same). In other words, the best dystopias are “utopias gone wrong.”
Students were given the option of creating their dystopias via a blog/website, short story, or Prezi/podcast/video. Many did multiple creations. Short stories that accompany the following student products are not included to protect student privacy.
Student Example 1: An example dystopian blog.
Student Example 2: Prezi to accompany the short story.
World Language Exchange E-Portfolios
World Language Exchange E-Portfolios
Wendy Burgbacher, World Language Exchange, US World Language Department
An integral part of the Cary Academy World Language Exchange Program is the Exchange Portfolio. Students receive a midterm grade following the exchange just for this piece of work, which displays their reflections on their personal exchange trip experience. In recent years the portfolio has been revised so that students must grapple with questions dealing with cultural differences, difficulties they had, and what they learned, rather than it being simply a daily journal. This has been very fruitful for the teacher chaperones, for we can see more clearly what the students experienced and how much they learned from the experience. In addition to completing a hard copy “scrapbook” as their portfolio format, students may opt to complete their portfolio online. They post their reflections to the class platform or complete it using external websites and software. Matthew Glosson opted to post his portfolio on Haiku Learning, where he embedded his reflections in audio form instead of writing essays. He reflected deeply on his travel experiences and completed a successful portfolio as a result. Matthew’s Exchange Portfolio can be viewed here.
The tool used for this project was the Haiku Portfolio Feature which allows students to create a personal “website” in Haiku that includes audio, video, images, etc. The portfolio can be exported such that it is a stand alone website so that it can be archived after the student leaves Cary Academy. Cary Academy is also able to archive all portfolios in this way.
Tinkerplots in US Math- ADV Statistics
Developing Models for ADV Statistics
Craig Lazarski, US Math, Adv. Statistics
Tinkerplots is an interactive software tool that allows students to design simulations to test hypotheses. In Advanced Statistics students are tasked with developing a model that they can use to evaluate the likelihood of certain events occurring. For example, we posed a question regarding a man trying to cheat the health care system by pretending he was deaf. The students developed a model using Tinkerplots that illustrated what the results would be for someone that was truly experiencing hearing loss:
The model consists of a distribution of responses that occurred under the assumption that a person is truly guessing when they respond to 100 questions regarding their hearing. The students are quickly able to deduce that the theoretical value is 50 questions answered correctly but they also see the natural variation in responses. They were then able to ask questions about when do we believe the person is truly deaf or misleading and they arrived at guidelines such as 40 to 60 correct responses would indicate a person that is deaf but if a person responded to fewer than 40 we have suspicion that they are purposely misleading us since the likelihood of that occurring under our assumption is not high. As we develop more mathematical tools we can step away from Tinkerplots and use the normal distribution and formal hypothesis testing but the foundation for inferential thinking was developed through these explorations using Tinkerplots. Furthermore, as we develop more complicated hypotheses such as those related to multiple proportions and sample means we can return toTinkerplots to test our theories before exploring the formal mathematics that make them work.
Collaborative Paper written with ADV Biotechnology Skill Set: harris mccopin report-151iweo
Tinkerplots Video Showing How Data Can Be explored with the Tool