Over the years I've volunteered in many different capacities. I've served on boards, cleaned kitty litter, restored bee boxes, taught children English, pulled weeds, and brought juice boxes and goldfish fo snacking toddlers. In all of those endeavors, I've become a better person because of my efforts. But, even to make this statement seems selfish. Mostly, it's just a nice thing to know that in some small way, that I've made the world a better place. Other things that are an extra-added benefit are that I gain experience, leadership skills, empathy and compassion for others, as well as meeting some really amazing people who I would not have ordinarily met. Being in service is a powerful thing, and I hope to do much more of that in the future.
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This past week, I had the honor of representing my students' work at the 2019 HundrED summit in Helsinki, Finland. 24 students from New Technology High School in Napa, CA, created the Global Create-a-thon, with the help of mentors from Adobe, The Projection Studio and the Napa Parks and Recreation. In it's second year of creation, the students have created an initiative that allows students from across the globe to submit artwork which will then be curated and displayed at the 3rd annual Napa Lighted Art Festival, Jan. 11-18, 2020. Work will be projected on the side of a building in downtown Napa as a part of an collection of projected artwork from international artists, as a way to light up the darkest part of the season in the Napa Valley. Last year students created a school-wide design day, where all New Tech High students explored their creativity while learning digital tools for creativity made by Adobe. The resulting artwork was included in last year's show. This year the students have expanded their Create-a-thon to include artwork from any students from any part of the world. So far, we have partners who will be sending in artwork from New Orleans, Ohio, Los Angeles, Texas, New York, Maine, Alberta Canada, Switzerland, Finland, Brazil, and Nairobi Kenya. We hope to receive artwork from many more countries after I had the chance to promote the showcase in Helsinki this week. In Helsinki, it was a whirlwind tour and I had the chance to speak with educators and participate in so many ways. I was included in a powerful panelist discussion about the state of assessment in Finland and the U.S. I had the chance to showcase what we are doing with the Global Create-a-thon during Helsinki Education Week, as well as get feedback from fellow innovators about the project and where to go next. I tried my hand at leading a panel on Digital Wellbeing, and had the chance to meet with the STEAM committee of Finnish Educators to learn about where they see taking their pathway into the future for Helsinki schools, while sharing our innovation with them. Major personal take-aways 1) There are many people who are devoting their lives to making the world better through education. These people have tremendous heart, but more importantly, a drive to dream big, take risks, and harness the power of collaborators to make real, lasting and big change in the world. 2) When we get together and share our resources, thoughts, energy and excitement, we are empowered to further our causes. We find ways to collaborate, help each other and to grow alongside one another. 3) There is no hierarchy of people in the HundrED organization as we are all leaders, in our own right. 4) Students must become more a part of the conversation and process and the Youth Ambassador program is a great start to making that happen. We all have wisdom and expertise to give, no matter what age. Students, the greatest stakeholders in the conversation, must become more front and center. The Global Create-a-thon is an important piece to that puzzle. 5) Funders are wanting to collaborate. Innovators must be able to make the leap from prototyping to scalable, sustainable models. Funders are there to help us get there, with not only money, but technical help as well. At New Tech, we have work to do as the creators of the Global Create-a-thon, to develop our model and tighten up our message and approach so that we can better serve students and educators from around the global. 6) There are solutions and people who are poised to help. We need only convince those around us to play big, and come along for the ride. We must not get complacent or stuck in the way things are, but we willing to move toward positive future outcomes. 7) I pushed myself in ways I never had before and it was daunting, but totally worth it. Trusting that I can rise to the challenge, as a public speaker and experienced teacher, has lead to some incredible opportunities. I hope I get to do more things like this. It's energizing, empowering and very exciting! 8) I am humbled by the innovators who are working to solve problems that seem so big and so impossible. Issues that innovators seek to address include: poverty, refugees, environmental crises, political unrest, war, hunger, sexual exploitation, lack of access to education, and so much more. And here we are, in our little town of Napa, CA, working on supporting creativity in education. It seems so insignificant compared to what other innovators are working on. And although I know our work at New Tech High is important, I wonder how we can partner with others to expand my students' world views and understand our place in the broader picture of education around the world. I know more is yet to come and I plan to stretch and grow along with my students. I take great pleasure in the unfolding. Interested in having your students submit to the Global Showcase?
Hear directly from the students in my Digital Design Lab class in a video created totally BY the students!
Read the Press Release Here! After spending some time reading The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and writing a series of vignettes about themselves, 9th grade students were asked to then think of images that show who they are visually. Through a series of skill-building tasks involving using masks and selections, students were asked to connect the strong visual language of Cisneros' book to their own sense of identity in order to make a self portrait. Portraits were then printed with a large format printer and will be installed as a large mural in the public areas of our school. They also wrote an About Me page for their portfolios using their vignette writings and posted their portraits on their portfolios. Students were also asked to write five sentences in Spanish and "paint" their words using the custom brush tool in Photoshop onto their faces or other areas of the portrait. After watching the incredibly powerful Ted Talk by Angelica Dass of The Humanae Project, we were lucky enough to video conference with her to discuss her work with skin tone, identity and photography in art. Students were asked to consider their skin tone and what it says or does not say about their identity. We explored hex colors and what that means as a tool used in a variety of Adobe/Google applications and discovered that we are so many hex# colors, just on our face and that those colors change due to lighting. We explored lighting for photography and videography and how to use natural lighting in a way that looks great for portraits. Interestingly, because students faces were eventually replaced by a hex# color and with the custom brush tool words, students were eager to display their work in public. This is in direct contrast to the fear they showed at the beginning of the project when they had to take their own photos and were immediately afraid that others would see their faces in a public space. This project enabled them to show who they were in a completely different manner and all were very proud of their final art pieces.
This project offered an opportunity to explore how we present ourselves to the world photographically without triggering some of that teenage discomfort about how students look in more traditional photographic scenarios. This project was a great marrying of content from all the teachers in Communication studies: Spanish, English and Digital Design. Alex Weeks graduated from New Tech High, Napa in 2015 and is currently a Plumber's Apprentice. I was a student at New Tech for all four of my high school years, and truly I couldn’t imagine having gone to school anywhere else. New Tech was unique in its ability to prepare you for working with others. From what I have heard and seen of other people my age who graduated from more conventional schooling New Tech was one of a kind. It took me out of my comfort zone and taught me valuable skills that have applied to close to everything that goes into adulthood. The most valuable skill I gained from New Tech was the ability to work with others. It is impossible to know everyone in every new situation, or in every new job you may apply to, but the core skills of how to work around others is something that is universally applicable. I have worked a total of four jobs since my time at New Tech and all of them required me to know how to get along with the people around me. On top of that they required me to rely on other people, instead of just myself. Whether you’re working on a school project, or a construction site the most important thing everyone has to learn is that you aren’t one person anymore. For however long your shift is, or for however long the project was you are a cog in a machine and you have a job just like everyone around you. Communication is everything in the professional world and it goes hand in hand with learning how to work with others. One of the hardest things I had to learn in my time at New Tech was how to communicate with those around me even when I had a polar opposite opinion. Learning how to respectfully tell someone you do not agree with them is not an easy thing to accomplish and while I am still working on it every day. What’s even harder for me than just being respectful and communicating my difference of opinion is trying to find a compromise. Or in certain situations even stepping down from my own opinion and recognizing where I may be wrong. I am constantly learning and improving on this everyday, but New Tech planted the seeds. New Tech really did pull me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to be successful when working with others. The responsibility, accountability and critical thinking I learned from New Tech also play a part in my everyday life. But to me, knowing how to work with, or around others, and even just knowing how to ask for help when I need it is the most valuable to me. I use the interpersonal and professional communication skills New Tech taught me every single day. I’m so grateful to have learned such valuable lessons so early on in life. I truly feel set up for wherever my career takes me, and for any new situations life may throw my way. Introduction
How do we associate the practice of notetaking with getting good grades? As teachers, we know there is a clear correlation, but do the students? How do we make the relationship between scaffolding and assessment more explicit with students?
We decided that the students who needed this connection the most were students who had IEP’s and 504’s, but that whatever practice we chose, we could then apply that strategy to all students. This particular audience often has a hard time with short and long term memory as well as organizing or retrieving information taught from the front of the class. Game Plan
How do we help students to access scaffolds,so they can own their own learning, instead of being “done to” by the teacher or being swept away by a lesson that is going too fast or is too complicated? A logical place to start for us was in teaching those students how to take notes in class in their own words, so they could access information according to their own needs.
In Spanish class I started by asking students to write instructions on the assignment so when they were completing the assignment they knew what to do. Now, that they write the instructions on their own words I see that it is easier for them to complete their work. In Digital Design Class we often learn about procedures that get a certain result. Push this button and make this thing happen on the screen. Special needs students often would get lost in the long line of procedural thinking, either going too slow and getting lost, skipping steps or forgetting what steps needed to happen to achieve a certain result. I decided to use the new Note taking feature in Echo, our Learning Management System. I taught a lesson in photoshop, but instead of having students simply watch me, or follow along with me, I instead had them write out each step in their notes in echo. I paused after each step shown and asked them to then write in their own words, what I just did on the board. I then had them take a survey about how that process went for them. I also made observational notes about how the special needs students were doing, as well as how other students in the class were accessing their notes. What it was like in the classroom before implementing the strategy
Before implementing this I used to explained to students what was expected from them in that class period. I offered help and clarify instructions when ever they asked me. Some of the students used to take photos of the examples written on the board.
Before implementing this strategy, I often created scaffolding in the form of video tutorials, written notes and slide shows that offered step by step instructions. Students often did NOT access my scaffolding. What I hoped is that because the notes were in the students own words, AND they had been the creators of the notes, that they would go back and access the information. Results
After implementing this: now I see that students take notes without asking them to do it. Also I noticed that special needs students are completing their assignments on time without asking for extra time or reduction of the assignment.
Many of my special needs students, after taking notes, seemed more willing to go back and access the information in ways they simply would not, if the notes were provided by me. I also noticed that students with special needs were better able to follow the lesson, because we slowed it down, so that everyone in the class could take notes together. I often repeated steps several times before moving on to the next step. Special needs students seems to stay more engaged throughout the whole lesson, following along from beginning to end. Surprises
The overall confidence level in the room went up. There were still more detailed instructions and scaffolds created by me in echo, if students wanted to skip ahead, or they wanted a different form of support. But the notetaking seemed to be a great foundational option that got ALL students looking toward echo for answers to their questions.
Want to see our data?Resources
https://www.seenmagazine.us/Articles/Article-Detail/articleid/3503/rigor-for-students-with-special-needs
https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/effective-note-taking-in-class/ https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/note-taking-stations/ https://www.thoughtco.com/helping-students-take-notes-8320 https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/note-taking/ “I am so inspired by this project. Everything in this project was authentic and mirrored a real-world working situation from daily scaffolding to benchmarks and the culminating product. I could go on and on and on about this project – I am in complete awe that this connection was possible. I feel that this facilitator and the learners truly deserve to be recognized for all of their effort…I’m beyond impressed.”
“When I review a project and think, “OMG, I wish my own children would have the opportunity to experience this project!”, then I know that it would be an excellent NTN Best in Network project. I feel like the entire learning experience allows student choice, exploration and ignites a passion for learning….This project has so many valuable pieces that open doors to experiences that envelop everything that New Tech represents.” “This project required students to demonstrate professional level graphic design skills to create a product that would be shared with their community. Students used time management strategies such as Scrum that mirror what is done in the real work world. Students had the opportunity to work with a mentor who is a professional graphic design artist. I also really liked the use of “pay days” as a model for students receiving feedback and the facilitator encouraging the creation of valuable work.” “What a beautiful gift to the Napa community. The collaborative effort was enormous.” At New Technology High School in Napa, one of the first ever Project Based Learning schools in the country, presenting to the class and to community partners is a regular part of the curriculum. Students are expected to present during idea pitches, classroom critiques, as well as formal learning defenses at the end of the project. But what happens when a set of students refuses to present due to undue anxiety, or fear, speech impediments, lack of social skills, being on the spectrum, or just plain shyness? This year in my Game Design and Visual Effects class, I decided to experiment with Character Animate as a tool to help students get over their resistance to doing live presentations. As a part of the Game Design curriculum, students write a Game Design Document, a long document that speaks to what a video game might look like, how it's played, how characters progress to different levels, who the target market is, and a complete backstory for the main character. This year I decided to have the students present their game concept from the front of the classroom, but this time, do so through a digital puppet of their game's main character. The puppets were created in Character Animator and then were projected on the smart board behind the puppeteer (presenter.) Students were asked to further develop the persona of their character through exploring their accents, gestures, appearance and personal interests. They were then interviewed live by a fellow student or by me while we filmed the puppet, the interviewer and the puppeteer. Students then edited the three-camera shoot into one video using the format of a game review TV show or youtube channel. What Students Said About it"In my class, a lot of students are rather introverted, so we don't like presenting or speaking to more than a small group. In order to make up for this weakness, I think that proper use of Character Animator can help a student out quite a bit, especially if the puppet is displayed, not the speaker. As long as students have access to this tool, I think that students will be able to make some interesting innovations if they are given enough time to do what they want." -Jackson "I feel like once I completely finish my whole character, it will feel like I am him, but at the same time someone completely different. If I can become my character, I will do it without a second thought, and I will have Adobe to thank if I ever have that opportunity to come to me." -Ajay "I guess its good that you'll have a puppet to speak through rather than just presenting in front of everybody. I feel like people would be less nervous to present." -Jaime Differentiated LearningThe great thing about using Character Animator is that any student at any level of technical skill can create this project based on what they already know or don't know. Some of my students created their characters from scratch, going into great detail while building on their existing skills in Illustrator or Photoshop. Other students, who were more beginners, found that using the characterizer or an Adobe-provided template was a great place to start. Every student had some success no matter what skill level they brought to the table. ResultsPrior to this project some of my students simply refused to present, and instead take the zero. With their puppets, every single student in that class presented live and did so successfully and without anxiety, frustration or resistance. I heard loud, clear voices full of confidence during their interviews. As educators, we must always be looking to integrate tech in the classroom in a way that supports deeper and more successful learning. In this case, using Character Animator helped a very specific group of students who have been too shy to develop their public speaking skills. It's been wonderful to see such strong success for students who classically struggle with speaking skills and I will continue to integrate this software into future presentation projects.
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AuthorLisa Gottfried is a CTE teacher with 20 years experience as CEO of her own Video and Motion Graphics Production house. She currently teaches Digital Design at New Technology High School and at Touro University in the Masters of Innovative Learning program. She loves her job and her students! Archives
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