Getting Techy :)

Have you ever been really inspired, wanted to try a whole bunch of new things, and didn't know where to start?

That's where I am right now. :) Well, that's where I was...

Next year, our district will roll out 1:1 computing with our 7-9th graders, which means all my students (7th graders) will have iPads! Because of this, I've been busy watching teacher Scopers on Periscope and following links on Twitter (where there is a ton of inspiring PD!) and am really motivated to find technology that will enhance my students' lives. Saturday morning, I was watching a Periscope by Kami Butterfield for ITeachTVNetwork, and Sam and Thomas both were interested when they heard the music. Sam stuck around (He likes to tap the hearts on Periscope! And he has a longer attention span!) and devoured what Kami was sharing. She was showing how to use iMovie trailers, which is something I've wondered about but hadn't checked out. Sam decided he wanted to make a trailer, and off we went. Something I NEED to mention before that, though, is that on Periscope, you know how you can comment? Well, I commented about my 2nd grader watching, and Kami gave Sammy a shout out. And you know what?? He was TOTALLY impressed! He became adamant that he make an iMovie trailer and that I Tweet it out (how does he know these things?!) He was so motivated by having a real audience and by knowing that Kami wanted to see what he could do. So I showed him the basics, helped steady the iPad, and talked him through page selection, but he had the vision, and he made his own choices. He was all smiles when Kami re-tweeted his link (and super excited that he could see it on You Tube!) Here is a peek! 



Cool, huh??! It made me think a whole bunch about my students' motivation to write and how I need to be looking for more authentic opportunities to give them to publish. How could/would their motivation and sense of self grow with more opportunities? Lots to think about!!

Anyway, when I shared Sam's trailer on Facebook, I tagged Sam's Auntie Anna A to Z Library and she asked if we had tried Animoto.  No, but now we had to, right? :)

I had been recording and taking photos during a carousel discussion my students were having Friday about the book Witness by Karen Hesse, so I plugged some of that in to Animoto...and...



So that was our tech-filled try-it weekend! I'll dig into the carousel discussions as well as converstations later this week, and I'll be looking for ideas re: real audiences for our 7th graders! I'd love to hear ideas and what has worked in your classrooms!!

Happy learning!!

Michelle