EDIM 503 - Flyer about Me

You.Com - ME

I have taken into very heavy consideration as to how much of me should be collected into one place for the internet to view all at once.  I have decided that this is the best place to house all of that information. I am aware that you may be able to Google anything and I will pop up but putting it here is easier for everyone.

I have mentioned before that I don't separate my personal and professional life.  I still replay the clip from The Hangover when Bradly Cooper's character walks down the steps of his school and refuses to answer a students question because "It's the weekend, ... You don't know me and I don't know you".  That was funny.  I could never imagine myself saying that. 
My classroom website is:
https://sites.google.com/a/parklandsd.net/thegreth/
This site is the most up to date place for my students to check out what we are doing.

My Facebook page is rarely updated and I don't look at it much.  But here it is:
https://www.facebook.com/JayJohnBob

I have a twitter.  I use it mostly for reading about sports or commenting on how badly the Eagles are playing.
https://twitter.com/jayjohnbob

I use iPadio for most of my work for grad classes.
http://www.ipadio.com/channels/johngreth

This again, is the first website I appeared online (in name only):
http://www.thewho.org/moon.htm

The most exciting thing that I have been working on for school is my Production Company's YouTube Account.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR-3g3eE3C3R7Bk2fQUHcjg
I feel that highlighting the work by the students and letting them view the analytic data will best prepare them for creating professionally.

I can only imagine how many more things younger teachers than I have in their digital portfolio.  I have always been conservative with how much of myself I put out for others to see.  I guess that is ironic due to the fact I am very open and honest to those who speak to me in person. I figure I am so open all the time and anyone can ask me anything I don't need to do it all the time. Being a little reserved and shy online isn't a bad thing.  Having every aspect of your personality created with pictures and short real time statements really will not get the nuanced traits of who I or any of us really are.  This is the challenge of teaching people who believe they are who they present themselves to be on the internet.  I ask a lot of my students how they find value in themselves.  It used to be Facebook friends and how it is twitter followers or the number of views on their last post on YouTube.  I think it is very interesting that as we continue to find the internet and technological tools available to reach our kids they continue to diversify their personality to the newest and most popular app.  This is the dynamic struggle that Educators face.

Broadcast ME!

The struggles of being heard effectively when you speak too quickly and the words pass by the kids too fast.  I think that if I could record myself I would have a better way for the kids to catch up.  Taking video of me would be awful. I move around too much and my gestures are way too distracting.  My voice would be much better.  I know that I am an auditory learner so I know that is my go to move.  Ipadio give the perfect way to give my students the extra time with my students and they can rewind and replay my words to make sure they sink in.

I have some proficiency with Audacity, the sound editor.  I think that is much easier and far more specific than garage band.  I like to edit my words ahead of time to make sure that I have clips to play in addition to the live words I would say.  I have performed in front of students for 10 years now.  I have given some professional development to my peers and that usually goes well.  I fall into a little sarcastic tone and that usually goes over well. My best PD was on the copy machine in the planning room. Entertaining and informative. 

The program that I created is on sound design for movies.  I have many different examples of movie scores that would be considered the most popular and the task is to write down on a storyboard sheet the visual images that come to their minds.  Using just an audio broadcaster is best so that the audience does not become distracted by other visual images.  The students will then storyboard action scenes or other scenes that will be imagined while listening to the music.  This change of production technique allows the video maker to challenge their creative mind by creating in a different way.  The three different music choices and direction will provide the students with a quick and varied look into this creation method.  The first is using a popular tv show theme to create using stock B roll footage into an into segment. The second is the Montage.  The passage of time using the convention of various images and video to pass time and move a story along quickly.  We will use the Rocky theme for this segment.  The third is a fear event.  Using a fear the student has and using the theme for 12 Monkeys the activity is to create visuals that will demonstrate that fear to the audience.  The challenge with this activity is to not restrict the visuals by convention of shooting or practicality.  

 The link to the activity is available on iPadio at the following address:Creating a Visual

I think that there were not any real struggles with creating the activity and editing the sound clips.  The only thing I would try and do differently next time is find a different way of broadcasting myself.  I think that the struggle I have with doing anything online is the feedback I am looking for from the students.  I want to be interactive in their creative process and I feel that it takes too long to get feedback if I am not there.  I know that I am going to need to make the transition into more online instruction but I really just like working with the students in the same room.  Seeing their process and not just the final result.  I have spent most of my online time documenting the work of the students in the finished category.  I need to keep searching for a better online collaborative site that allows everyone to share their screens but not be overwhelming if there are more than two people. 

Discovering Something New

The reason most websites are being researched for a classroom project is because the kids are not able to do what we want them to do.  Or, we have a new project and we want to make it more interactive or the students are looking for an easier way to finish their work. 

One of the sites I want my kids to begin using is Easybib.com.  This site allows the students to easily input the article, novel, or magazine information into the site and it will correctly create a MLA citation that is correct and easily inserted into the students paper.  The site does a very easy step by step process for websites, book, novels, up to 59 different specific options for a work to be cited.  I cannot tell you how many times I have needed to walk through the process and the kids just don’t want to do enough work to get them correct.  It is about time that there is another way for them to easily and quickly make a correct citation and put it into their paper. 

On the topic of writing I have found the ultimate resource for writing for any student. The Purdue Online Writing Lab is the pinnacle of the formulaic and creative writing author.  The processes and procedures recommended for proper writing can be difficult to demonstrate without proper examples and step by step guidelines.  This website gives you everything a teacher needs to ensure the students have the best resources to become the best writer they can be. 

The aspect about this site I like the most is the visuals it gives to really show the students what they should be doing.  Not only are they able to see the proper format of a paper but an auditory explanation of what it should be is available as well.  The challenge of walking through every student down the pathway of a perfect paper is not possible in the short amount of time in the classroom.  This dynamic and specific resource give the teachers more help in teaching and the students more help with the examples and the ease of use of the site. 

On to the newest video editing site that I have explored for my students.  WeVideo.com allows students to upload and have a dynamic and powerful editing tool to use on almost any device. 

The upload process is easy both on the computer and portable device.  The user interface is similar in both of those work windows.  I would compare the portable device editing to that of Imovie on an apple device.  The hardest part of using this type of editing is the specificity of an edit or audio adjustment.  Maybe it’s just my fat finger but getting the clip to be exactly where I want it is always a challenge.  I just may be too specific in my design for some of my smaller movies.  Not many people look to edit clips and photos to cut exactly on the pulse and tempo of a song. The best aspect of this editor is the green screen editing. One of the biggest issues when teaching video construction is the locations we have to shoot in allow the kids to be as creative as a school video.  The content of their work can be so much more.  The ability to shoot in our studio with the green screen and then allow them to place their shot anywhere lifts the burden of the boring “brick wall”.  It is really nice to see such a powerful cloud based editing software.  

The only thing that I am concerned about is how much it is when the free trial ends.  When I have a collection of students that rely on using professional software the cloud based version is not applicable to those going to continue working in college in this field.  It will be great for those students in my beginning classes as well as my English classes but is not the answer for my Media courses. 

Views Matter

One of the projects that I have been thinking about and have finally put into writing is applicable to my New Digital Media course. 

The challenge of teaching in this new medium of sharing videos online and their viewership dictates how "good" it is.  I know that shows like the Honeyboo's or J & K +8 are getting ratings and people watch them but are they really good?  The project that my students will be diving into next year will precisely decide that. 

The project is to create a 3 minute or less original video that will be uploaded onto Youtube through our classroom channel. They are then to take their attack to social media and get as many views as possible throughout the semester. The main goal is to recognise that just because your video gets a lot of views doesn't mean it is good and you might have a good video that may not get any views.  The only rules are that it has to be a video you are proud of (school rules) and you may not attack or sabotage any other students video. 

This also allows the students to use the analytic applications to identify and breakdown the demographics and the monitazation system of YouTube.  This is very important in college and the professional world to identify what "moves the needle" in the public sector and that is what gets professionals more jobs and more exposure. 

The "winner" will be entitled to some prize that the class will vote on and the evaluation process will be rated on the student's breakdown of their analytic data.  I am sure that most kids are aware of how this process works and the fight for views.  But, I think it will be the first time for many to try and get views for a better grade.  And that is the 21st century hard work and determination we are all looking for, right? 

I am too old for this Tech

I am really Bad at this.  I am not that old.  I am not that out of touch with technology.  I use it all the time.  But, I find that I have an old school approach to how I use this advanced computer in my pocket.  I am good at taking pictures.  I am bad at putting them online.  I want to be better but my heart won't let me.  I am not good at the whole put a picture up all the time to let others see what I am doing.  I know I am not that exciting.  I know no one will be following me and my thoughts on most anything.  I am not that important.  I am fine with that.  I think my complacency stems from being as PA Ducth as I am.  I like potatoes and simple meals.  Too much spice makes my stomach hurt.  Too much of myself out on the interweb makes my stomach hurt.  I am trying.  I tweet some times.  I started following more people. It became too much.  Why would I want to follow/listen to someone who I don't know?  Why would I trust these people? I am skeptical to begin with.  I don't think I have anything too exciting to say so why would I be reading all these other people? I am not old.  I do like the Old Fashioned doughnut at Dunkin.  That does not make me looking to put away my iphone.  I won't be trying to find many more people who I should follow. I know this is wrong.  I don't know how to jump start my leap into It.  I have an idea that if I did I would like it?  Perhaps that is why I am so hesitant.  OR I am afraid I will say something insulting and that would be bad.  Probably that. 

This is why I teach