This is the 'boys show' I promised shortly after the girls initiated their own podcast program. The boys had very different goals. They wanted to use or be action figures, super heroes and special effects. The planning portion took about half an hour while the boys collected things from around the room to construct mini sets. They wanted to find a way to use the aluminum plate flying saucer so the show became a wordless story about an alien invasion. I added some music from freeplaymusic to create atmosphere. The kicks and punches look more like dancing to me. In fact I considered downloading and using Kung Fu Fighting as the back track! Running under 2 minutes both the boys and girls get such a thrill from seeing themselves in action. As a result I have taped each student 'flying' around the globe and will put something together with a focus on Earth Day and the endangered species we studied. I noticed lots of engagement and collaboration between the boys. Some of them had a real sense of how it would look when finished, others just participated for the fun of it and enjoyed the surprising end product. I hope this teaches them that the sky's the limit when it comes to creative use of technology and teamwork.

Just before Spring break we finished the annual drama project. This year I introduced a book , The Little Old Ladies Who Liked Cats by Carol Greene. Our Media Specialist ordered me a used copy from Amazon. I read the book whole group. The response was encouraging. Right away they started to identify the sequence, plot and the wide range of characters. For the next two weeks I used the book as a basis for exploring story elements including: setting, main idea, characters and sequence. After the first week I suggested they each consider what part they would like to play if we turned the book into a play. The biggest surprise came when two of the girls wanted to be dolphins. I was confused until they pointed out the dolphins in the illustration. We worked them into the play. A boy volunteered to be the cow and then realized cows were girls so we made him a bull who talks about cows! Next was the mouse character who decided he really would prefer being a bear. Luckily bears also like honey so we worked him in. Finally we had no volunteers for mayor until one of the girls suggested we use a princess instead. Good idea I assured her and we worked he into the play.

We walked through the parts and then work on individual lines in small group. I like them to decide what to say. The pirates came up with some funny lines as did the sailors. Our little lady knew just what to say and the cats got into character! Our last modification came when we tried to resolve the conflict. It was decided that the pirates be allowed to return if they followed the rules. In the end they get to join the navy. I used free play music to find snippets of tunes to underscore the dialog but the last number was a special request.

They all wanted to dance to High School Musical 2 so I threw in 10 seconds to make it happen. For me technology plays an important role because it motivates me to think in broader terms. The students know they are working on a movie they will be able to keep and share with family. I have explained the editing process to them and they gave me suggestions about the order and the sound. I showed them how the storyboard panel is just like the exercise they do when they arrange pictures in the order of a story.

Parents helped with costume assembly, getting the students dressed, keeping them 'quiet on the set' or occupied in the Media center between takes. Mrs. Foresman my Paraprofessional was invaluable giving direction as I manned the camera. Look for a short follow up to this vodcast where I will explain how to make these simeple paper costumes and the set. If you have any questions or comments look for my small voices post on my blog: http://ripplingpond.wordpress.com

WOW! Show number 3-0. This show erupted spontaneously. It was Friday morning following journal time when we typically work on a whole group project involving creative writing. I was finishing up the Avatar project with the boys. The girls had completed their parts and were reading and enjoying books together. One of the girls approached me and suggested the girls do a play using one of our Language Arts stories as their model. I told them if they could work independently and make sure each one could participate I would record their efforts once they finished. This motivated them to action.

All seven girls discussed their lines and then created some artwork to accompany their lines. They worked very diligently. I just enjoyed seeing their spontaneity, inspiration and creativity at work. It motivates me to perform as their teacher-facilitator. They all took ownership and shared in the project. I am very fortunate to have such self-motivated students. They simply amaze me. As for the boys, they were also working, collaborating and comparing their Avatar dialogs. I promised to do a special 'flying' project with them soon! Shortly before PE I was able to take the girls to our multi media room to record their production. They we very cooperative and poised. They are hoping to perform their lines live on our internal morning news for the whole school. That's Girl Power for you!

Kennesaw State University produces excellent teachers. I was able to witness the process and discovered the rigor of the program first hand. I listened to my student teacher talk about her course work and I watched as she prepared for her observations. Her role was actually a pre-student teaching role. Over a 15 week period she worked in our classroom, gaining knowledge and experimenting with various teaching strategies. As a parting gift I offered to show her how to make a podcast and used footage from one of her lessons previously recorded. I removed the audio and reduced it to under 5 minutes. Next I showed Helen how simple it is to use Pinnacle for studio editing. She caught on quickly and edited her own audio including several student voices as well. If you are a teacher you may get some good ideas for teaching patterns to kindergarteners or you may want to comment and add some great ideas of your own!

Each year I work with my students to produce a Thanksgiving play. We share the play with their parents after the traditional 'feast day' in the cafeteria. This year many students had new ideas about the play. We had all kinds of new roles. We had King James, Little Dove, and jack & Annie from the Magic Tree house! We also had a student play his ancestor who was aboard the Mayflower. Our resources included the If You Were There book on Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving on Thursday from the magic Tree house series and several short movies from our United Streaming collection. Because the play would have been very long if performed live, I decided to take still shots of each scene and asked students to record their speaking parts. The result was a product enjoyed by both parents and students. The images allowed us to see faces and hear the voices clearly. It's just under 7 minutes long but may give you (teachers) some ideas for capturing your own 'plays'. I owe a vote of gratitude to my Parapro Mrs. Foresman and my KSU student teacher for helping to coordinate this effort. I used Photostory 3 but next time I will pull everything into Pinnacle because I can export without doing a file conversion. This file was converted using zamzar.com.

And now for something completely different... Our PTA held an auction to raise money for science and technology. Teachers were asked to contribute. I offered, "Make Your Own Podcast". Perry, a 4th grade student new to our school and with a Montessori background won the bid. he loves drawing so I let him experiment with the Promethean board. He created several images and used them to make simple animations. I imported everything into Studio 10 and then he recorded the voice over. It took 3 afternoons, a total of 3 hours. We had a wonderful time and Mrs. Foresman my Parapro kept us entertained and supplied with snacks throughout the process. We all had a terrific time.

The Kid Chefs decided to make cupcakes originally based on a non-fiction recipe book featuring exciting images of cupcakes disguised as volcanoes, apples and much more. Later we looked at son www.HiMonkey.net recipes and they all agreed to decorate panda cupcakes. I baked oversize supcakes for them in individual tins to facilitate the decorating process. The little bit of green represents the bamboo pandas love to eat.

This is the second cooking show. The Cookers of CVES make pancake batter and then decorate using marshmallows and chocolate chips Would you eat their pancakes? See for yourself. I had parental help filming this episode. Thank you Mrs. Robertson!

Finally! The long awaited and much anticipated episode 24! This is the first is a series of three cooking shows, the culmination of a thematic unit. Concepts of language arts, math, social studies and health were covered using the cooking theme. For instance, students learned how to make dough by singing the Peanut Butter and Jelly song. They discovered the origin of wheat from the book, Hold the Anchovies. Curious George Makes a Pizza turned pizza making into an adventure. Creating grocery lists, learning new words such as ingredients, kneading and yeast, students found real world applications for their new found knowledge and skills. The filming was done in a separate room. It took 40 minutes to stop and start and go through the process. All that yielded only a few tablespoonfuls of sweet footage! Enjoy! If you have tried anything like this with your students please post a comment and link to your cooking show. We would love to see it.

If you are watching this now, you are probably one of my regular subscribers and this podcast is actually intended for the unpoded, those who have not ventured into the land of podcasts. I will host a Poster Session at NECC07 on Tuesday from 1-3PM to help persuade teachers that should should make time to LISTEN! Podcasts open up a whole new world of possibilities for educators in teerms of networking, support and ongoing professional develoment. I picked two of my current favorites to highlight, The Ohio Treasure Chest by Eric Curtis and of course, Podcast for Teachers, Techpod with Dr. Kathy and Mark. I hope neither minds a little publicity. People deserve to be recognized for their work for the community and I aplaud them. If you are a podcaster then you surely know about the time commitment required to produce them.

I will be handing out a flyer with my current iTunes playlist so people can get an idea of where to start. Naturally that includes, The Appleby School and EdTechTalk among others. My list changes often. So many podcasts, so little time. In addition I have a "coloring book" handout with a few podcasts mentioned. It is my hope that people will not only take a look at small voices, an example of a teacher experimenting with authentic literacy projects, but that they will begin a personal quest for knowledge.

I would value any of your comments. I know this presentation isn't perfect but I just had to say, ENOUGH or I would still be working away.

I will also host a Brid's of a Feather on Monday at 4:45 for educators who would like to compare notes about how they use podcasting in the classroom. Would-be podcasters also welcome.

It is finished!

The process:
Please go to my blog to read my reflections on the process of making this particular episode. http://ripplingpond.wordpress.com

Anticipation:
My work has begun on our final podcast for the school year. With only 12 days left of school I have decided to create a project which will permit my students to act out a scene they have watched all year long. They will perform a Cheetah Channel morning show. The Cheetah Channel is our wonderful morning news production. Last year our principal dedicated a room for multi-media and TV production. Our Media Specialist Diane Briggs manages the station with assistance from our Gifted and Talented teachers. Every 5th grade student has the opportunity to appear on the show or act behind the scenes as a technician. They do a remarkable job. My kindergartners once did the flag salute but they yearned for more.

In order to plan, I asked the students to tell me about the sequence of events and the different parts of the show. We came up with four distinct parts. 1)the anchors who announce the show 2)the students who lead the pledge 3)the special guests, and 4)the singers. I asked students to give me their top two choices of roles and then I made the assignments. I met with the special guests and they shared their ideas with me. The anchors sat in front of the classroom to practice. I was amazed how much of the morning script they had memorized just from watching and listening! They didn't want to leave anything out. My plan is to practice in LA small groups this week. I will divide the groups by job assignment. The anchors will write up their lines and so will the guests. The pledgers will recite the pledge from a written copy of the text. We will talk about each of the phrases and what is all means. The singers will practice their lyrics and hand motions. We will work on diction, energy and expression.

Next week I plan to spend one hour of Language Arts whole group filming the show. I will not tape an hour of film! I will only record what I need which will be no more than 8 minutes. I will try to crop as I go to avoid lots of back-end editing. Once I post the podcast I plan to let the students watch it and respond to it in writing/journaling. I also plan to ask their parents to write comments on the podcast. I've never even thought to ask before this! A note will go home with the URL, maybe the students can write the note? As I write I am getting excited about this project. They can't wait and neither can I. I think I will even grab some standards to include, for those of you who like to see how all of this fun can actually tie into the curriculum!

Our class went on a field trip to the Chattahoochee Nature Center. It was more than a walk in the woods. Students explored, used dramatic play and touched things found in nature. They gained an appreciation for the earth and it's creatures. Rebecca, our guide did an outstanding job helping the children capture her enthusiasm for the outdoors. I took nearly 200 pictures. I printed them on copy paper in b/w. Students wrote about 2 photos, one self selected and the other selected by me. The second day I had students come to my desk during snack to record their narration over this PhotoStory 3 project. It's 6 minutes long, longer than most but they are reading their own words and this can't be rushed. I attempted to convert the wmv file using zamzar.com but it told me the file was too large. I broke down and bought crazi for ipod by River Past. It does a perfect conversion and costs under $30. Now I will likely do more with PhotoStory because the students are asking to take their own pictures and want to write about them!

Georgia State School Superintendent Mrs. Kathy Cox visited Creek View Elementary on Monday, April 30. She was introduced by Principal Trussell and student anchors over the Cheetah Channel News. Mrs. Cox made her way around Creek View in the company of her two assistants and our Assistant Principal Mrs. Betty Swanson. This brief clip shows Mrs. Cox in Ms. Shields' kindergarten, and a 1st and 3rd Grade classroom. The 1st grade teacher is Heidi Holcomb, 21st Century Classroom Coordinator and Mr. Robert Theriault who teaches 3rd grade and is also a 21st Century Classroom educator.

The Making of WBEC-FM briefly chronicles my field experience project with one 5th grade class this Spring. I worked closely with Ms. Becker to use podasting as a catalyst for various modes of writing. The students were in groups of 3 selected by their teacher. There were 8 groups in all. I will post details of the project on my wiki, http://ripplingpond.pbwiki.com before the NECC conference in case teachers would like to view the plans and materials. It is our hope that these students will inspire other students and that MS. Becker will inspire other teachers to harness the magic of podcasting in the classroom. You can listen to the student work at: http://wbecfm.podomatic.com

I recently edited a short video for Mrs. McLaughlin in 5th grade. 5th grade teachers must all make a movie with their classrooms to meet their CIP (continuous improvement plan). For some this was a first. I asked Mrs. McLaughlin to share with us about what she learned from this experience.

This movie was shot as one part of a fifth-grade-wide project for rising fifth graders. Our grade-level team decided to film short movies to show the present fourth -graders some of the things that they can expect to learn and do when in the fifth grade. The other fifth-grade language arts classes will cover other aspects of fifth grade. Our topic was science.
My class spent three language arts periods producing this movie. Two days were spent planning and writing, and one day was spent filming this short movie. Students brain-stormed topics, wrote the short scripts, made or brought in all props, and starred in the movie.

The students learned to take a large topic, "What I learned in 5th Grade Science", and break it into main ideas and supportive details. They used all aspects of language- writing, speaking, listening, reading, and non-verbal communication with acting and props.
I learned a little more of the mechanics of a digital movie camera, that the students really did enjoy and remember many "big ideas" of our science curriculum, and that fifth-graders love to perform!

I would suggest to other teachers regarding in-house videos to pack an extra dosage of patience on filming days. Students may get excited and enthusiastic which can sometimes slow down the filming process, but it also makes it fun! I would love to make more movies, because the children really love it and are actively engaged in the project. I need to learn a whole lot more of the camera operations and editing process.

I filmed the entire movie. I felt a huge responsibility for the camera itself and was hesitant to put it into a student's hands. If it is allowed, I'd love to see what a creative student could do in a future project.

Kindergarten students tranform a Muskogee Indian folk tale into a play by writing their own lines. Ms. Shields transforms the classroom, Mrs. Foresman plays opossum and Tiffany, the cardinal helps with costume changes! This lesson was used to reinforce sequencing skills, story telling, paraphrasing, character development, setting, script writing and performing. Students also created several songs on this theme although only one was used in the making of this movie, "Wings are Better" sung to the tune of Sarasponda. This version is a draft. Final will replace version will be posted by 3-23.

The background music is a preview of Once Upon a Time by Curandero and can be found and purchased using www.magnatunes.com

Fourth year Spanish students from Alpharetta High School visited CVES to share their stories. Each pair of students read and translated stories they authored in Spanish. The books were beautifully illustrated and well written. After the story the students asked students if they would like to learn some new words in Spanish and wrote them on the board. Students also learned the familiar Days of the Week song, in Spanish! Thank you AHS for being such a great neighbor.
PS There is one word translated incorrectly, can you find it?

The men of Creek View hosted the 3rd annual Ladies Valentines Day breakfast. The PTA provides support so the teachers can gather in the Media Center for an hour of entertainment and good food. 'Young Elvis" Harold Schultz has been making the ladies swoon for each year. This year he was joined by a live band, the Blue Suedes! Imagine your entire faculty dancing including your principal and the CST.
www.bluesuedeent.com

The annual CVES talent show gives the staff a chance to shake their groove thang for the school! Under the direction of former Auburn cheerleader and Curriculum Specialist extraordinaire, Josette Perez, teachers, staff and our head custodian all joined forces to produce this hillarious dance number. You Tube may need to be notified for this one. This is a must download because you'll want to watch, listen and dance with your video ipods.

Glimpse some of our local talent in this brief sampler of performances. 5th grade students and the 4th and 4th grade show choir participated in this annual event produced and directed by 5th grade teacher Eric Bragg.

Two of Ms. Shields reading groups observe and record descriptions of their chosen animals. Here you can listen to the descriptions and pause after each one to let your students guess the name of the animal. Hint, there is one repeated animal in the group! Use this link to print a worksheet to record student answers. http://www.fultonschools.org/school/creekview/pdf/animalworksheet.pdf
Have fun!

On February 1, 2007 Creek View welcomed a teacher delegation from the UK. In addition to the UK teachers, Fulton County CIO, Katie Lovett was present as was Cassandra P. Herring from the Policy Director of the GA Department of Education. Dr. Herring has been involved in a learning partnership exchange with the UK. Our guests came to view educational technology integration in action. The visited grades, K, 2, 3 and 4. Several 5th grade students wrote and produced an welcome segment which was broadcast school wide. This movie was recorded during the broadcast. The UK delegates enthusiastically endorsed a wonderful on-line project resource, www.globalgateway.org. It enables teachers to form collaborative relationships worldwide.

This is the first project in a series of collaborative efforts to join two kindergarten classes. We are from Georgia and the other class is from Texas. The students are excited about getting to know each other. My students created self portraits and photgraphed them with my help using our classroom digital camera. Next they recorded their messages on my laptop. I used Adobe Premiere to assemble the project. The audio was edited using Audacity.

Tiffany is our classroom Peer Facilitator. She regularly visits our classroom as part of her senior curriculum. Each semester she has an opportunity to deliver one lesson. In this episode, Tiffany demonstrated her mastery of the Promethean board as a teaching too. In order to prepare for the lesson she researched available pattern lessons from the Promethean resources on-line. She downloaded several and selected two. She made some minor modifications to accommodate our students. Next she prepared an outline with estimated time for each section of the lesson. Mrs. Foresman and I participated as her assistants. When the small group activities commenced, we each worked with our own tables. Tiffany has natural teaching ability. The children love her too!

Each year Mrs. Grabel joins our class to share her Hanukah traditions. We make latkes and dance the horah. We learn to play dreidel too! This is part of our Holidays Around the World celebrations in the month of December. We also have a Gingerbread Man scavenger hunt in our Media Center, decorate a palm Christmas tree with ornaments from other countries and more.

Ms. Klaus just completed a unit on Robotics through her grad program with Leslie U. She shared her two bots with her 2nd grade students and then they shared them with Ms. Shields' Kindergarten class.

We just finished studying polar bears and fact vs. fiction. The students each chose a fact to write about and in this short clip they deliver their facts from behing their polar bear masks. Enjoy!

I have another wonderful class this year! Last year I began podcasting with my class in the Spring. This year I'm starting earlier but keeping it very light. I think you'll enjoy the variety of voices in this brief Thanksgiving story which will be acted out for our guests on Feast Day, Thursday November 15.

I met Congressman Price in my PJs! He visited CVES on WRAD day; a day of writing and reading all day in pjs. Students stretched out on slippery sleeping bags wearing fuzzy slippers. Favorite stuffed bears took flight and we all snuggled together to hear a stream of storytellers. Tom Price must have been surprised to see how the students were able to shift gears and demonstrate a typical reading center rotation using technology in the midst of mayhem.

Hope for the future! Student 5th grade promotion ceremony yields top notch speeches. These students use words to uplift and inspire. They are millenials, digital natives and future leaders.

What do kids say about Field Day? They love it! Listen to what my Kindergarten students wrote and read about their first Creek View Field Day experience. Recording student voices induces motivation to write!

Elementary students are so genuine, enjoy what they have to say! This is my first attempt at podcasting and I want to thank podOmatic for creating this wonderful resource and creative outlet for myself and my students.