Benjamin+Button,+iPods,+and+New+Media

=Session Name: Benjamin Button, iPods, and Greek Heroes: Searching Between the Lines and into the 21st Century Literacies=

==**Lost in the Pages: Bringing Greek Mythology into the 21st Century with Contemporary Novels, Cooperative Learning Groups, and Technology - Sasha Schulman, New York: sschulman@bankstreet.edu**==
 * Concept: Students work in cooperative groups to read and analyze a novel inspired by Greek mythology. (Essential Idea: Organize Literature Circles by using a common theme). They learn to appreciate the lasting relevance of Greek Mythology as they apply their understanding of Greek myths to contemporary fiction. Prior to the unit, the students read many greek myths.
 * Each group (3 - 4 students) is assigned to read one of the following novels:
 * //The Lightning Thief// by Rick Riordan
 * //Lost in the Labyrinth// by Patrice Kindl
 * //Nobody's Princess// by Esther Friesner
 * //Corydon and the Island of Monsters// by Tobias Druitt
 * //Iris, Messenger// by Sarah Deming
 * //Goddess of Yesterday// by Caroline B. Cooney
 * Within each group, students complete the following jobs on a rotating basis. Student responses are posted through Google Docs.
 * Character Sketcher - analyze the development of characters
 * Conflict Director - chart conflicts and how they resolve
 * Word Wizard - define words and note etymology of the words
 * Fact Finder - trace how the author uses Greek mythology
 * Powerful Passages Person - analyze passages in the text and explain their relevance.
 * Though lit circles are nothing new, using Google Docs to keep track of lit circle documentation is the key idea here. Benefits of using Google Docs:
 * One of the benefits of working on Google Docs is that students are not limited by the page and end up writing substantially more than they would if they were filling in a chart/graphic organizer by hand.
 * Using Google docs also enables productive lessons in revising and editing. Students work in their groups to fix formatting, spelling, or grammatical errors before final evaluation.
 * It is a great assessment tool because it is easy to see who did what work as well as when they did it. Google docs automatically saves and it is also possible to get back to old versions.
 * Google docs can also be accessed by multiple users, so students can work effectively at home or at school.
 * //**Erin's note: I have some hard copies of some examples of what the Google docs looked like for this project. I also have a culminating project where the students work on an advertising campaign to sell their book, as well as evaluation sheets. Let me know if you want any of this stuff.**//

- Kelly Philbeck, Kentucky: kelly.philbeck@madison.kyschools.us

 * A practice of using brief clips (5 - 10 minutes) from movies to engage student learners and to illustrate an academic concept.
 * Benefits of using film clips:
 * Great motivator
 * Application to any content areas
 * Introduces/reinforces content for struggling readers
 * New way to stay engaged in learning
 * Provides visual supplement to text
 * Helps students understand and relate to new concepts
 * Viewing movies/clips in academic setting is a perfect opportunity to teach media literacy
 * Visual images help the words in the text make sense
 * Makes real world connections to content
 * Can make abstract/unfamiliar content more tangible (i.e. science - clips from //The Fast and the Furious// to teach speed vectors and motion)
 * Clips can increase enthusiasm for learning - creates buy-in for unit.
 * Some links:
 * [|www.moviesheets.com] - Organized by content area - great resource for teachers!
 * [|www.math.harvard.edu/~knill/mathmovies/index.html] - Movies for teaching math concepts. You can play clips directly from this site.
 * [|www.stfrancis.edu/historyinthemovies] - Movies for teaching history
 * Some sugggested clips/movies:
 * //Shrek// - Teaching satire, satirizes fairy tale traditions
 * //Wonder Years/The Sandlot// - teaching memoir or personal narrative
 * //Sandlot// - Characterization - drowning scene with Wendy Peppercorn and Squints to create three-dimensional characters
 * //Ferris Bueller's Day Off// - Use the (edited) introductory "sick" scene to introduce the short story "The Stolen Day."
 * //The Awful Truth// - Use clips from episodes along with clips from satirists like David Letterman and John Stewart to make some real world connections with Chaucer and the social commentary in //The Canterbury Tales//. Also use some clips of //Supersize Me//.
 * //Pay It Forward// - Show the importance of random acts of kindness; could be used also to teach //Everyman//.
 * //Fresh Prince of Bel-Air -// Use introduction to develop cause-and-effect story structure
 * //The Curious Case of Benjamin Button// - Use the scene about Daisy's accident to show cause/effect story sequence.
 * //Lion King// - Clear links to //Hamlet//.
 * //Scooby Doo// - Practically any episode follows Freytag's Pyramid and can be used to teach plot structure.
 * //"The Man in the Mirror"// - Use this music video to launch an interdisciplinary inquiry unit promoting change.
 * //Weird Science// - Use clips when teaching //Frankenstein.//
 * Weird Al Yankovic videos - Great to use when teaching parody. Also could be used to teach imporance of meter, rhyme, and rhythm in poetry.
 * Use clips of //Merchants of Cool, Supersize Me,// and //The Persuaders// to illustrate the power of persuasion.

- Sheila Newell, Houston: snewell@sfedshouston.org

 * Some New Media Descriptions:
 * New Media: Communication using digital, computerized, or networked information and technologies. Some examples may be the Internet, websites, computer multimedia, computer games, CD-ROMs, and DVDs. New media resources are constantly developing and evolving so the 'definition' of new media is also constantly changing.
 * Podcast: digital audio or video files which are 'broadcast' over the Internet and can be downloaded by others. Classroom applications: book reviews and trailers, readers' theatre, student writing showcase, research projects.
 * Discussion Forum (or message board): an online site where members can submit topics for discussion. Messages posted to a discussion board may be seen and responded to by any member of the group. Classroom applications: any kind of classroom discussion, reading response, reviewing curriculum material, collaborative writing.
 * Blog: an online journal posted to a website. Blogs may be private or public, though students should understand //that// anything posted to the Internet has the potential of being seen by anybody. In addition to writing, blogs can include just about any media, like pictures, sketches, video, and music. Classroom applications: an alternative to classroom journaling, writing drafts, reading response.
 * Wiki: from 'wiki-wiki' which means 'fast' in Hawaiian, a collection of web documents which are produced or interacted with collaboratively. Classroom applications: research projects, publishing student work, class notes, collaborative brainstorming, drafting and peer revision, course notes, etc., etc., etc. Applications are limited only by a lack of creativity.
 * Moodle: an online course management system for schools and educators. The software is free, and can be loaded onto any individual computer or onto a network. The software supports a social constructivist educational framework. You can set up wikis, blogs, podcasts, and discussion forums through Moodle. It's a protected environment that allows easy monitoring and assessment of students' work. Classroom applications: all of the above. It has endless possibilities.
 * Getting started:
 * Don't be intimidated - you don't have to be a computer expert to do this.
 * Don't be hesitant to let the kids experiment with the technology - they might be able to show //you// the way.
 * Lay out ground rules for acceptable use with students first. It works best if students develop guidelines for their online community together, beyond the school's acceptable use policy.
 * Have tough consequences for violators. Shunning them from the online community for a time works wonders, and having to write hand-written responses while everyone else is online is torturous to troublemakers.
 * Think about products and lessons you do the pen and paper way. How can you convert these ideas to new media?
 * Get involved with student online discussions and monitor closely, especially in the beginning. Students will love having you respond to them as well.
 * Sample Class Guidelines:
 * Stick to the subject at hand.
 * Respect people and their work.
 * Remember that EVERYTHING you post online can be seen by EVERYBODY (almost).
 * **Idea:** Use iPods to record a bunch of student Where I'm From poems, to reinforce the idea of not writing a cookie-cutter version of Lyon's poem. How can you get the student to write a poem that really reflects where they're from and who they are?
 * Students can listen using iPods, and then respond.
 * Students can write their own Where I'm From poems and record using Mixcraft or Audible and add music, then upload to iPods so their classmates can listen.

Creating a Book Trailer

 * Have students create book trailers (like movie trailers, but to advertise a book). This boils the book down to its essential message/focus. It also requires some media savvy. Start with kids viewing some movie trailers. Talk about the language, music, mood, tone, etc. that is communicated through short clips of film. Since you would be doing a book, use images rather than film. There are some resources for free photos and royalty-free music on the web under the Links section.
 * You could also show some samples of YA book trailers:
 * http://lonestarreadinglist.wikispaces.com
 * [|http://naomibates.blogspot.com]
 * Have students create a storyboard first with the words and kinds of pictures they'll use. There are many storyboard templates on the internet.
 * Talk about how writing needs to be revised for this format: writing needs to be succinct and written in the active voice - this makes a great speaking/voice lesson!
 * Create a rubric for grading. Also, set a maximum length of 60 seconds. This truly is a lesson in revising and editing!
 * Make sure your students' work is seen! You can post in D2L, at student assemblies, and even in the morning announcements! Trailers help get everyone reading. Plus, when students know their work will be seen by many, they put a lot more work into it.
 * Cool site for movie creation: [|www.animoto.com/education/signup] - Very user-friendly site for creating free movies. Free for schools with sign-up.

Some useful websites for wikis, blogs, and discussion forums:
You will need to investigate these closer to see if these align with the school board's internet policies.
 * http://www.wikispaces.com - Free wikis for education.
 * [] - Gree podcasing using a cell phone.
 * [] - Free blog site for students and educators.
 * [|http://groups.google.com] - Free site for discussion forums.
 * [|http://moodle.org] - Free course management system for schools and teachers.

Free Photos on the Web:

 * [|http://www.morguefile.com] - Thousands of free pictures and lesson plans
 * [|http://pics.tech4learning.com]
 * [|http://www.picturesfree.org]
 * [|http://classroomclipart.com]
 * [|http://worldimages.sjsu.edu]
 * []
 * []
 * http://copyrightfriendly.wikispaces.com
 * [|http://www.freeimages.com]
 * [|http://photovaco.com]
 * [|http://www.freedigitalphotos.com]

Free Music on the WWW:

 * []
 * [|http://www.freeplaymusic.com]
 * [|http://www.soundzabound.com] (royalty-free music subscription for schools)