The Swivel Chair

Over the past month, fantastic learning with technology has happened throughout 4th grade. A project that began as introduction to imovie culminated in 4TD completing their own movies on a book they had been studying. The Sideways stories had their premiere in our theatre last week to an audience of parents and friends. The atmosphere was electric!
It began with students armed with a digital camera in pairs visiting the Pearl Tower Museum and photographed away, documenting their trip and the artifacts.
I then uploaded all the photos to my picasa account which allowed the students to access all the photos and simply drap and drop straight into imovie….you’ve got to love imovie…even on a mini mac!!!
Using Picasa allowed the students to visit the albums on several occassions returning to find a better shot to document their experience.
Once 12-20 slides were chosen students added their voice describing the trip. We had made sure that a selection of chinese songs were available on itunes and whammo!!!! A fantastic photostory comparing old and new Shanghai. The slideshows are on Mr Dentons blog.
What happened next was the big change in how technology is being delivered at Shanghai American School. Todd Denton learnt imovie with the students and realized the endless possibilities………..filmed a selection of short stories students had been studying. Editing wasn’t a problem, as the editing skills had been established through the slideshows, and having the students work in groups of 4 - 5 meant the creative juices and technical ability was all there. Becoming a consultant and offering suggestions and work arounds meant students, teacher and Tech integrationalist all learnt the possibilities are endless when a committed team approaches a task.
The sideways films will be posted in the coming days.
Well done 4TD!