Brian's IEP

My IEP project was to learn how to integrate iMovie into a high school history class. The challenge for myself was to go from a novice iMovie operator, to a teacher of iMovie. iMovie, as it turned out, was only the beginning of my education, I also learned things like keeping three students engaged when they only use one computer, and facing the myriad of technical difficulties which occurred. Certainly the biggest leap in learning happened during this first run, but I will continue to use this project with the students and, I believe, as I work out the kinks it will become one of the student’s favorite projects. The unit lesson plans can be found here http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dcsmq5nm_2f7pqph5h&hl=en and the Unit Directions can be found here http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dcsmq5nm_3gj799mgb&hl=en.

The development of my technical expertise was impressive. My previous experience with iMovie consisted of my hasty creation of a movie after the PC program, Windows Movie Maker, melted down on my computer forcing me to switch to Mac’s iMovie. (You can find that movie here http://www.youtube.com/user/bpautzke) Errors from my first project were making the assignment historical fiction, not aligning the pictures to the audio, not being able to cut out bad audio without redoing the entire audio, and not using any cool special effects. And despite not actually using a live video in my iMovie I now know how and can include it in the project next time.
Asking freshmen history students to create a quality historical fiction story and then a movie would be too much. Having them mix fact with fiction and then have to separate it back out is mind boggling. By making them write a narrative which asks no more than to review their section of the text book made both our lives easier. I can see in the future having them create and act out a scene which would teach the other students about their topic.
Originally I struggled to understand how to do technical tasks with iMovie, such as fade the pictures in and out and use the “Ken Burns” effect. Through this project I mastered the picture overlay, with one picture melding into the next to create a seamless movie. Becoming familiar with the “photo effects” options was important to be able to assist the students. The version of iMovie in the labs was older then the version I used originally and in the old version there are two bars used to control magnification and time.
Learning how to cut the audio was a critical point, the students have such long narratives that mistakes are bound to happen. When the students made a mistake I originally had them redo their narrative because I did not know how to edit out small pieces of audio. It was actually a student who taught me how to edit the audio and with that knowledge in hand the assignment will be that much easier the second time around. Adding in extra sound effects such as marching feet is a great way to augment a movie and make it more captivating. Sound effects, audio splicing, photo fading, title making, subtitles, and efficiently bringing in photos are a few of the technical aspects of iMovie that I mastered.

Reflections: This was my favorite project of the year and after doing it once I have found, if not fixed, the bugs. The most frustrating part of the project was not the learning curve with iMovie, rather it was the difficulties with the computers in general. My students had problems with their work showing up on any computer and often had to log out and log back in on another computer numerous times before finding their work; that problem took a lot of valuable class time away from the students. Another problem was with iMovie simply not working on students computers, or iMovie freezing on an image while the audio keeps going. A problem which was overcome by the class was that not all the computers had their microphones turned on, making me think some computers microphones simply did not work. It was not until a student showed me the system preferences/ speech folder that we were able to turn all the microphones on.

I really enjoyed doing this project with the students, it was a little rushed being at the end of the year but the next time I do the project with a class I expect it to go much quicker. I liked that both the students and myself had fun with the project while learning about the French Revolution and iMovie.

Assistive Technologies for Reading by Hasselbring and Bausch

I. Brian Pautzke bpautzke@yahoo.com 5/5/08

Assistive Technologies for Reading by Hasselbring and Bausch

II. Hasselbring and Bausch advocate new technology options for students with learning disabilities. Approximately 44% of students with learning disabilities spend 80% of their time in inclusive classrooms, as a result they are not getting the specialized attention they need. If teachers are able to use assistive technology then these students can be getting help from the computer while in the inclusive classroom. Literacy skills are one area in particular which technology can be very helpful; new software works with the student, helping them read and checking for comprehension before the lesson moves on.

III.

• Digital technology can be a lifeline for students with learning disabilities.
• Assistive technology (AT) has made great difference for students with severe physical impairments but has great potential to help out students receiving special services because of learning disabilities.
• AT is being used more often in special ed classes but can be a great help in regular ed classes as well.
• AT increases literacy in two ways:
  1. Provides reading support. Technology can help student’s access grade level text as they read.
  2. Provides reading intervention. Technology can help strengthen and improve student’s overall reading skills.
• Text-Reader Software: uses synthetic speech to read text aloud simultaneously highlighting it on the screen.
• Word prediction technology can dramatically speed up the composition process for students.
• The ability to have the computer read back what students have written is especially useful for students who commonly skip words in their composition.
  

IV.
The usefulness of this article lies in my ability to bring this software into the classroom and integrate it with my instruction. This is not easy. My class does not have computers so I would have to take the students to the computer lab if I wanted to use this technology. And since this software benefits students with learning disabilities the most I would be taking my students to the lab for the benefit of a few. It is really important to know about alternative technology so that I can take advantage if the opportunity presents itself to have it in my classroom.

The Overdominance of Computers by Lowell Monk

I. Brian Pautzke bpautzke@yahoo.com 5/5/08

The Overdominance of Computers by Lowell Monks

II. The article The Overdominance of Computers argues that computers are becoming increasingly pervasive in society and that that is costing our children in the areas of socialization. Monks argues that as a society there is a time and place for teaching technology but that it needs to be done critically and not too early. As teachers, we need to prepare young children with the tools of self-discipline, moral judgment, and empathy before we start placing them in front of the computer screen.

The danger Monks points out is that when children use computers at too young an age they do not recognize the power they have, nor the responsibility that comes with that power. He addresses cyber bullying and cyber terrorism, arguing that without the socialization and responsibility that comes with age children can have more power than they realize. The ability to erase the hard work of others simply because they have a poorly protected network is one example Monks uses.

III.

• It is important to wait to introduce children to computers until they can understand and appreciate their responsibility with computers.
• The more access to computers both in school and at home the lower their overall test scores were.
• Computers can provide distractions from work.
• Facing the problems that children will have to face requires a wisdom that comes from studying the natural world not computers.
• People will need to be able to weigh the costs on benefits of computers in their lives.
• High school is when it is appropriate to be teaching technology; prior to this the focus should be on teaching : values, responsibility, social skills, and natural world skills.
• The “Just-in-Time” approach is the best because the schools are not simply retraining students in technology which is constantly changing.

IV. This article is speaking to a point with which I agree whole-heartedly. I believe we are focusing too much on the promises of technology, teaching about online-communities and the power of the internet to organize and bring people out of social anonymity. More important is teaching them how to interact appropriately with their peers and how to interact with adults.
Monks makes a great point the timeliness of teaching technology. His “just-in-time” approach of waiting until high school is close to when I would want my own children learning the technology. Prior to this age I think it gets in the way and distracts from the timeless pursuits of nature and friendship.

This article is relevant to me as a teacher because if I believe in what Monks is saying, as I do, then it is my responsibility to help the students learn about the pros and cons of technology and how to use it effectively. Since I teach high school it becomes my job to teach students how to be successful with technology and hope that previous teachers taught them how to socially functional.

Participation in an Online Community

This was a great assignment which challenged us to find an online community we find useful and contribute to it and write a response about our experience. My experience has illustrated the lack of great online communities, and I struggled to find any online community worth the time it took to find and participate in it. First I joined ProTeacher.com which turned out to be for grades K-6, and then I looked into Teach-Nology.com which is a site my host teacher uses. Teach-Nology might be a great resource and forum for discussing classroom management and other teacher issues, but you have to pay $30 a year in membership fees.

The site I found the most helpful was the Alaska Teacher Placement website. This website provides good information through a forum on how to get jobs in Alaska, something very important to me right now. The negative is that I had great deal of difficulty signing up and getting my password, and then a week later my password was not working. These kind of irritating set backs are what lead me to the my conclusion.

My conclusion is that for tips and discussion about teaching the classes I have to teach I find it much more useful to talk with the more experienced teachers that surround me. As far as what I get out of a personal mentor relationship versus random questions with dissatisfying answers on a blog, it is far superior to simply talk with someone face to face. Online Blogs have their time and place but so often create a distraction instead of a solution.

A link to the Alaska Teacher Placement website is provided here http://www.alaskateacher.org/doku.php

Digital Story Board

For my digital story project I created a story that would fall in the genre of historical fiction. I would ask the same of my students. The story of Meriticles is fiction, but the story of Justinian I and the Nika Revolt are fact. I used Meriticles to explore and explain what happened during those tumultuous times in Constantinople. You can find the video on youtube here http://www.youtube.com/user/bpautzke . My story board is presented below. And my rubric is posted here http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dcsmq5nm_1gd5rphgp&hl=en.

When I use this project in the classroom I will make some modifications. I especially did not like that my story was not completely factual, for a history class it would benefit the students more if the story was factual. When I was creating the story I was too caught up in following the story board model which called for anticipation and climax and so sacrificed the factuality.

Digital Story Board: Meriticles

By: Brian Pautzke

Beginning- Meriticles’ life as a child, what his parents were like: a loving household.

Problem/Call to adventure: Reforms instituted by Justinian I creates tension among the people. Nika Revolt begins.

Middle: Destruction of the Hajj Sophia. Nika Revolt at its height. Slaughter at the stadium Hippodrome, Meritcles’ parents are killed and Meriticles vows to avenge their death.

Solution: Meriticles joins the army and rises through the ranks to be a top general. Uses his military prowess to take power through a coup d’état.

Closure: Meritcles rules for the next 30 years.

3 Helpful Websites

Pbs.org
This is a great history website. The website has valuable lesson plans that coincide with a show that PBS has produced or aired. For example, I really like the Civil War movie and lesson plan. PBS continues to produce incredible documentaries, search out documentaries by Ken Burns. The PBS site is also great for the science department with shows like NOVA and the corresponding lesson plans provided by the website.

Google images
Google images is an incredible tool. In my classroom the Power Point presentation is the medium for lectures, and the ability to quickly enhance a presentation with pictures or visuals of any kind is important. Google images is so powerful because it allows to very easily find an image and the link to the original website.

http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edhist.htm
This is a random teacher lesson plan database I found and use. It has great resources for history teachers. Recently I adapted another teacher's unit on the Renaissance which I found through this website.

Philosophy of Education Video

My philosophy of education features a young man Wah'fe. We share a great story although I doubt he knows the whole story. On the first day of school I thought he would be trouble for me the entire year, a varsity football player as a freshman he as no lack of confidence.

Day one he was looking around the room, head on a swivel, seeking out attention. I naturally find that attitude irritating and thought he was going to be trouble all year. Instead, he has turned into one of my favorites, constantly respectful and eager to be an athlete and a student, he has shown a dedication to raising his grade.

Making the video was both challenging and interesting, it is always fun to learn new software. My only wish is that I had more time to dink around with the program and learn how to do even cooler things with it.

You can see my video on youtube. Follow the link http://www.youtube.com/user/bpautzke
If you have trouble search for bpautzke philosophy of education. For some reason youtube has cut the last two seconds of my video, all that is missing are the words "while I am doing it".