Examples+from+SJSD

by Chris E. Each year, my Talented and Gifted Lit students participate in our 4th quarter film unit. Though the unit deals with aspects of filmmaking like writing, directing, cinematography, and editing, the unit is really more about the collaborative process and showcasing formal presentations. My gifted students are notorious for being somewhat socially isolated, and I'm always looking for ways to encourage then to showcase their talents.

With that in mind, one of the things I always expect my students to do during the film unit is to promote their films. I want students to get over the fear of showcasing their work to a large audience, but even though we have a class youtube channel where their videos can be uploaded, the kids usually play it safe by promoting their videos within the class. Rarely do we get a lot of views from outside of our class (unless it's a family member), and our videos have never gone viral. The students basically circumvent my expectations by keeping their videos "in house." Unfortunately, that results in very little feedback, and the kids have avoided the risk of putting their work "out there" for everyone to see.

I think QR codes might be a fun and inventive way to get students to promote their work. By putting QR codes around the school (or even the community), other students outside the class could have access to their videos and offer feedback. I believe this would be transformative because I think this force the students to think differently, as they would know that their videos would be viewed by several hundred students (and those are just the ones in our building-- if the kids share or tweet the links, the videos could be viewed worldwide). This would have a huge impact on the quality of their work, and it would force them to deal with feedback.

This is a cool exercise! I plan on putting this to use next year.

By Cindy K.- @http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/13122547/figurative-language

(on your iPad, hold your finger on this link and choose "open in iBook")

By Mike D. DoInk Animation- [|The Dunking Man]

By Amanda T.

Sloping Intercepts with Cartoon Studio

Connie & Eric eBook reflection

By Lori J. This is my VERY rough draft of a presentation for 6th graders on how to begin to use garageband.

@http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCOHMuof7Z8

Karen & Carole's eBook