A DIGITAL PHOTO PRESENTATION OF NON-TRADITIONAL BOOKS ON EXHIBIT AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS

The purpose of this final lesson is to create a template which will serve as a model for   4^th and 5^th grade students to use as a guide for the desired quality and workmanship in the creation of their non-traditional books. During the 2008-2009 school year, the National Museum of Women in the Arts offered Seaton a partnership in their Bridging Communities museum-school program.  NMWA described this program as an “interdisciplinary” museum-school program for two area elementary schools.   Throughout the year, professional authors, illustrators and artists visited our classroom at Seaton and led workshops on book art.  During these visits, students explored illustration techniques such as cut-paper collage and experimented with creative writing exercises.  Each student researched and selected their favorite artists to highlight in non-traditional form. This book will feature actual book products created by students their own age.  If the students were to go to the museum to view handmade books, chances are that they would only see books made by adult artist/illustrators.  The students may be intimidated by these products on exhibit and feel discouraged from attempting to make their own handmade books.  This digital book guide featuring books similar to what the students are expected to design would hopefully serve to positively strengthen their confidence and self-esteem and further their quest and desire for authorship at a young age.

My dilemma in creating my final project was deciding which aspect of digital media to use to feature the non-traditional books created by the 4^th and 5^th grade students at Seaton Elementary.  I selected the  “In Design” program to feature these books because I thought it would be fun and interesting to create a “book” to showcase  students’ books.   I wanted somehow to present each book individually.  “In Design” seemed to be the simplest way to create a multiple page document in one shot and save it as a pdf.  Other programs would have required me to use a new document for each page.  Additionally, I used master pages for the static elements so that I didn’t have to copy and paste the master elements.

To start, each book was digitally photographed and shown using an interactive pdf to show the product.   The students were introduced to the DCPS Standards to set the parameter for learning.  This being an interdisciplinary lesson, the integration of the visual arts, language arts and social studies was the goal.  The standards are highlighted in the book along with the student book creations.

Visual Arts Standards:

Artistic Perception: Develop perceptual skills, analyze elements of art and the principles of design

5.1.1      Use knowledge of all elements of art to analyze similarities and differences in works of art and in the environment.

5.1.5.   Identify, name, and describe the principles of design in visual compositions,           emphasizing unity and harmony.

Production and Creative Expression: Skills, Processes, Materials and Tools

5.2.1.     Maintain the workspace, materials, and tools responsibly and safely.

5.2.8.     Use the principles of unity and harmony to create an assemblage (a found object sculpture) or mixed media two-dimensional composition that communicates a universal theme.

Connections, Relationships, and Applications: Connections and Applications

5.5.1. Write and illustrate a book (using book arts) implementing the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing/proofreading, publishing/presenting) demonstrating a unified drawing style.

Language Arts Standards:

Research    4.R.1. Identify and apply steps in conducting and reporting research.  Use computer input devices effectively (e.g., keyboard, touch screens, glide pads, mouse, launch-and-quit applications.)

Literary Text    5.LT-LNF.6. Describe the narrative structure of biographies and the themes or central ideas contained in them.

Informational Text Expository Text 5.IT-E.3. Compare (and contrast) the author’s purpose in informational selections on the same topic.

Social Studies Standards:

Grade 5 Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills

Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View

1. Students analyze societies in terms of the following themes, military,

political, economics, social, religious, and intellectual.

1. Students differentiate between primary and secondary sources and know                        examples of each.

1. Students pose relevant questions about events they encounter in historical        documents, eyewitness accounts, oral histories, letters, diaries, artifacts, photographs, maps, artworks, and architecture.

1. Students use non-text primary and secondary sources, such as maps, charts, graphs, photographs, works of art, and technical charts.

After viewing the books in the book,  students will have a clear idea as to the quality of work that is expected in their work.

book_making

In a city such as Washington, DC, where the museums are plentiful, free and the perfect place to support learning outside the classroom, why do we educators (some, not all)  take full advantage of this golden opportunity?  I often wonder, what is keeping us contained in the classroom?  Is it all the paperwork (lesson plan and permission slips) that must be completed and received before a planned fieldtrip is granted?  Is it that, for whatever reason, your principal will not allow you to go because of upcoming testing?  Or, is it that the teacher does not know how to plan a fieldtrip to the museum?  If it is the latter, we educators must do something to correct this situation.  Fortunately, my school is located in the heart of the city where for transportation to the museums, I have a choice of metrorail,  metrobus or even walking to the museums with my students.  And my students and I take full advantage of the close proximity.   Many of you,  however, may not be quite as fortunate,  but with proper planning, it can be done. It should be mandatory that each class in the DC Public Schools travel to at least one museum per year.  I feel that this is a reasonable request for a teacher.  One rule of thumb when planning a museum visit is that there must be a plan of action.  Once we get there, what will we do?  There should be definite pre-visit, and post-visit activities planned with the goal and purpose of the visit made clear to the students.  The learning experiences should be tied into something that is already being taught or will be taught in the classroom, and strategies and expectations for learning must be detailed so that the student can make the most of their visit. Also keep in mind that most museums have museum-educators on staff who stand ready and available to assist you in planning your visit.   These museum educators may be able to offer you worksheets and other relevant materials for preparing students for what is to be gained from their experience.  Or sometimes, there may be a docent or volunteer who can arrange for an art activity to be done right there in the museum.  We have too many museums here in Washington for each and every one of them to be filled with school children every day.  What a wonderful way to support classroom instruction!

Digital-Storytelling, briefly defined, refers to using computer based tools to tell a story.

The Tools Used:

•Computer-based images

•Text

•Recorded audio narration

•Video clips

•Music

Main Characteristics:

•Develops real-world connections

•Shared electronically

•Short-Length

•Focuses on a specific topic

•Experiential

•Interactive

Digital Storytelling Incorporates:

•Historical events

•Personal life experiences

•Community life

http://www.dclibrary.org/node/4955

This is a You Tube clip showing how 3rd grade elementary students used digital storytelling to create a Wikipedia page about the Shiloh Baptist Church, a neighborhood church near the Seaton Elementary School in the heart of the Shaw Community in Washington, DC. These students were introduced to the use of storytelling to detail the history of a community church.

Digital Storytelling can be found in:

•Business Settings

•The Classroom

Elements of Digital Storytelling:

•Point of View

•Dramatic Question

•Emotional Content

•Your Voice

•Soundtrack

•Economy

•Pacing

Standards for Digital Storytelling:

•Media

•Action

•Relationship

•Context

•Communication

Interactive Digital Storytelling

Interactive digital storytelling is a mixture

of game design  and cinematic storytelling

for entertainment applications that provide a bridge

between traditional narrative techniques  and

conversations with virtual characters. The term

“interactive storytelling” was   coined by Chris

Crawford, a developer of  computer entertainment.

What makes it interactive?

•Human computer interactions

•Action in the story structure within a game

•Focuses on drama and dynamic circumstances

•Interactions can influence the story – cause and effect

•Users change their roles

–Audience members to participants

•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8rJ1WML60Y

This is an example of an interactive story entitled: “The Time Machine:  ”Sorry, We’re Late For A Meeting.”   The audience goes from witnessing the story to directly affecting the cause, effect and outcome of the story.

Other Characteristics:

•Learning occurs through simulations

•Factual information can be conveyed through dialogue of the characters

•Includes role playing games

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbOfaBwt4yc

“Next Media: Who Cares About Interactive Storytelling.”

This is a revealing panel discussion about  interactive narrative-based projects.

Digital Storytelling in the Classroom

How it helps:

•Teaches imaging techniques

•Develops decision-making skills

•Encourages collaborative work

•Strengthens reading, writing and research skills

•Motivates students

The Process:

•Write

•Revise

•Storyboard generator

•In computer lab, classroom computer, or at home

–Obtain resources (images, audio clips, etc.)

–Create the digital story

–Add images, text, audio clips, & video

•Share (in class or on the web)

Resources for Digital Storytelling in the Classroom:

•Revision:

–http://techteachers.com/digstory/gradclass/rubrics.htm%20|Storyboard

–http://www.schoolhousevideo.org/Pages/Storyboard.pdf

•Story Board Generator:

–http://www.everythingesl.net/downloads/storyboard.pdf

Classroom Management and Integration:

•Digital Storytelling Lesson Plan

–http://digitalstory2007.blogspot.com/2008/01/digital-storytelling-lesson-plan.html

•A Practical Classroom Management Strategy

–http://terry-freedman.org.uk/artman/publish/printer_804.php/Digital

•Video Production for Students

–http://kidsvid.altec.org/index.html

•Digital Storytelling Across the Curriculum

–http://www.thecreativeeducator.com/v05/stories

Tools for Digital Storytelling:

Video.

•The Flip Camera

–http://www.theflip.com/products_flip_ultra.shtml

–http://community.discoveryeducation.com/files/media_matters/Flip%20Cam.ppt

•iMovie

–http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/|iMovie

–http://www.usingmac.com/2008/9/25/imovie-08-the-quick-shortcuts (tutorial for iMovie)

•Windows Moviemaker

–http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx

Images and Audio:

•Bernie Dodge’s Webquest Site

–http://webquest.org/freemedia.htm

•Garageband

–http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/|Garageband

•Audacity

–http://audacity.sourceforge.net/|Audacity

•Iphoto

–http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/|iPhoto

• Picassa by Google

–http://picasa.google.com/mac/|Picassa

Evaluating Digital Stories:

Tools for Evaluation.

• Sample rubrics

–http://techteachers.com/digstory/gradclass/rubrics.htm

• Developing Assessments

–http://www.jasonohler.com/storytelling/assessment.cfm

The Standards.

•Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling:

–http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/alignment.html

•Digital Storytelling for the Science Classroom:

–http://beyond-school.org/2007/12/07/one-for-the-science-teachers-a-new-crop-of-sci-tubes/

Copyright Issues with Digital Media:

•Links on Copyright:

–http://www.diigo.com/user/chrisbell/fairuse?tab=250|

•Links on Fair Use

–http://www.diigo.com/user/chrisbell/fairuse?tab=250

I will create a website which will feature an e-portfolio of actual product samples and pictures of students involved in book-making along with a lesson for 5th graders using recyclables to make non-traditional handmade books.  The idea for this lesson resulted from a 2-year partnership with the National Museum of Women in the Arts as a part of the “Bridging Communities: People and Places” exhibition.  In this unit, there will be evidence of student learning using the following instructional components:

Museum-Based Learning

Project-Based Learning

Cross-Curricular Arts Integration

Collaborative Teaching

Thematic Inquiry

During the 2007-2008 school year, the museum invited Seaton to partner with a Virginia school for a bookmaking project.  In this partnership, Seaton’s students read biographies about famous people they admired and who had served as an inspiration to them.  They selected one of these famous people to write about in the form of a non-traditional book.  As a result of this successful partnership with the National Museum of Women in the Arts, in 2008-09, the museum once again invited Seaton to be a part of a year long partnership with another Virginia school, the Hoffman-Boston Elementary in Arlington, Virginia.  During the 2008-2009 school year, the fourth and fifth graders from Seaton created their own artists’ books.  Seaton’s students selected an artist who had inspired them in some way as an artist and Hoffman-Boston’s students wrote about ancient civilizations.

Throughout the year, professional authors, illustrators, and artists visited Seaton’s classrooms and led workshops.  During these visits, students explored illustration techniques such as cut-paper collage and experimented with creative writing exercises.  Together, both schools visited the National Museum of Women in the Arts to see examples of artists’ books in its’ collection, to view artworks that represent ideas of community, and to allow for the students to get to know each other.

Bridging Communities supports standards of learning in the visual arts and language arts.  Through interaction with well-known authors, artists and illustrators, the students developed an understanding of the steps involved in writing, illustrating, and publishing books and were inspired to express themselves creatively with words and images.  By bringing together students from two schools, this program built relationships and improved communication skills amongst students from different communities.

Bridging Communities:  People and Places

Standards to be addressed in this unit:

Visual Arts Standards:

Artistic Perception: Develop perceptual skills, analyze elements of art and the principles of design

5.1.1      Use knowledge of all elements of art to analyze similarities and differences in works of art and in the environment.

5.1.5.   Identify, name, and describe the principles of design in visual compositions,           emphasizing unity and harmony.

Production and Creative Expression: Skills, Processes, Materials and Tools

5.2.1.     Maintain the workspace, materials, and tools responsibly and safely.

5.2.8.     Use the principles of unity and harmony to create an assemblage (a found object sculpture) or mixed media two-dimensional composition that communicates a universal theme.

Connections, Relationships, and Applications:

5.5.1. Write and illustrate a book (using book arts) implementing the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing/proofreading, publishing/presenting) demonstrating a unified drawing style.

Language Arts Standards:

Research    4.R.1. Identify and apply steps in conducting and reporting research.  Use computer input devices effectively (e.g., keyboard, touch screens, glide pads, mouse, launch-and-quit applications.)

Literary Text    5.LT-LNF.6. Describe the narrative structure of biographies and the themes or central ideas contained in them.

Informational Text Expository Text 5.IT-E.3. Compare (and contrast) the author’s purpose in informational selections on the same topic.

Social Studies Standards:

Grade 5 Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills

Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View

1. Students analyze societies in terms of the following themes, military,

political, economics, social, religious, and intellectual.

1. Students differentiate between primary and secondary sources and know   examples of each.

1. Students pose relevant questions about events they encounter in historical documents, eyewitness accounts, oral histories, letters, diaries, artifacts, photographs, maps, artworks, and architecture.

1. Students use non-text primary and secondary sources, such as maps, charts, graphs, photographs, works of art, and technical charts.

“Rethinking Literacy in the Digital Age”

The core subjects English, Math and Science can no longer be taught as stand alone subjects.  Although school administrators hold teachers accountable for teaching the core subjects, the introduction and integration of media literacy in teaching these core subjects is a must.  As educators, we must train ourselves to “rethink literacy in the digital age.”  First and foremost, it is imperative that students be taught to read and write, but we can learn to incorporate digital media to aid us in teaching this reading and writing. Through the use of audiovisual, visual and digital media, we are further able to differentiate instruction in the classroom and reach more students by tapping into multiple intelligences.  Through the implementation of digital media in our framework of curriculum instruction, a whole new skill set of  technical skills is incorporated into our learning.  This is the day of  the internet, social networks, blogging, gaming, video-making, podcasting, wikpedia, webcasting, digital storytelling, and the like; and educators must recognize that students now come to school with varying degrees of prior media knowledge gained from basic internet use. It is this knowledge that teachers must make adjustments for in their teaching. Futhermore, in order to equally level the playing field amongst youth in this digital media age, we must devise ways to  ensure that all students have access to computers; not just in school, but in their homes so that there can be continual media education growth beyond what is offered in the classroom and in afterschool programs. This would allow students to not only introduce their parents to the computer, but give them an opportunity to explore the wonders of the digital age.  It has been documented that the skills from digital “play” that children experience today will amply prepare them to be multifaceted for the many tasks and challenges they may experience tomorrow.  As educators who are supporters of digital media in the classroom, we must lobby school administrators to take a closer look at the value and benefits it offers.  These administrators must be informed that the use of digital media in the school setting fosters a positive attitude toward computers, as well as promotes problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, expression, social consequences, participation, self-confidence, competing, risk- taking, multi-tasking, decision making, and more.  Once school administrators fully understand the value that digital media can provide in bridging the gap in student achievement, they will be willing to provide the necessary professional development that teachers need in order for them to become comfortable and competent in incorporating it into their daily lessons, as well as fully integrating it  across the curriculum. This requirement would force them to become full digital media participants themselves – willing or not willing.  Afterall, how would a teacher be able to give homework assignments in the form of online games, or blogging in real time in response to a lecture or relevant link, or transfer foreign language class materials from the school’s computer server to the students iPods if they do not have a clue as to how to set this up? This is all possible in this new digital media age, but we as teachers must be willing participants and open to a new way of teaching.

Confronting the Challenges of Paticipatory Culture: Media Education for the 21^st Century

“Digital Participation Though a Parent’s Eyes”

I reflect on the many times I have thought negatively about the amount of time my children, now an 18 year old and a 23 year old, spend or have spent on the computer; whether it be emailing, chatting or gaming.  After reading the article, “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory  Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century” by Jenkins,  I have been enlightened by the “emerging media literacy” and social advantages gained as a result of these communication and entertainment activities.  Never would I have thought that so much knowledge and skill could come as a result of hanging out and having such a good time. The children of today are learning through play and the skills that come about as by-products of this play are numerous.  In terms of personal development: identity, positive attitudes toward computers, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, expression, social consequences, participation, self-confidence, competing, risk-taking, multi-tasking decision making are just some of the skills that young people gain through “screen media.”  And this knowledge that is being learned at such a young age is strategically engaging – laying the ability to navigate more serious and complicated tasks as a college student or as an adult in real life scenarios. For instance, through parents’ eyes, especially older parents, it is virtually impossible to recognize exactly what might be gained from gaming or social networking and the like, if  you as a parent have totally dismissed this activity. If the parent has never emailed, played a video game or even payed attention to a child playing a video game,  or has never ventured out to join one of the social networks such as My Space or Facebook, one may not realize the cadre of skills or information required for these activities.  I now know through my own experience that an enormous amount of concentration, multiprocessing, multitasking, decision making and deployment of information is absolutely necessary to “play.”  So get with it parents!  This “play” builds cognitive skills which will serve  to keep us young and prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s at an early age; not to mention that it will prepare our “little darlings”  for the challenge of the most complex of tasks in society and in the everyday work world and environment.

In order to protect your intellectual property, the first rule of thumb is to copyright your work.  Copyright is a protection that guarantees the author or creator of a work has the right to copy, reproduce, distribute, display, perform, or make a derivative of it.  The owner can even assign limited rights to others for use.  According to David Green, director of Arts Wire, the nation’s largest online network for the arts community, you do not have to seek permission from the copyright owner if the work is used “for purposes such as a criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research” because this is considered “Fair Use”.  Copyright does not apply to the protection of ideas, but it does apply to the protection of one’s expression of those ideas.  This means that as soon as the content is put into some type of tangible form, it is eligible for copyright protection.  Speaking digitally,  once this work has been put in some type of digital form, which is quite easy to do these days, it can cost pennies to reproduce the work in amazingly good quality and disseminate it to the masses in record time and speed.  For the copyright owner, this can be good or bad.  The good can be found in the fact that the author can publish her music to a wider audience for a small investment.  On the other hand, in putting it out there, there are opportunists who will also have access to the author’s work and may choose to take that work product and unlawfully distribute it themselves.  It is this pirating that you as a creator or author must guard against. Marybeth Peters, Registrar of the Copyright Office, states that even if the owners could bring infringement lawsuits against those who are infringing upon their rights, it is unlikely that the defendants in such lawsuits would be able to pay for the damage their actions have caused.

There are two schools of thought about copyright.  One thought is that we should get rid of copyright protection because copyright laws restrict and limit people’s creativity. The advocates of repealing copyright law as it exists argue that artists and composers  are not free to sample material and do not have free access to the published or unpublished works of others.  Such advocates seek to, in essence, decriminalize piracy and create what they perceive as an open market for the development of derivative works without cost or fear of retribution by the authors of the original sampled works.  The counter position is that eliminating or severely limiting copyright protection, instead of fostering creativity, will have the opposite effect.  The truly creative “talents” of the world will find their creativity stifled if confronted with the reality that they no would no longer enjoy any assurance of being able to benefit from the fruits of their labor.  Why, the proponets maintaining or strengthening copyright protection argue, would any author labor to produce new works if others will most likely claim the lion’s share of the profits derived from their exploitation.

It has been argued that the copyright laws are not keeping pace with the onset of the Digital Age and that they may start to change dramatically in the next 10 years or so to accommodate the new technologies. In this digital Age of Internet, film, web pages, music, books, photographs and motion pictures and more, it is becoming more and more difficult for copyright owners to bring actions against those infringing their works

The proponents of copyright feel that creators should be credited for what they create and should be paid for the blood, sweat and tears that went into creating it. Sumner Redstone, the chairman and founder of Viacom, Inc. and the CBS Corporation feels that copyright is “fundamentally right for both the creator and the consumer, and that we need copyright laws now more than ever.”   He sites the following reasons to support his thinking:

1.   The Copyright industries are increasingly a major driver of the U.S. economy.

2.   Copyright compels creativity; and

3.   Copyright is fundamentally right for both the creator and the consumer.

He further sites that “Entertainment and other copyright exports account for about $626 billion dollars annually or 6 percent of the US gross domestic product, and that books, movies and video games is just as important to today’s economy as the auto, fuel and coal industries were to yesterday’s economy. “

In my opinion, to the extent that our economy is boosted as a result of copyright proceeds, that alone is reason enough to line up in support of the valuable asset of copyright.

In order to learn more about copyright protection and attain basic copyright information, view the following websites:

Copyright websites:

For basic copyright information, such as, fees, registration information, publications, licensing, law and policy, copyright searches, and more, visit the Copyright Office website :

http://www.copyright.gov/

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/cir01.pdf

Blog Entry #1                                   February 2, 2010

I support the incorporation of the use of digital media in the classroom whenever possible because it opens up a new extension to learning and offers alternate learning activities. As educators we realize that not all students learn in the same way. Thus, a differentiated learning experience which has the power to address multiple learning styles within the classroom setting is welcomed and necessary to reach as many students as possible.  In today’s classroom, planned strategies in the use of digital media can be a powerful tactic in addressing multiple learning styles, such as, Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Interpersonal and Tactile.  In respect to the use of digital media in the classroom, the Visual and Auditory styles of learning are the most relevant and appeals to those students who do not particularly excel in reading and writing.

The District of Columbia Public Schools Teaching and Learning Framework describes the benefit of Visual and Auditory Learning Styles as the following:

“Visual Learning – As the term indicates, students who prefer the visual learning style learn best through seeing.  Teachers can assist these students by making sure information that is printed out loud is also shown on PowerPoint slides, transparencies, a document camera, handouts, pictures, or videos so that they can better assimilate the information. When someone is presenting, it is important to these students that they are able to see the person talking so they can read facial clues and body language.” Therefore, the use of various forms of digital media would be helpful in these instances.

“Auditory Learning – These are students who prefer the auditory learning style learn best through listening. They prefer listening to a lecture or book rather than receiving the information from reading. They like to engage in discussions so they can talk and listen to their classmates about content, ideas, and opinions. Furthermore, they glean much information from speaking strategies such as pitch, intonation, pacing, and gestures.”  Thus the use of digital media would certainly appeal to these students as well.

Since the world’s introduction to the internet, videos, You Tube, weblogs, video podcasts, and other digital tools within classroom instruction, the following changes must first be considered:

First, the school’s administration must recognize that there is a need for digital media.  They must buy into the idea and importance of incorporating digital media resources into their instructional program, and must provide the funding and budget to insure that the implementation of these technological advancements are possible.

Secondly, teachers must be open and willing to make adjustments in their way of teaching by including these digital media resources in their lessons.

Thirdly, teachers must come to grips with the fact that they must be willing to learn something new.  They must seek out and be willing to invest in professional development in  digital media. This professional development must address the needs of teachers and students.  And in school districts such as the District of Columbia Public School system, which are labored and consumed with students raising lagging test scores and with improving teacher performance, there is the temptation for teachers to teach within their comfort zone rather than implementing new strategies. Many teachers’ evaluations are based almost solely on students’ test scores.  Consequently, these educators teach strictly to the test rather than endeavoring to embrace new methods of teaching.  Thus, they tend to avoid the implementation of digital media into their lessons which in the long run would better serve the development of their student population for years to come.

Learning through the access to digital media resources is the wave of the future.  Generally, it is teachers who are intimidated with the use of digital media, not their students.   From the youngest students to those attending college and beyond, digital media promotes an independence, or should I say “interdependence”, in their study skills.  It enables students to gather information and collaborate what they learn with others. To a certain extent, they learn to self-teach, which I support because this self-teaching leads to an independent learning style which gives students the necessary confidence and tools of preparation needed to succeed in any academic setting.