The Assignment Breakdown...
What Worked...
Overall, we both really liked this assignment. Our goal was to have students who were more aware of the world (especially when it came to science and technology) around them through paying attention to current events. We found that students were becoming more aware and watching out for scientific news. We had the pleasant experience of students coming up to us outside of class time and asking if we had heard about specific events that were on Daily Planet, etc. We were also pleased that at the end of the first semester, students were able to come up with more current events than they would have originally.
We felt that this assignment allowed students to be creative, while still meeting the educational goal we set out for them using both search strategies and higher order questioning.
We found that students who may have had difficulties responding on paper will still able to respond meaningfully using video.
This assignment was also almost paper free. We uploaded the instructions using GoogleDocs, which allowed students access anytime, anywhere, and could not get lost (unlike their passwords.) There were no posters to carry home for either students or teachers. Really, someone could mark the assignment using an iPod Touch if they wanted.
This assignment also taught us more about technology that we otherwise would not have used. Check out our Resources and Links page for more information.
We felt that this assignment allowed students to be creative, while still meeting the educational goal we set out for them using both search strategies and higher order questioning.
We found that students who may have had difficulties responding on paper will still able to respond meaningfully using video.
This assignment was also almost paper free. We uploaded the instructions using GoogleDocs, which allowed students access anytime, anywhere, and could not get lost (unlike their passwords.) There were no posters to carry home for either students or teachers. Really, someone could mark the assignment using an iPod Touch if they wanted.
This assignment also taught us more about technology that we otherwise would not have used. Check out our Resources and Links page for more information.
Challenges With the Assignment...
We would love to say that everything about the assignment worked wonderfully, but we prefer to be honest. Like any assignment, there were snags. We taught this to three classes in two different semesters for a total of six classes. Each class had its own challenges, but there were a few universal problems that we would like to share...
First of all, the change over from Glogster to Glogster EDU
After starting the assignment the first time using Glogster, we switched to the educational version. This allowed us to set up a "class" so that each student could see their classmates glogs, the teacher could see all of the students glogs, and yet they were still kept within a walled garden. Previously, students would have to share the links to their glog with the teacher through email (which our school email filter kept blocking.) An additional bonus of using the Glogster EDU account was that it also limited student exposure to inappropriate content and advertising. One downfall however was that Glogster EDU did an upgrade that eliminated students' ability to change their "nickname" to their real names (we recommended them to use their first names only), making it hard to search for a specific students work.
We also had issue with some of the advertising that Glogster EDU deemed appropriate for an educational account. Fortunately, when we complained, Glogster was quick to issue an apology and to correct the situation.
The folly of passwords
Students remembering passwords has always been an issue with a project like this. We would recommend the Glogster EDU account as a way to alleviate the problems with passwords. Glogster sends out up to 200 student accounts to be shared with classes. All we did was create a template for each class, and assigned one user id or "nickname" and password for each student. This way we have a record of their information when (and it seemed to be when, not if) they forgot their information.
Flip cameras - easy to record, easy to delete
The Flip cameras were wonderful, but occasionally we would have students accidentally delete their classmates recordings. We also ran into the glitch of borrowing our school division office's flip cameras, and having to send them back before students had a chance to download their video. To alleviate this, our library purchased two flip cameras to use in school projects. We also encountered a small problem that is worth sharing - make sure the flipshare software is installed on your computers before starting the assignment! This might mean (and it did for us) contacting your schools computer technicians to help with the install. Thank goodness for our wonderful computer technicians who were able to come and help us in the middle of class.
Slow computers
By far, the biggest complaint that we had from students was the slowness of the computers. Our old computer lab just wasn't made for uploading video! Also, we started this project using smaller netbooks, and we found out that they just didn't support the level of speed that we needed. We wished we had a suggestion for how to fix this, but it seems like patience or upgrading computers is the only solution.
Students not following instructions!
Although we like to give our students the benefit of the doubt, it is true that our students had difficulty following directions. From students not making sure their current event counted as scientific (and no, Tiger Wood's affairs didn't count) to making sure that they uploaded their videos in the right category (it's called video, imagine that) we pretty much saw it all and everything in between.
First of all, the change over from Glogster to Glogster EDU
After starting the assignment the first time using Glogster, we switched to the educational version. This allowed us to set up a "class" so that each student could see their classmates glogs, the teacher could see all of the students glogs, and yet they were still kept within a walled garden. Previously, students would have to share the links to their glog with the teacher through email (which our school email filter kept blocking.) An additional bonus of using the Glogster EDU account was that it also limited student exposure to inappropriate content and advertising. One downfall however was that Glogster EDU did an upgrade that eliminated students' ability to change their "nickname" to their real names (we recommended them to use their first names only), making it hard to search for a specific students work.
We also had issue with some of the advertising that Glogster EDU deemed appropriate for an educational account. Fortunately, when we complained, Glogster was quick to issue an apology and to correct the situation.
The folly of passwords
Students remembering passwords has always been an issue with a project like this. We would recommend the Glogster EDU account as a way to alleviate the problems with passwords. Glogster sends out up to 200 student accounts to be shared with classes. All we did was create a template for each class, and assigned one user id or "nickname" and password for each student. This way we have a record of their information when (and it seemed to be when, not if) they forgot their information.
Flip cameras - easy to record, easy to delete
The Flip cameras were wonderful, but occasionally we would have students accidentally delete their classmates recordings. We also ran into the glitch of borrowing our school division office's flip cameras, and having to send them back before students had a chance to download their video. To alleviate this, our library purchased two flip cameras to use in school projects. We also encountered a small problem that is worth sharing - make sure the flipshare software is installed on your computers before starting the assignment! This might mean (and it did for us) contacting your schools computer technicians to help with the install. Thank goodness for our wonderful computer technicians who were able to come and help us in the middle of class.
Slow computers
By far, the biggest complaint that we had from students was the slowness of the computers. Our old computer lab just wasn't made for uploading video! Also, we started this project using smaller netbooks, and we found out that they just didn't support the level of speed that we needed. We wished we had a suggestion for how to fix this, but it seems like patience or upgrading computers is the only solution.
Students not following instructions!
Although we like to give our students the benefit of the doubt, it is true that our students had difficulty following directions. From students not making sure their current event counted as scientific (and no, Tiger Wood's affairs didn't count) to making sure that they uploaded their videos in the right category (it's called video, imagine that) we pretty much saw it all and everything in between.
What We'd Do Different Next Time
No assignment is ever complete without a bit of review. After teaching this a few times, there are a few things that we will definitely do differently. We would start by letting the students create their own criteria for the video, and we would also have students mark an exemplar using the rubric. We feel that this would be a great way to have students who are more aware of what we are looking for. We also might assign some further parameters for the current events that help the students narrow down their options (if they wanted, each class was different when it came to this.)
Feedback From the Students
After we completed one glog with the students this semester, we asked them to fill out a short Survey Monkey survey which asked the following questions:
1. Why do you think it is important for you to be aware of what is going on around you in the world?
2. How did this assignment help you become aware of what is going on around you in the world?
3. What are some of the skills that this assignment taught you? Think back to the very beginning - searching, uploading video, etc.
4. What did you find difficult about this assignment?
5. What did you like about this assignment?
6. The goal of this assignment was to teach you about the important of being aware of current events and how they affect you. Imagine that you are a teacher and you have to teach your students this. What would you do the same of different?
Over all, we feel that the assignment was well received by the students. Some of the students felt that they needed more class time (which didn't surprise us.) And some students really surprised us with the level of reflection they were able to show us. Most of the students found difficulties finding current events that they wanted to write about, and in the slowness of our computers.
1. Why do you think it is important for you to be aware of what is going on around you in the world?
2. How did this assignment help you become aware of what is going on around you in the world?
3. What are some of the skills that this assignment taught you? Think back to the very beginning - searching, uploading video, etc.
4. What did you find difficult about this assignment?
5. What did you like about this assignment?
6. The goal of this assignment was to teach you about the important of being aware of current events and how they affect you. Imagine that you are a teacher and you have to teach your students this. What would you do the same of different?
Over all, we feel that the assignment was well received by the students. Some of the students felt that they needed more class time (which didn't surprise us.) And some students really surprised us with the level of reflection they were able to show us. Most of the students found difficulties finding current events that they wanted to write about, and in the slowness of our computers.
