Cool+Tools


 * PrimaryAccess ** [|www.primaryaccess.org] Presented by: Meghan McGlinn Manfra PhD

Primary Access is a program sponsored by the University of Virginia, and is an on-line movie maker that runs in your web browser. This tool could be used with students in grades 3-12 with focus being in social studies. Primary Access allows students to upload archival images provided through the program or ones that have been uploaded by the teacher in order to create movies or documentaries about a topic.

This program is designed with scaffolding in mind for all students. Each step for use of the program is broken up by tabs which give directions on how to add pictures, script, narration and even options when viewing your presentation. The script tab allows for students to write out what they want to say about the image they have chosen. I think that this feature allows the student to be reflective while writing about the reasons why they chose the photographs they did. Another feature that fosters scaffolding is the option of speeding up or slowing down the rate at which the words are highlighted in the script. This tool is especially useful for those students that have poor reading fluency, and have difficulty keeping track when reading. The highlighted words make it easier for that student to follow along, and at the same time see success in their project.

I really enjoyed the Primary Access presentation. Meghan Manfra did a great job presenting this new tool to all of us. She started the presentation with stating which subject areas this could be used with and that she was mainly focusing on social studies. She also showed an example of a completed presentation and showed us step by step how to log into the system, select pictures, and how to add script/narration to our presentations. She also provided us with a handout that also went over each step with visuals. I relied heavily on the handout and with support from Mrs. Manfra in completing my presentation.

I could see myself using this tool with my third graders with lots of support and scaffolding. I could see my third graders using this tool to work on projects on non-fiction texts as a follow up activity. I could not see myself using this tool with my Kindergartners through second graders. I am excited to share this tool with the fifth grade teachers at my school. For the first two years that our school was opened they did a wax museum in which the students would research a famous person and then present their information in a “wax museum”. They have since abandoned that concept and last year used PhotoStory but they had difficulties finding pictures that they could use about their person. I think Primary Access would be the perfect tool for them to use to accomplish their biographical projects.


 * Voicethread** [|www.voicethread.com] Presented by: Bethany Smith

Before attending the session on Voicethread I have had prior experience with this tool in ECI 546 with Dr. Spires and Lisa Hervey last fall. This was also the application that Kristen and I chose to use with our instructional plan this week. Attending the session with Bethany gave me the refresher that I needed in order to effectively use this tool in my instructional plan. Bethany allowed for use to play around with Voicethread, and many questions that I had still concerning this program was answered by Bethany. Bethany is always excited when she presents new technology tools to anyone and the excitement in contagious. (This is the second presentation of this tool that I have seen by Bethany in the past two weeks.)

Voicethread has many strengths. First the tool is all online. There is no need to save a project to the students drive or to my shared drive, or even my flash drive. (I have done this in the past.) Once a project has been created on your account the project shows up in the my voice tab. The Voicethread that has been created can have many levels of security on the project that the teacher can change. This is good if you only want to make the voicethread accessible through your account only. While playing around with this tool this week Kristen and I managed to get around a loophole that has been a concern of ours with using this program. We thought that in order for the students to have access to voicethread that they had to create an account in which the student had to have an e-mail address. We found out that we could create multiple identities ton one account which gets around the loophole of the students accounts and e-mail. On one account I have managed to set up seven identities on my account. I am excited about using this program through my account with my students this year. Also with being able to set up the multiple identities this could be used in many ways such as characters voice, authors purpose and many more.


 * Fizz** [] Presented by: Lodge McCammon Ph.D

Before attending the Fizz session I have had prior experience with get.onfizz.org through ECI 546 with Dr. Spires last fall. I was interested in hearing in more detail about this product and the different ways that it could be used in the classroom. Just like Bethany Lodge’s excitement about the technology is contagious and it makes you want to get out into your classroom and try the product for yourself.

In this session Lodge focused on the one-take videos. He showed examples of different videos that he had taken (with one-shot) and also showed an example from Luke’s student teaching experience. Lodge also stressed how important the one-take video was and with the one-take video more meaning was being bestowed upon the learners. Luke even commented that the video that he did with his students the trouble makers of the class, and even the lower level-students all did well on the assessment on what they recorded. Luke even noted that the kids were humming the song during the test.

I would truly like to use one-take videos with my third grade students this year. I don’t know what I am going to do it on since most of Lodge’s songs are focused on secondary schools. I think he should write some songs for the science curriculum for elementary since now we are having EOG testing in that area.


 * Digital Video as Process and Product** ** Presented by: **Dr. Carol Pope

In this session Dr. Pope presented digital video by not looking at the product as of quality but the process of learning as whole to create the product. This is extremely important especially for the students that I work with. I look at their learning process and the steps that they are taking in order to learn the overall goal. More learning comes through the process of creating something than the final product that you put out there for people to see in the end.

I have had prior experience with using digital video with my students in the past, and it was nice to see in this presentation not just how to do it, but how to use digital video effectively. Many different skills and objectives are used and covered when one uses digital video and I would like to use this application more throughout this school year. Dr. Pope also talked about collaboration when using this application. When students work together to achieve a common goal they learn many different things through the process. While using digital video I would like to collaborate with other teachers/grade levels as well.

** Contextualized Lesson **
 * Grade Level: ** Third grade
 * Content Area: ** Reading and Writing
 * Time Frame: ** Two weeks (Roughly due to 30-45 minute sessions with varying times per week as stated in the student’s IEP.)
 * Cool Tool: ** Digital Video Process (using flip video)
 * North Carolina **** Standard Course of Study: **
 * 2.04 ** Identify and interpret elements of fiction and nonfiction and support by referencing the text to determine the:
 * author's purpose.
 * plot.
 * conflict.
 * sequence.
 * resolution.
 * lesson and/or message.
 * main idea and supporting details.
 * cause and effect.
 * 4.03 ** Share written and oral products in a variety of ways (e.g., author's chair, book making, publications, discussions, presentations).
 * 4.04** Use planning strategies (with assistance) to generate topics and to organize ideas (e.g., drawing, mapping, discussing, listing).
 * 4.05** Identify (with assistance) the purpose, the audience, and the appropriate form for the oral or written task.
 * 4.06** Compose a draft that conveys major ideas and maintains focus on the topic by using preliminary plans.
 * 5.01 ** Use correct capitalization (e.g., geographical place names, holidays, special events, titles) and punctuation (e.g., commas in greetings, dates, city and state; underlining book titles; periods after initials and abbreviated titles; apostrophes in contractions).
 * 5.02** Use correct subject/verb agreement.
 * 5.03** Demonstrate understanding by using a variety of complete sentences (declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory) in writing and speaking.


 * Lesson Overview: ** Students will read //The Frog Prince// and complete a selective reading guide which will focus on the different story elements of this fiction book. Students will then write a book trailer in order to promote //The Frog Prince.// Students will have to include all story elements of the book except for the solution. After the written version of //The Frog Prince// has been edited by the student and the teacher, and corrections have been made students will then plan out their one-take video on how they will present their book trailer. Once their plan is approved by the teacher they will then do their one-take video for their book trailer.
 * ** Day 1: ** Introduce to the students that the story we are going to read we are going to focus on the different story elements. This is will mostly be a review for my third graders, but we will go into detail about the author’s message. Review all of the story elements such as plot, conflict, sequence, resolution, lesson and/or message, main idea and supporting details, and cause and effect. Tell students that they will be focusing on these elements in order to complete a project at the end of the book.
 * ** Day 2: ** Introduce the book //The Frog Prince.// Students will then complete a picture walk and make predictions about what will happen in the book. Students will then independently read the book and focus in on the different story elements. (Teacher will individually listen to student’s “whisper read” in order to take notes on student’s reading or to bring attention different strategies students need to use while reading)
 * ** Day 3: ** For students that have not finished reading //The Frog Prince// they will finish reading the story. For those that have finished they will then complete the selective reading guide of story elements. Students may use the book in order to help them complete the selective reading guide.
 * ** Day 4: ** Have students complete selective reading guide if not done.
 * ** Day 5: ** Introduce the concept of book trailers by showing students examples of book trailers from [] After each example talk about what made the book trailer good or bad. (good things: including title, author, characters, setting, some major events, doesn’t give away the ending, grabbing the person’s attention etc.) Bad things: not including title, author, characters, setting, events, giving away the ending, not grabbing the person’s attention)
 * ** Day 6: ** Students will then plan out their book trailer with assistance from me or they could even ask their peers what they think.
 * ** Day 7: ** Continue planning either independently or together.
 * ** Day 8: ** Students will start to write out their book trailer.
 * ** Day 9: ** Continue writing. (I will help students check on work progress etc.)
 * ** Day 10: ** Once students are done writing they are to self-edit their written work using the COPS method. (Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation, Spelling) and looking back over their selective reading guide to make sure they have included everything that they need to. Once self-edited I will then check over the students works, and we will make corrections together.
 * ** Day 11: ** Practice their book trailer, and letting others share, and provide feedback on what works and what does not work.
 * ** Day 12: ** Record book trailers.