Ban DHMO? Are you kidding? I love the stuff. I use it daily and give it to my children. I spread it in my garden, it makes the plants really green. It would be wonderful to have it fall from the sky more often!!!! Have you explored the DHMO website produced by Tom Way http://www.dhmo.org/? If not, you should take a good look at it. Then you can decide for yourself whether to ban it or not. Tom--What a character! I think he must be some kind of creative science teacher or technology teacher--maybe both. My favorite part of the website is the research reports and surveys! I don't think Tom has any special authority other than the knowledge. I knew absolutely nothing about this organization before I explored the website but think its a great teaching tool. I'm sure kids would love to take the survey home and ask parents their opinions on DHMO. It would be a lesson I don't think they would forget.

Podcast

I just listened to two classes using podcast to summarize a social studies and science unit. Radio Willow Web #23 discussed the 4th grade study of the Southeast United States. Students took turns covering economics, vocabulary, places, physical features, music and jokes concerning this geographical area. The second, Coleycast #24 dealt with space. It was not as long as the first, but still covered major areas of the solar system. Although I enjoyed listening to the Wilowcast more, I found the links provided by ColeyCast were better.

This technology is new to me and may take me a little time to warm up to the idea of using it in my classroom. Having said tha, I believe the podcasts are a potentially useful motivational tool for the classroom. I also think they could be used as a way for parents to find out what their student is doing in the classroom. I know many parents are unable to make it to "Back to School" night or open house nights, so this may be a way for parents to connect to the classroom on their own time. I also imagine a podcast could help teachers supply instructions for homework, or instructions for signing on and completing on-line lessons concerning CRCT review.

Digital Storytelling #2

I loved the digital story, Quilts. What a fantastic way to display young student's artwork, reading and writing skills. I know they must have spent a long time working on this project and took great pride in creating this story. I imagine this could be used for back to school night to encourage future students and parents. It is also a medium that displays the teacher's interest and enthusiasm for her class.

I would love to create something like this in my 4th grade classroom. I would incoroporate it into a science or social studies lesson, and involve students in every step of the process. This would be a great tool to use at conferences. Parents could watch their child's digital story before coming to the conference. The conference would then begin with, your child has excelled in_______and it was evident in our digital story.

Digital Storytellling

What a powerful tool this can be! We watched nicholas Kordonowy's story about who he is today. This Senior in high school did a great job describing who he is and where he came from. I think the sound track could have been a little clearer, as most of the time breathing could be heard. I really liked his description of his trips to North Dakota and hunting with his uncles. It is nice to hear that he has been taught to respect nature and only hunts what he is going to eat. I got a real sense of the person Nicholas was portraying himself as.

I believe digital storytelling would be a powerful tool in the classroom. I know on a personal level, my daughter is tired of creating power point presentations~this will give her a new form for publishing research. I can see this may also be a great tool for a sub to use. The teacher could easily have a pre-recorded assignment and all the sub would have to do is hit play!

Response to Martin Scorsese on the art of film

Every good literature teacher approaches literature from several angles. We teach students to look for what an author is expressing, what a character is feeling, and what we as the audience see and feel. We ask students to explore ideas, impressions, emotions and phychological impacts. We ask students to question and think for themselves. Scorsese points out that visual images, movies and pictures, are designed to shape and influence just as literature does. I believe he has a valid point in that students should be taught the same techniques we use in literature to question and analyze film. He points to the power of films like Triumph of the Will during the 1930's. This film is considered one of the most powerful, innovative and influential movies of all time. It moved a nation to war. We as teachers have an obligation to help students see this powerful medium in the same light that we examine literature. We have an obligation to help them question and think for themselves. Take a look at the image above. What do you see? What do you feel? If I tell you that this is a picture of the furnaces at Dachau, a brutal concentration camp would it change your thoughts?