Author Archives: dogtrax

The Claymation Project: Tolerance

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We have ambitions. And focus (for the most part). But whether my class can complete stopmotion claymation movies before our school year ends in three weeks is uncertain. We’re going to try. We’re going to try. And boy, they are very engaged for a June project.

Since my literature groups just read two books that center on racism and tolerance (The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry), I decided it might be interesting to have them create short claymation movies on the theme of “tolerance.” And so, we have stories developing, and clay characters being created, and next week: let’s get filming!

One group of boys who have been loving the study of Sparta in Social Studies are working on a story with Spartans and how a group of hero-warriors come to understanding the differences of others. One particular student is very adept at clay and it is pretty amazing to watch him in action (his mother has been giving him clay to keep him busy since he was a little dude).

(These pics are also shared over at Photo Fridays)

I’m excited but stressed about finding enough time for them to create a movie they will be proud of before the school year ends. I’ll need to keep moving them along, pushing them to focus, and hoping the technology works as it should.

Peace (in frames),

Kevin

Boolean Squared versus Google Squared

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So, Google has a new search tool called Google Squared, which presents search information in a grid formation of related concepts. Given its name, I thought it would be fair to square off (excuse the word pun) the search engine with my webcomic, Boolean Squared.

Alas, my comic didn’t even show. Too many math references to Boolean Logic, I guess.

Here is one of this week’s comics:

Peace (in the engine),
Kevin

Day in a Voicethread

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This week, we turn back to Voicethread to share out our sentences. You can do it with video, audio or just type in your Day in a Sentence. We hope you join us over at our voicethread. You can get there by following this link or by using the embedded Voicethread down below. Spread the word. Let’s see if we can fill up the square with voices.

Peace (in the sharing),
Kevin

The World of Longfellow 10

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I was adding some of our digital science picture books to the Longfellow 10 site this morning when I realized what an accomplishment that site has achieved over the course of the year. The Longfellow 10 is (as George writes at the site) a: “… loose confederation of unknown students in undisclosed locations in cyberspace looking to promote awareness of important literary terms (and Science Concepts!) through absurd stop-motion films.” And more.

My students are now launching into a final project in literature class. We divided the class into two and one group read The Watsons Go to Birmingham and the other read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Both books are powerful examples of racial tension and the need for tolerance. SO, with just a few short weeks left, we are doing a claymation project around the theme of tolerance. Our aim is to publish the movies at Longfellow 10 before school gets out. I’m not sure we can make it, but we’re going to give it a try. They were storyboarding yesterday and will begin making clay characters today and maybe start filming tomorrow. We’re on a tight schedule!

I’ll reflect more as we go.

But check out the movies at Longfellow 10 and share them with your students. This is a list of subject categories from the site. And think about bringing stopmotion into your classroom:

Peace (in the frames).
Kevin

Oh, what the heck … one more digital book

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This is the final sharing of student digital science books. These guys worked hard to use a comic book style for their production, layering in sound effects, narration and speech bubbles. It didn’t quite convert into video the best, but it is still effective. (Note: Charlie and Steve are the custodians at our school and favorites with the kids).
This book is called Mitosis with Charlie and Steve.

Peace (in the books),
Kevin

An audio-art-image of I Dream in Twitter

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Some time ago, I wrote this poem about using Twitter and how conflicted I often am about it (love it, wonder why I love, etc).

This morning, I saw a link (on Twitter, of course) from Larry Ferlazzo to a Brazilian website that integrates the audio of voice with the use of the mouse as a paintbrush to create an online painting. I decided I would give it a go with the Twitter poem. (I have no idea what the name of this site is but here is the link to try it yourself).

As your tone and pitch change, so does the color sequencing and also the spread of the “ink” on the “page.” It would be cool if the site recorded the audio along with the image, so you could listen to the voice and art unfold at the same time (I guess I am never satisfied with the cool stuff I experience out here, eh?)

Here is the poem I used:

I Dream in Twitter

(listen to the podcast)

I dream in Twitter
in 140 characters
that cut off my thoughts before they are complete
and then I wonder, why 140?
Ten more letters would serve me right
as I write about what I am doing at that moment
in time,
connecting across the world with so many others
shackled by 140 characters, too,
and I remain amazed at how deep the brevity can be.

I find it unsettling to eavesdrop on conversations
between two
when you can only read one
and it startles me to think that someone else out there
has put their ear to my words
and wondered the same about me.
Whose eyes are watching?

Twitter is both an expanding universe
of tentacles and hyperlinks that draw you in
with knowledge and experience
and a shrinking neighborhood of similar voices,
echoing out your name
in comfortable silence.

I dream in Twitter
in 140 characters,
and that is what I am doing
right
at
this
moment.

Peace (in artful convergence),
Kevin

The Collective Days in a Sentence

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Before we begin, I found a site called Sharetabs from Larry through his Twittering and thought it might be a nice way to send you off to the various blogs of contributors this week. Sharetabs allows you to collect websites and then open them all as tabs or link them from small windows.

So, click on this screenshot (or this link) to head to the Sharetab for Day in a Sentence contributors from this week.

Here are this week’s contributions for Day in a Sentence:

  • Lucky to be in Kuala Lumpur for the Innovative Teachers Conference, I was placed in a group with a teacher from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Korea, where English was not strong, yet we completed together a student lesson plan on indigenous shelters, with fun, endeavour, confusion but determination. — Anne M.
  • I had forgotten how tiring it is to keep up with a very active almost two-year-old little boy. — Cynthia
  • Taking a day off from the mad rush of school to attend a conference at Stanford University on Microfinance, I filled my head with so much information it will take all summer to digest. — Delaine
  • The last week with my students has been lovely, but I wish the adults would behave! — Karen H.
  • I let my students turn their research papers in on the very last possible day, Thursday, which meant that I had only a day in which to grade the on-the-verge-of-failing students’ papers to find out whether they’re exempt from the exam or not (since our exemption policy this year is passing and not missing more than seven days per semester…); I’m now about halfway through the 87 papers received. — Jo
  • I’m finally home as the classroom slumbers, rests, and rejuvenates for next autumn’s kindergartners- but there’s no rest for me with a summer agenda full of volleyball camp (Dear Daughter), a college move (Eldest Son), play dates (the Pre-Schooler) and deployment preparations (Dear Husband)! — Michaele
  • Summer is coming, but there is still much to do, so I seek a new sense of balance in my daily life. — Lynn J.
  • Lost in a game of musical chairs at a school Pep Rally, and couldn’t figure out if the resounding cheers were because students were happy I lost or because they appreciated my effort :) — Larry
  • Autumn wrung out its day and let go what’s left of its colour as the mist vanished from the last gasp of a dying season. — Ken
  • I returned to Dover Middle School today for a presentation on Assessment to find that our DS team is officially invited to present our project to the school board, for 10 minutes. We have to select 3 pieces from our library of 76. — Bonnie
  • I’ve completed my eight hour hard labour sentence for the crime of impulse shopping on credit. — Val
  • Getting (and keeping) a teaching job has become political, competitive, and just plain icky in the wake of California budget cuts. — Matt

And mine:

  • How in the world will I pull off a claymation project about tolerance in the few crazy weeks that remain in the school year?

Peace (and thanks to all of you),
Kevin