Woo hoo! Kindergarten RESULTS was a success! Today we talked about the importance of being gentle when using the iPad, as well as some of the names for the parts of the iPad (power, volume, "home" button", asleep, awake, apps, etc.) and then the kids had some exploration time! We worked on the following apps: Letter Writing/Tracing: Little Writer Ollie's Handwriting and Phonics Letter School iWriteWords Letter Quiz Sight Words: Eggy 100 HD ("Eggy Words") Sight Words Learning Games Basic Math/Counting: Math is Fun! Ages 4-5 Counting is Fun! Endless Numbers Sorting: Sort it Out 1 Sort it Out 2 Check out these videos!
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I'm so excited to be working with the students this year on stop motion animation! This is my first time playing around with it... but I found a very easy (and FREE!) app! I used the Stop Motion Studio and I loved it! My first try was a little sad... since I was trying to hold the iPad with one hand and make the stop motion changes with my other hand... total disaster! Here was the outcome: *Disclosure: this video is VERY jumpy, and might give you motion sickness! As you can see... it was horrendous! So, I decided to research some cheap and easy ways in order to stabilize the iPad camera. I stumbled upon this YouTube video, and decided to try out this strategy! I was able to make a decent tripod using 7 pencils and 9 rubber bands! Here it is: Now, the bottom pencil wasn't doing a spectacular job at holding the iPad in place, so I used two more rubber bands to "hug" it to the tripod. Here was my final product: I don't like how the pencils were pre-sharpened, so I will be going and buying some pencils. I might get ambitious and use a little superglue to reinforce the stability. For the next video, I used my new tripod creation, and I taped the Lego base to my desk. Here was my final product: (which I'm pretty proud of!) Not too shabby, right? So... here's what I learned:
1. You definitely need a tripod or some sort. 2. Make sure the camera is focused when it takes the picture - so none of your frames are fuzzy. 3. Lighting can be a little strange - so it might help to have a fixed lamp on your scene. 4. Definitely tape or secure your base to your desk! 5. The more hands the better - it's pretty difficult to change the scene AND work the camera! 6. The smallest movements you can make, the better! 7. Have a plan! I just started moving Lego figures and my story doesn't really make sense (this is when storyboarding will come in handy!) 8. You have to be PATIENT, PATIENT, PATIENT! So, there you have it. My first experience with stop motion animation! It was fun, but definitely a learning experience! I am SO excited to be co-founding this event with my friend and colleague Giulia Longo!
Have you ever attended an Edcamp? We will be having our very own, first Edcamp on August 13, 2016 at Chula Vista Hills Elementary! It's open (and FREE) to any school staff, teachers, or administrators who are interested in learning more about the teaching, thinking, and learning that's going on inside of local classrooms. Are you an expert on something and would love to share? Have you heard of some cool apps/gadgets that you'd like to incorporate into your classroom? Are you doing something unique and would love to network with other educators? Then Edcamp is the place for you! We will be serving a light breakfast, and have TONS of neat giveaways after the event - thanks to our wonderful sponsors! Edcamp is a very different "conference" experience - please check out our website, and let me know if you have any questions! We differentiate our classrooms, so why not differentiate our professional development? See you on August 13! I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing summer! It feels so wonderful to be back on campus and see so many of my smiling teachers! I spent most of my summer engulfed in some summer reading! Here are some of the books I read...
And just for fun...
I am really excited to get this school year started... I have so many fun ideas! Stay tuned for updates! |
AuthorHello there! My name is Dawn Seiter, and I am the Digital Media Arts teacher at Chula Vista Hills Elementary. Please take a look at all the neat stuff we have been doing! Archives
March 2017
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Our School's Vision"We will empower students to be critical thinkers and effective communicators in order to reach their highest potential. We will do this by providing a rigorous, relevant, and innovative learning environment that challenges all students to achieve academic success and express themselves creatively." |