A Better World 2017

Each year our 6th grade students take part in the A Better World Project, an ABCICT global initiative.

During the project, students explore global issues, learn about the UN SDGs and engage in research activities, while fine-tuning their research skills. They learn search strategies, evaluate websites and learn how to take notes.

As the project progresses, the students apply their learning in a variety of creative ways.
They choose one global issue per pair and collaboratively write rap songs. Later, they mix music tracks on the iPads and record themselves singing using Garageband.  They create music videos using singing avatars created in Tellagami, Chatterpix and CrazyTalk,  and also record a few live shots, usually in front of a green screen. All of this footage is finally compiled in student produced, music videos. They use both DoInk's Green Screen App and iMovie on the school iPads to edit and render their videos.

All of this work is uploaded at certain stages,  throughout the process,  to student Google Sites and reflected upon.

The project is now winding down for the year, the plan being to have students finish off their sites and reflect this week.

Here is a preview of two student rap songs that we are quite proud of.

Do check back in a few weeks, to view the final project list for 2017.

Nings at School

Nings are online platforms that allow people to create social networks. Members of groups with common interests  or objectives are formed, whose members  are then able chat, share resources, collaborate on forums and reflect through blog posts. Students are drawn to Nings due to the wealth of options offered by them. In many ways the features of this social networking tool closely resemble Facebook, an application that students use regularly out of school to stay in contact with friends. As in Facebook students who join a Ning are able to customise their own pages, add applications and form groups of friends to collaborate and share with.

The potential for Nings in education is enormous as teachers and students are able to bring files, multimedia, groups and discussions together in one place. At present our students are learning how to use them in ICT lessons as part of a unit on Social Networks. Both the reflective and collaborative aspects of the Ning have been a focus in ICT as well as other subjects.

The Month of September

It has been ages since my last post, only because we have been so busy at the LRC.


This fun jigsaw was created with dumpr.net

Yes dumpr is now one of my favourite new toys as well as clustrmaps(It should be visible on the main page as well).



WIKIS

Our September stars are the Humanities and Spanish departments, who have embarked on an array of blog and wiki journeys in learning. figuring highly in the collaborative work area is the geogon wiki on El Salvador, belonging to thte 7th and 8th grade History and Geography classes. This wiki started off as a 7th grade class project which then blossomed into a huge collaborative piece of work spanning two grades, two subjects and shared by many members of the department.

BLOGS

Blogs have featured a great deal in Humanities as well. One teacher has created 2 different blogs for her classes and is having the students reflect on readings, in Spanish and write about slavery as part of her History class. Also on the blogging front, the Spanish and French Departments have been meeting each week to learn how to work on blogs through hands on sessions. One of the Spanish classes now has a blog set up and will begin using it next week to reflect upon their readings in the subject. I will get the links up once they have begun working on it.

ToonDoo

Backing up to Humanities once again, in the subject of Economics two 9th grade classes, working on storyboards on economic themes, have begun transferring their ideas over to toondoo. I look forward to posting more about these toondoos later on this week.

WEBSITES

We have created a new google site wiki page for the French department and although going is slow (we are still very new to spaces) it looks to be a promising way of sharing the French department with the world. The new LRC website has now been launched using PBWiki and featuring a great Glog as the front page. We hope to work avidily on further updates and modifications throughout the year.

These are our collaborative LRC/subject projects, however there is an amazing amount of additional work being carried out each day at the LRC across the subjects.

The LRC is also playing host to student meetings including student council and project smile. Visiting universities are booked in to speak to students on a weekly basis. Our CIS visitors are due to arrive in the upcoming weeks and some extra- curricular clubs have also begun to run on a regular basis out of the LRC.

El Salvador month has come to an end and with it we hosed a typical handicrafts exhibition and sale on the 29th and 30th, an art display of works by a local Salvadoran artist, as well as 3 drama productions by local groups as part of theatre week.

All in all this month has been aflutter with activity.

The LRC Committee meets for the first time next week to go over the action plan and the Book Week Committee meets this Friday to begin organising this annual whole school event.

It has been an amazing start to the year. Attitudes are positive, the energy level is high and you can feel the sparks flying throughout the day as students and teachers make connections and publish themselves.