Awesome in Lake George

As the Director of Instructional Technology I don't have "a classroom."  However, I am fortunate enough to be invited into many classrooms in the district, where I get to see so many examples of Awesome!

Awesome is found throughout Lake George and in many forms, but I will share one example that I saw recently.  Lisa Lindsay and Kathy Aspland asked their 4th grade students to make a Geometry movies using iMovie trailers.  The students were given a rubric that outlined the different lines, angles, and shapes that needed to be included in the movie, along with the type of information that should be included for each (an image, a title, a definition).  From there, students were on their own to make choices about technique and tools.

I stumbled across this project as I saw Lisa in the hall with some of her students.  They were using their iPads around the school to take pictures of the lines, angles, and shapes needed for their movie. She explained the process and invited me to come in the following week as they were building their movies.  Here are a few things I saw:

• Independence -  Both Lisa and Kathy pulled small groups of students for individualized math instruction, leaving approximately half of the class to work on their Geometry iMovie.  The students were extremely focused on working through their rubric independently.  Students decided which apps to use to create what they wanted.  There was freedom of choice, but the students had to use their prior knowledge to determine the right tool and the steps involved.
• Problem Solving - When students did run into a problem they were very comfortable finding answers without interrupting the small group lessons.  Several students asked for my assistance, but what struck me was how clearly they articulated exactly what they were trying to accomplish and what steps they had already tried.
• Collaboration - In addition to using me as a resource, students were using each other as resources too.  They were asking their classmates to remind them of steps, or to inquire about how they did a certain technique.  
• Self and Peer Reflection - Students were required to have me or the TA sign off on a piece of the rubric before they could move on to the next piece.  This process involved the modeling of the reflection process with questions such as; Do you think you met that requirement?  Is it clear where the angle is in that picture?  Will the viewer know that picture is for a right angle?  This questioning was later heard between students as they were sharing parts of their movies with each other through out the process
• Revision - This self and peer reflection led to revision, one of the most painful steps to have students do.  The most amazing part was that the revision was completely self motivated.  Often times what they had met the rubric requirement, but they wanted to make it better.
• Drive and Motivation - I think the self motivated revision speaks to the students' drive and motivation.  However, I can't pass up an opportunity to share this experience: A student was describing how she used 3 different apps to create an image with test, animation, and drawing before pulling it into an iMovie trailer.  I asked her how she decided to use those apps, wondering if she was directed to or not, but her answer spoke for itself.  She told me, "I just wanted to make something that no one else would make."

For me, this demonstrated AWESOME!