Good afternoon,
We have some important announcements for you!
Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conference Day is fast approaching! If you would like to schedule a conference with me, Mr. Cuter has set up a way to schedule a meeting. Simply follow this link and pick the time that works best for you.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e054ea4a823abff2-media1
Donors Choose
In addition, I have been doing my best to slowly replace the oldest of the computers in our lab with ones capable of doing the editing work we need. Previous Donors Choose projects have been funded to the point where we've already managed to replace 6 of our oldest machines with Raspberry Pi computers!
(Yes, we could do much more with higher end computers, but the sheer number of computers we're looking to replace demands a ... less expensive solution.)
Our current Donors Choose project is looking for the funding needed to replace 3 computers at once.
Right now, any contribution you make to my project will be doubled by SONIC Drive-In.
Here's my classroom request: 3 Raspberry Pi 4 Computers for Coding and Graphics!
To have your donation matched, just make a contribution on that page. (Donations will be doubled automatically, but only while funding lasts.)
Film Festival
As you know, 2nd Quarter begins next week. Traditionally, that's when we begin to work almost exclusively on student entries for the Foulois Film Festival. In addition to counting as a Midterm grade, four of the videos shown will be selected to go on to the County level.
First Quarter has been spent going over many of the basics for pre-production, production, and post-production. Students at this point should know how to hold a camera, how to cut clips apart, put them together, add edited audio, and, of course, cite their sources. Now, they'll be spending the next 9 weeks showing off their storytelling skills.
We'll be hitting the ground running on Monday after we've critiqued our most recent video project.
Critiques
While we're on the topic, I should probably explain how critiques are handled in our classroom.
For most extended (more than one class day) projects, the class after they are do is a "Critique Day." Each submitted project is watched/listened to and students complete a form that includes the grading rubric (the same one we go over daily) and space to offer written feedback.
The feedback provided is then averaged to determine the student's grade for that project. I've found this works well as students are actively developing their own sense of aesthetics and are able to help each other improve their craft over time.
One might be dubious about having students assess student projects, but I am a firm believer in the concept that whomever is doing the work is doing the learning. Honestly, I've found that the averages frequently align with the point values that would be earned if I did all the grading myself, give or take a point. This way, students are learning even more with each project.
As students are assessing the work of others, I count the critiques as our Assessment grades. This results in fewer formal tests in my room and I think does a better job at assessing student skill than the average multiple choice "I crammed for this and will now forget it all" assessment.
We usually finish our critiques in class, but I have on occasion allowed them to be finished for homework. Lately I've been adjusting the format of the critiques based on feedback from the students to try to streamline the process.
During 2nd Quarter student critiques will be incredibly important, as the County level guidelines insist that the classroom teacher MAY NOT HELP with Film Festival entries. Every video shown during our Foulois Film Festival will be a 100% student led project, from conception to completion.
I think that's rather awesome.
Questions/Concerns?
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Have a wonderful weekend!