Update on Weekly Video Newsletters

***Update on our Weekly Video Newsletters***

In my post from September 24th, I shared the struggle with starting an online video newsletter for parents. Read about that HERE. Well, good news! We reviewed our first newsletter, all 13 1/2 minutes of it, as a class and discussed the good, the bad, and the ugly, then made a plan to move forward. 

Here's the Video Newsletter Norms we created:

1. We will work with a partner or small group. Partners/groups will remain the same.
2. Each week, groups will rotate and report on a new subject.
3. As a whole group, we will discuss and share highlights of our week before breaking off in groups to record.
4. Partners/small group will plan and perhaps practice what they want to say before recording. Personality is welcome.
5. Videos will be 30 seconds or less.
6. Medium wide shots or close-ups are best.
7. We will respect other groups recording- no photobombing or loud side conversations.
8. Partners/small group will use ipads or student iPhones to record the video newsletters then airdrop them to Mrs. Thiery's computer. Mrs. Thiery will thread them together on iMovie and upload them to the youtube channel. Also, send a copy to See Saw and class twitter account.

We are getting better every week! See the latest two videos below...

5th Grade Video Newsletter

Sept. 25th- 28th

5th Grade Video Newsletter
Oct. 3rd-5th

Thinking forward... it'd be fun to drop images and videos into a green screen video, but we don't have enough green screens or devices with the green screen app to be able to do this in the 15 minutes we've allotted. 

As we get more comfortable, maybe we could spread this out over a couple days... or maybe just keeping it simple is good enough.  After all, pictures and videos are shared in See Saw and on Twitter. Something to think about. 

One thing we'll need to add to the norms is: Set up the camera and don't move it while videotaping.

Do you do video newsletters? If so, what do you include?

Trying our Hand at Weekly News Video

I've spent the last hour watching 5th-grade videos of them (sometimes with a partner) reporting out to parents for an end of week newsletter... and I haven't stopped laughing.

I thought that asking 5th graders to videotape themselves telling about their week was going to save me time and maybe even increase engagement with parents. A win-win for me. Actually, feedback from parents hasn't been overwhelmingly consistent with newsletters, or videos, or Twitter, or even email. So I thought, why not? Why not turn the reigns over to the kids? We are student-led. They love to videotape themselves and we've been working on reflecting in authentic ways. So they chose a subject area, got their Chromebooks, sat with their partners, and made a video.

I envisioned 2 students visible in front of a camera articulating all the cool things they'd learned this week, maybe even show some quick artifacts from the week. 30 seconds later, parents would feel like they had a window into the classroom. Well, there were some 30 second videos and other 6 minute ones! After I threaded all their videos together, the video was 23 minutes long! No problem, I'll drop them into iMovie and start editing... only the videos were made on a Chromebook app that wouldn't download from Google Drive in a readable format. Insert teacher grumble. This was no longer a time saving idea. After searching the internet for forums to help problem solve, nothing worked. What to do next? Screencast them, save them as mp4s, then download and finally drop them into iMovie. Whew... another hour later all videos are in iMovie ready to edit. While each video was recorded as a screencast, I got to watch every single second of every single video yet again. The big question: where in the world do I even begin to edit? What would even be left of the video, if I took everything out that I deemed not important?

And that question led to a reflection. What is the purpose of this? I'm not sure what these videos reveal about our classroom. A bunch of giggling 10-11-year-olds trying to gain the attention of a camera. Reality check... kids aren't hearing what you want them to hear... it's not about you... and it's about them. As clear as my purpose is in planning for them each week, one of two things must be happening, either they are only hearing what they want to hear, or I'm not clearly teaching the purpose behind what we do. I'm guessing it's the latter (insert belly laugh).

Just as we teach kids that we write for different purposes and audiences, we also need to teach kids that we speak for different purposes and audiences. As they giggle, play around with each other, hem and haw over what they want to say, point out what we'd (teachers) hope what had happened in the classroom wouldn't be repeated is, pop in and out of the screen, record with half their head showing... I blurt out loud, "What in the world are they doing?"  NEWSFLASH SElf: They are doing what they know because there haven't been taught otherwise.

And so I'll edit these student-led videos the best that I can, download them a one video, and unapologetically share it with parents. Next week, we'll be intentional as we watch the videos and make a plan for improvement. Here's to the "Just do it" mentality. It's the best way to fail, learn, improve, and sustain a growth mindset.

Here we go...13 1/2 minutes of raw footage (minus 10 minutes of them hemming and hawing).

Taking 5 about an Innovative Mindset

We were incredibly fortunate that George Couros was able to share his innovative mindset with Grand Forks Public Schools! I was a tish excited (I only read his book 4 times in 3 different book studies!) Here we are, just a book studyin, on summer vacation (can you say INNOVATIVE TEACHERS? ) I loved spending time with this group. There is nothing more energetic than spending time with people who share a passion for innovation!

And here I am with Mr. George Couros himself. He's every bit as fun as you'd imagine him to be. 

It was this quote that hooked me: 

I mean, really. Does compliance not sum up a traditional mindset? I serriously dislike that word. I also dislike when we, kid professionals, put kids in a box and mass produce society robots. 

I have four grown children- two with learning deficits who have persevered and survived a flawed system.  My four children could not be more different. From their taste in music to their interests and strengths, and they are all on a life path that is both fulfilling and challenging.  All are in leadership roles where fostering relationships is critical. I have so much respect for them. They, thankfully, have beat the system.

  

I now have two perfect little grandsons (ages one and two). There is seriously nothing that compares to the love a grandma has for her little boys. At one and two, Jaren and Toby are becoming little people with interests and personalities. Toby is two. He loves to help me clean! His dad says he's going to be a janitor some day, I disagree. He's going to be an inventor, an engineer, an author, some sort of creator. He loves to figure out how things work. He is fascinated with moving parts and making things change.  He is a lover of stories and anything hands on. He's usually carrying his football and dead front and center watching the Vikings game with grandpa. He's sweet and caring, shy- always says please and thank you. He searches a youtube app for his favorite shows, taps his folder on my iPhone to play his games, and knows how to get his favorite songs off of my music app.  He's a thinker! Jaren is one, is lover of books and puzzles, is a quiet thinker, but a loud talker.  He likes to drive his car on the gravel roads- yes, he drives it.  He plays fetch with the dogs, nuzzles the cats, and fills their water bowl. I cannot fathom school wrecking their little innovative minds.  I feel responsible, as a kid professional, to advocate for them. Simple as that. They deserve a system that values the following:

And so... I'll share. I'm not, in any shape or form, a teacher with all the answers. In fact, I'd be the first to admit that I am struggling. Every day, I think about everything I should have done, dream about what I could have done, ask myself what I could do better next time. I know I need to change how I teach and that building relationships built on trust is crucial! 

I have a mindset. I have goals. I have a vision. I also know I can't do it alone. There has been an increase in energy since Friday's PD. People are reflecting, questioning compliance, and collaborating.  It's a start. 

How do we keep this momentum? We could start by sharing what we do with each other and others both inside and outside our district, by asking other teachers and students for honest feedback, and by continuing to empower kids to make choices and decisions about their learning. By trying things and constantly asking yourself, "How can I make this better?". 

Reflecting on an Innovator's Mindset... (It hurts to watch this!)

This is painful to watch.  I can't even watch it.  I actually couldn't hear it so I dropped it into iMovie to turn the sound up... but it's still too soft.  I suppose I spoke softly so nobody in the school would hear me recording.  

It is so hard to watch yourself on video! Well, here it is. On my blog for the world to see, should they happen to across it on a google search... because I'm most definitely not posting it to twitter.

Words

Today, I was reminded of how important our words are.  Something was said, my heart sank, and I was distracted for a good 10 minutes until I could self-talk myself into feeling better.

I wondered how many times I made a student feel like this, and was never aware?

Part of our job is coaching and providing feedback.  Encouraging feedback when positive decisions are made and supportive feedback when negative decisions are made.  We preach "Growth Mindset" and encourage students to accept feedback as a way to stretch  thinking and revise their work for the better, that failure is a chance to try again and improve. Kids should understand that and accept it, right? Perhaps, I'm wrong?

Why did this comment get to me?  It upset me because it was said carelessly, without regard to the history or truth behind it, it was an empty statement. There was clearly no intent to help me improve or grow - just a blanket statement that was meant to do nothing but probably gives this speaker a chance to say something.

What did I learn from this? RELATIONSHIPS are so important! TRUST needs to be established, so that when the tough things need to be said, they are said with love and respect. And those on the receiving end don't perceive it as a negative comment but trust that it's intended to help them grow.

Relationships are a two-way street. Perhaps, I need to be the one to reach out and communicate why the statement crushed me, or perhaps I simply need to just get over it and realize that we're all human and say dumb things sometimes.