Monloc restored!

In 2011, a group of Stage 3 students created a series of storyboards and a wonderful final science fiction digital story for the Shaun Tan Book Rap, inspired by such audio, visual (and audiovisual) delights as The lost thing. Poor Monloc the protector was lost in the Great PhotoPeach Data Crash of December 2012, but has now been restored to a new URL. His creators, the Lost Bottlecap Collectors, have all gone off to various high schools, but I know they revisit our school pages every now and then. We hope you (and they) will enjoy Monloc’s triumphant return from near-oblivion:


Monloc the protector by the Lost Bottlecap Collectors of Penrith PS

QR codes and MANTLE conference

Workshop 1:

QR codes – those now-ubiquitous, distinctive, square barcodes – are on advertising posters, business cards and websites. For last year’s MANTLE conference, I made use of a QR code phone app, I-nigma, from iTunes. Apart from a few tests, I haven’t really done very much with this aspect of technology. But the possibilities may be endless!

I have created QR codes for the websites I am referencing in my MANTLE talks this week. For example:

QRCodeBooked Inn blog

Blue

GoldQuest

QRCode
GoldQuest blog

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Penrith PS Library wiki

QRCode
Penrith PS Library wiki

Blue

Penrth PS rappers and bloggers

QRCode
Penrith PS rappers & bloggers

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PhotoPeach

QRCode
My PhotoPeach profile page

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QRCode
PMBW TL professional learning group

QRCode
QR codes Kaywa generator

QRCode
NSW DEC CLIC raps and book raps

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Endangered animals

QRCode
Stage 3’s Endangered animals: beyond the rainforest

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Workshop 2: This workshop will look at how to make book trailers and their use in engaging students in literacy and reading activities. Applications used to make trailers will be looked at and discussed, also how they can be used as a resource in a school library and in classrooms and how they can help promote literacy and reading. Ways to engage students in these resources to augment their learning experiences will be modeled and discussed.

* Brainstorming (using Circle Time) – consider audience, theme, length, 30 images
* Storyboarding (using a book rap template) – small groups
* Will you use photos (“Creative Commons”), drawings, cutouts, puppets, toys, claymation, or actors in dress-up box clothing?
* Upload – to Photo Peach or other Web 2.0 facility – Flickr slideshow, PowerPoint/Keynote, podcast/Youtube, IWB Notebook software?
* Edit, adjust timing to the selected music
* Share with wider community – monitor incoming public comments regularly, or close them off.

* Rap resources (NSW DEC) for making digital stories and book trailers

* Bear and Chook PowerPoints

* Flickr slideshow repositories – and with captions added or Explore Creative Commons

* Commercial book trailers on Youtube, eg:


In the lion book trailerJames Foley

* This year’s CBCA Book Week theme is: “Read across the universe”. A starting point?

Further reading (articles by Ian McLean):

* ‘iInquire… iLearn… iCreate… iShare: Stage 1 students create digital stories’ in Scan 30(2) May 2011, pp 4-5.
Stage 1 students narrate how they inquire, learn, create and share with ICT and Web 2.0 to produce online Photo Peach slideshows at Penrith Public School. View the article online HERE.

* ‘Have blog, will storyboard!’ in info@aslansw Issue #2, May 2010, pp 5-8.
Stage 2 students at Penrith Public School created storyboards and PowerPoint digital stories as resources to support Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 students working on the Bear and Chook books rap, which ran during the subsequent term.

* ‘Circle time: maximising opportunities for talking and listening at Penrith Public School’ in Scan 26(4) November 2007, pp 4-7.
Circle Time is a structured framework for social and emotional learning which promotes a positive class ethos. Moving from class teacher back into the school library, I incorporated Circle Time and information skills into a range of collaborative literacy and ICT activities, including book raps.

UPDATE to Workshop 2:
During the above presentation, members of the audience suggested a few possible captions, in keeping with Book Week’s “Read Across the Universe” theme, and my intention was to get the Stage 3 students, back at school, to complete the brainstorming of the rest of the captions during Book Week. As the events of that week overwhelmed us, I filed away the groups’ A3 planning sheets, but dug them out again this week – and was thrilled with their results. A reminder to those on iPads: the latest version of Flash is required, so you’ll need to use a regular computer to see Photo Peach slideshows.

As promised, here is the finished slideshow:


Read across the universe by 5/6E

and an additional set of bookish/SF images that got the students’ conversations going:


Book Week 2013

By the way, we found “Robot jokes” during a Google search:
boyslife.org/about-scouts/merit-badge-resources/robotics/19223/robot-jokes/

and we were surprised to find that there are interactive “Yoda speech generator” sites (it started out as a joke that there might be one – and there were several!), such as:
www.yodaspeak.co.uk/

My great QR code adventure

About a year ago, I started hearing references to QR codes, and noticed the distinctive, square barcodes turning up on advertising posters, business cards and websites. I did a little further investigation when I received my upgraded iPhone4 in late 2011 – and even uploaded a recommended QR code app, I-nigma, from iTunes – but, apart from a few tests, I haven’t really done very much with this aspect of technology.

But it certainly seems to have some clever possibilities.

In preparation for my presentations at Friday’s MANTLE conference, I created QR codes for the websites I would be referencing in my talks. For example:

QRCodeBooked Inn blog

Blue

GoldQuest

QRCode
GoldQuest blog

Blue

Penrith PS Library wiki

QRCode
Penrith PS Library wiki

Blue

Penrth PS rappers and bloggers

QRCode
Penrith PS rappers & bloggers

Blue

PhotoPeach

QRCode
My PhotoPeach profile page

Blue

QRCode
PMBW TL professional learning group

QRCode
QR codes Kaywa generator

QRCode
NSW DEC CLIC raps and book raps

Blue

Endangered animals

QRCode
Stage 3’s Endangered animals: beyond the rainforest

Blue

Using Photo Peach safely with students

I have had a few questions recently, from teacher librarians asking about aspects of student safety and group dynamics with Web 2.0 resources, such as Photo Peach.

There are definitely a few points to consider with Photo Peach: ie. use it as judiciously as you would a series of Youtube clips. Don’t permit students to do open browsing; Photo Peach is a Web 2.0 facility that is open to anyone, and the slideshows are “unrated”. (Once, I accidentally stumbled onto a Spanish bride’s hens’ party where the male strippers went all the way. Eeeeek!)

To use with a class during a session, I am the only person who knows the password. I have the IWB, or one computer, logged in as me. Students work in small groups, sometimes offline using blackline storyboards, then come to me at the computer to upload pics (or to select Creative Commons images), sort or re-sort photo order, or choose the music and speed. Photo Peach will be blocked for NSW DEC students’ usernames by the firewall.

Also, if you notice that new public comments have been added to a slideshow you’ve made, please always preview the slideshow again before using it with students so you can monitor (and moderate/remove) any unwanted comments (or close off comments altogether). These restrictions might be annoying but they are also a valuable teaching point. Get the students thinking about the potential dangers (eg. anonymous people using the comments to cyberbully creators, as often happens on Youtube) that can happen with Web 2.0.

I don’t yet have a paid subscription to Photo Peach (which enables you to add your own or Creative Commons music, a wider range of transitions, and the capacity to download slideshows to your hard drive, web space, Youtube or a CD), but I’ll probably get one eventually. I’d hate Photo Peach to close unexpectedly and all our work just vanish.

These URLs from the DEC CLIC raps and book raps lead to some great resources when using similar creative online tools:
www.schools.nsw.edu.au/raps/fearless10/technopage.htm
lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/lrrSecure/Sites/Web/13752/documents/Resources.pdf

Have fun!

More digital stories roll in!

The book rappers in 2B at Caddies Creek PS created this digital story of “The terrific teacher and the twenty-two kids” for the Book Week 2011 book rap on Photo Peach. It is inspired by the shortlisted picture book, “The tall man and the twelve babies” by Tom Niland Champion, Kilmeny Niland & Deborah Niland.

Meanwhile, Class 2H at Caddies Creek PS created this great digital story of “Snappy the crocodile” for the Book Week 2011 book rap on Photo Peach. It is inspired by the popular picture book, “Edward the emu” by Sheila Knowles & Rod Clement.

The book rappers in 2P at Caddies Creek PS created their digital story, “My uncle’s donkey on holidays”, for the Book Week 2011 book rap on Photo Peach. It is inspired by the shortlisted picture book, “My uncle’s donkey” by Tohby Riddle.

The Secret Forest Hero by bpsbookworms on Storybird

Bankstown PS’s Book Rap Heroes (Year 3) created their amazing digital story, “The secret forest hero”, on Storybird. Click HERE to view their online eBook made for the Book Week 2011 book rap.

The book rappers at Kingswood PS also created a digital story, “My teacher’s gorilla”, for the Book Week 2011 book rap. Featuring a huge stuffed gorilla toy and other library friends, it was compiled in Photo Peach. They based it upon the CBCA-nominated picture book, “My uncle’s donkey” by Tohby Riddle.

My uncle’s donkey looks for love: a digital story

The book rappers in 2G at Caddies Creek PS created a digital story for the Book Week 2011 book rap. Featuring a stuffed donkey toy and other library friends, it was compiled in Photo Peach. They loosely based it upon concepts from CBCA-nominated picture book, “My uncle’s donkey” by Tohby Riddle.

The students at All Hallows created a slideshow, also celebrating “My uncle’s donkey” by Tohby Riddle, on Photo Peach.