WeVideo Education Channel

"WeVideo introduced a curriculum channel for all K-12 schools using WeVideo as a video creation and student engagement platform. WeVideo Education Channel is a free resource for Educators and Students to access:

1. Film Fests designed to inspire and accelerate multi-curricular youth engagement and learning, and
2. Footage (royalty-free) that students can use in the Film Fest videos

We want to provide a simple and engaging way to kickstart WeVideo in the classroom. By running Film Fests we are also creating a gallery for showcasing the best global student videos. WeVideo Education Channel is part of our effort towards building a global community of youth storytellers connected via their own inspiring stories." (WeVideo Education Channel) 

Check out the resources! Also join the WeVideo k-12 Google+ Community!

Richland 2 teachers and students, you can log in to your WeVideo account by going to wevideo.com and logging in to your Richland 2 Google account. 

Start your school year off with the Digital Starter Kit

Teachers you have asked for resources and places to start for projects and assignments. Well, here you have it. Last year a team of your colleagues worked with the District 1TWO1 Strategic Planning committee to create this wonderful resource. The District 1TWO1 Digital Starter Kit is here to help you design technology rich lessons.

This list is NOT a comprehensive list but a great starting point if you want to try something new. You can be assured that all of the links on this list are also OPEN and available to students. 

With this list, we have some NEW additions of sites available district wide for teachers and students. All of which can be accessed from your Google Apps Account. 

1. Voice Thread-  VoiceThread is a cloud application, so there is no software to install. The only system requirement is an up-to-date version of Adobe Flash. VoiceThread will work in any modern web browser and on almost any internet connection. Upload, share and discuss documents, presentations, images, audio files and videos. Over 50 different types of media can be used in a VoiceThread. Comment on VoiceThread slides using one of five powerful commenting options: microphone, webcam, text, phone, and audio-file upload. Keep a VoiceThread private, share it with specific people, or open it up to the entire world. VoiceThread can also be accessed through the iPad app.

2. Lucid Chart - Collaborative tool to make flow charts, diagrams,mind maps, etc.  Integrates with Google Drive. Free account features: Drag and drop simplicity, Extensive shape library, Real-time collaboration. Use your Google Login to access your account.

To access VoiceThread or Lucid Chart please login to your Google Apps Account and from the black navigation bar at the top, click on More and select the application you would like to use.

3. WeVideo - Online collaborative video editing  platform.  Integrates with Google Drive. More information will be forthcoming on how to access the district license of WeVideo.




Some other sites to highlight:
1. Educlipper - Have you been looking for Pinterest for education? Well, now it is here. Educlipper allows you to create a teacher account and students can create student accounts. Pin away with educlipper!

2. Padlet - Padlet is an Internet application that allows people to express their thoughts on a common topic easily. It works like an online sheet of paper where people can put any content (e.g. images, videos, documents, text) anywhere on the page, together with anyone, from any device. It's a great way to have student brainstorm, comment, or ask questions on any given topic.

Take some time and look over this list. I assure you soon your head will be bursting with great ideas of integrating new and engaging activities in your classroom.

Music to your eyes at Dent Middle School

So what do you do at the end of the school year after all testing is done to keep your students engaged in learning? Ms. Huff, a seventh grade TLC Science teacher, and Ms. Sawyer, a seventh grade TLC social studies teacher, are collaborating on an end-of year music video review project. Students are working in collaborative groups to create a music video based on concepts learned throughout the year. The two classes are allowed to choose any topic they learned this year. Mrs. Huff and Ms. Sawyer said the groups picked evenly from science and social studies concepts. The only stipulation for choosing their topic is once it has been chosen another group cannot pick the same topic. Students write appropriate lyrics to accompany a karaoke track of a popular song. Then the soundtrack is then combined with a video created by the students using original and stock images in Movie Maker or other video editing software. Final projects are presented to and shared with all class members during the last week of school.

Here is a playlist to all the student videos.

Ms. Sawyer teaches 7th grade social studies in The Learning Collaborative. She is in her 4th year of teaching, the last 3 at Dent Middle School in Richland School District Two. Ms. Sawyer was in an ITEC classroom before moving to TLC. "I try to take a creative approach to social studies, encouraging students to experience history first hand."

Mrs. Huff is the TLC Seventh Grade Science Teacher at Dent Middle School. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (2008) from The State University of New York College at Brockport. Mrs. Huff holds a Masters in Adolescent Education (minor in grades 5-6) from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY (2009). She also holds certification in Gifted and Talented Education from Coastal Carolina (2012). Mrs. Huff has taught in the private and alternative school settings in New York. When she moved to SC in 2010, she taught high school biology and health at Edisto High School. This is her second year with the Richland School District Two.

Here is a playlist to all the student videos.

Acrocity: Building the City of the Future with the Knowledge of the Past

*Welcome guest blogger, Danielle Elliott- Smith from Muller Road Middle School. 

Our 6^th grade team has worked on an interdisciplinary unit in which students had to integrate their knowledge of science, social studies, math, and language arts in order to create a futuristic city using the building techniques of the ancient world. Students had to design a building using elements of Greek and Roman architecture and integrating one of the six simple machines that they learned about in science class.  After students created their building using all recycled materials, they had to photograph their projects using their iPads and use an app of their choice to highlight the geometric elements present in their structure.  Students also had to submit a Keynote presentation demonstrating not only their knowledge of the six simple machines but also how those simple machines were used in the ancient world to accomplish great feats of engineering.  In language arts, students are working to create brochure guides to Acrocity, the city built from all of the buildings designed and built by our 6^th grade students at Muller Road Middle School. The sixth grade team --Danielle Elliott-Smith, Terry Atkins, Tina Lewis, and Kristy McIntyre

Student Project Pieces

 

App of the Week - The Plague

Description:
Plague Inc. is a unique mix of high strategy and terrifyingly realistic simulation from developer Ndemic Creations. Can you infect the world?  

Your pathogen has just infected 'Patient Zero'. Now you must bring about the end of human history by evolving a deadly, global Plague whilst adapting against everything humanity can do to defend itself. 

"Brilliantly executed with innovative gameplay and built from the ground up for mobile, Plague Inc. evolves the strategy genre and pushes mobile gaming (and you) to new levels. It’s You vs. the world -only the strongest can survive!" Google Play

iPad: 0.99
Android: Free  (unlock full version in app 0.99)
Chrome: not available

Classroom Use: 
The Plague Inc. will be used by Muller Road Middle students to create a multi-media project that demonstrates the connections between the history of infectious diseases, their impact on the human body, and the application of statistics to the spread/outbreak of infectious diseases.

Just as epidemics infected our world years ago, Plague, Inc. spreads diseases through animals and international travel. This allows the lesson on Epidemics to come to life for the students. They can choose and name a pathogen to infect the world. Students will research 10 different diseases before deciding which one they will use in both the project and the game. Students will use the app parallel to their unit on Epidemics.

Also in Plague, Inc., students have to select a country where the disease will originate. This is a strategic way to begin the game. Students will apply what they are learning in Social Studies about countries around the world. They will need to be familiar with the geography of the country, its demographics, and its climate to recognize how easily the epidemic will grow. 

In Science, students will study the human body. Looking at the major organs and tissues as well as how organs and tissue are infected by each disease. They will also learn about the DNA associated with each epidemic. Plague, Inc. allows the students to collect DNA points and spend them to avoid detection. It also allows the students to create the symptoms of their disease and the strength of it. Just as humans in real life, the people in Plague, Inc. do everything possible to fight the disease by either slowing it down or destroying it. Students will have to be strategic in using their DNA points as they decide how to react to the government’s counter-attack.

Plague, Inc. supplies all the necessary data the students need as they plan their attack on the world. The app shows various types of graphs to describe the number of people infected etc. It uses line graphs, circle graphs, and bar graphs. The students will be creating their own graphs in math class with the data they collect about their epidemic. Plague, Inc. has great examples of how scientists and mathematicians use displays of data to compare what is happening in the world. 

A design team at Muller Road Middle School will be implementing a new unit on Epidemics at the end of February. This team includes Lakeshia Mitchell, Marquis Ardoin, Michelle Mauney and Christy Stokes. 

The team looks forward to the implementation of this unit and how Plague, Inc. will aid the students as they discover the effect of epidemics on the world. Not only do they expect it to be a fun addition to the curriculum, but also expect it to grab the students’ interest and make an impact on their learning!

*Christy Stokes is our guest blogger! Thank you for the information on how students at Muller Road Middle will be using this app!