Early transformation of the Russian Icon project!

Eighth grade begins the shift in the Massachusetts' Social Studies Curriculum Frameworks towards learning about World History. Medfield students begin their year examining Russian civilization. This includes a visit to the Museum of Russian Icons located in Clinton, Ma. to help students understand the role that icons played in the lives of Russians.

In years past,  the assignment was for students to bring their worksheet and a pencil to complete a scavenger hunt while touring the museum.  This year, with iPads in hand, they could capture their "answers" and easily refer back to the powerpoint slideshow  (which was accessible on their device) as a reference for more information.

 In addition, students were now able to capture their experience by snapping photos and videos which were incorporated in their follow-up collaborative group project.  The project had to include at least 5 of 11 images stating the significant fact of each. Students were given leeway to use any of the following apps:  TouchCast, Telligami , Explain Everything or any combination to produce their project and share it with their teacher via Google Drive/ email the link.

These are a few fantastic examples:

With the TouchCast app, Py and Joe pulled in their videos & pics while recording their
video of themselves (reading from a built-in app prompter).  Other elements can be pulled into the app too such as twitter feeds, webpages, and more offering a real 'newscaster' production.

Telligami has really caught the attention of our 8th graders as

most are hesitant to record and listen to their own voices or see themselves in a video.

(Who can blame them, I am the same exact way!) Telligami's avatar 

option has been a wonderful work around /alternative!
(For other Talking Avatar apps: Click Here)

These are also examples of how learning is being transformed across that SAMR model line to more of a modification and redefinition use of technology than purely substitution. Bravo!

Thanks to 8th graders and to our Social Studies teachers, Mrs. McClelland, Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Taliaferro for sharing their work and projects.

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The Renaissance Comes Alive!

A Formal Invitation to the Renaissance Dinner Party
  in Mrs. McClelland's 8th Social Studies Classroom

In  past years, Mrs. McClelland's students were asked to culminate and apply the information and knowledge they had learned about leading Renaissance figures by writing an essay.  The essay had to describe the seating arrangement and conversations occurring between each figure if they were to attend a Renaissance feast.  Therefore, students were to consider each guests' language, personality, training, and achievements so that everyone has something to talk about with nearby guests at the table. This type of assignment proved to be a challenging task both for students in fully integrating each factor into a written explanation but also, for the teacher in grading each essay.


This year was different!  The timing for our professional development iPad workshop with Greg Kulowiec of EdtechTeacher could not have been better.  The workshop introduced the SAMR model and pushed our thinking to redefine a particular curriculum unit or lesson with technology to create new tasks that were previously inconceivable.

Poof! The redefinition of the Renaissance Feast was born!  
Students were to collaborate in small groups in creating a screen cast using the Explain Everything app. As a group, they were to demonstrate the different possible seating arrangements visually with actual images while recording their explanations. The newly redefined version of the assignment proved to be successful.

Wait, there's more....

The rethinking of how students learned about the leading Renaissance figures did not begin or end here.  In previous years, students read from the textbook and often confused the names of the individuals and facts. The Funny Face Maker app actually brought these figures to life! Students were more engaged to hear from 'a living museum' of characters.

This process involved students working with partners to watch each movie clip and to take notes on a graphic organizer provided on paper.

At the end of their research, students choose a Renaissance figure to debate who was the most influential of that era. Students had the opportunity to create their own ' Living Figure' with the Funny Face Maker app to present the beginning of their argument.

No iPads needed... Learning activities are not designed solely to use the iPad. There are times when hands-on activities are best. The Renaissance lends itself perfectly for that. Of course, Mrs. McClelland incorporated a little artistic experience into the unit to let students 'become Michelangelo" by painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel which of course, looked like this! 

The iPad offered Mrs. McClelland ways to enhance and redefine curriculum that was not possible before. The results were students having success in accessing, learning and demonstrating their new knowledge of the Renaissance Era.

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