so as you know i was pretty jazzed about the animoto

we do a trip every year to lyndhurst i know kim kilcoyne did it last year too where the kids paint or create masks and then collect clothing to dreww a scarecrow

this started a few years ago i was the pilot and it is actually a pretty fun experience and day

my intent this coming year will be to take my own photos and create an animoto to send to kids on echalk  this year i have finally learned to be familiar with a digital camera and all the uploading downloading stuff

but for now i had just used photos that were already on the server to actually try it out

well here it is and i get to make another link if i can do it again keep fingers crossed

scarecrow animoto

so guys

i know you loved the animoto

i liked the silly song and that my 7th grade daughter is having such authentic experiences now if she would only help me weed

anyway

i spoke with her science teacher and he told me how easy it is so i will try it, as i always say if i can do it anyone can

1. go on animoto website and create an account

2. upload a bunch of pictures up to 15 for free

3. add music they have stuff to use or you can enter your own

try it how fun would this be for field trips and special project ?

let me know what you think

ok

last week my daughter showed me something super cool

she has a science blog at school she does every week

her science teacher created an animoto animation of a garden planting her class did

i loved it and think you should check it out by clicking on animoto

animoto

technology has been humbling for me and it allows me to see kids in a more exalted position than i often see them

the child with the most laughable fine motor skills can push button after button in the most authoritative manner swiftly opening up options and answers i couldn’t conceive of

but it is repetition and learned memory of how programs and computers work

just as it is repetition as they learn a particular watercolor skill but it just scares me how minimal there manual dexterity is

there’s one project i’ve been doing for year and over the years i’ve suggested that those shapes painted with messy edges can be outlined to clear them up  (middle school boys developmentally are less acute with their fine motor skills skills and over the years, a few less able ones would use a sharpie)

i did this project recently and the great majority needed to outline some with a tool way thicker than a sharpie 

do they care less    have they developed overall fine motor skills less thus leading to even less fine art motor skills       ok and does it matter  

if they can’t draw a straight WITH  a ruler?

does it matter if they don’t know how to hold a paintbrush or even a pencil?

Is it the death of coloring books?

Do we need to stay in the lines?

Write on lines?

Stand in lines or on lines?

Is being on-line the be-all and end-all?

When kids need to draw an image, they always want to look on google?

What about the thousand books I have in my room?

ok i know it’s obvious i’ve been very negligent with my blogging but in reality i have been following through with learning about technology all year and wanted to comment on that as hopefully an inspirational tale

i started the year barely able to do e-mail and throught the course of the year i am now at a much better point with technology thanks to lots of people mc sd aa yup

what spurred me on you might ask

1. i needed to for the benefit of my students and in the end my aquistion of skills definiely was a good thing, they continuously commented on my improvement which was nice, they started the year calling me the mad clicker but i learned from them and even a few learned from me

one student had never even used her account because she was like i had been nervous and inept

2. someon described me last year in a meeting as”not at all interested in technology” and that was not true, it just seemed like such an insurmountable goal, anyway i don’t want to be all about me but it has felt good to become less pitiful and i truly enjoy and relish all the coooool things that it allows

aaargh

so i had trouble finding or actually keeping my password

as i tried to find it out stuff got caught in spam and a vicious cycle of putting in username and checking my e-mail

it was kind of funny or at least perfect as i always have trouble remembering passwords

mike wanted me to put in my echalk password and i couldn’t remember it…..uh huh

so here’s my first post

glad it’s here!

now to change my password as i’ll never remember this random assortment of numbers and letters