Digital Storytelling

This is another example of finding something that I truly love and would love to do more of in my classroom.  One of the largest obstacles I see is the time element.  To produce something of quality and informatively accurate (to prevent even minor mistakes like the one on the Pythagorean Video at 5:21), time is going to be needed. This is where working together with other teachers and their curriculum is critical for having the ability to implement all these ideas within a curriculum.  By collaborating with other teachers within a school (and I believe Adventist schools have the ability to do this more than public schools), one may be able to incorporate more of this inter the overall curriculum.

In terms of math and science, I could see many different uses and applications for digital storytelling.  Newton, Pythagoras, Archimedes, and Mendel could all be tackled over the course of a school year.  Like so many other topics covered in this class this year, this excites me greatly, but also makes me feel a bit overwhelmed.  I can't help but think, "OK, how am I going to make this work?"

This video on Geometry in Art and Architecture is one that I plan on using in my Math Lab class.  As I was watching it, I was coming up with ways I could utilize this for my class.  So many of my students have difficulty with concrete relationships with the concepts that are presented.  This type of project may appeal to those artistic types within my group.  We could even do it with an incentive of sorts by going to the mall and checking out the geometry there.  They could have lunch at the food court as a "reward" of sorts.

The video on the History of Mathematics is a perfect example where a collaborative effort between myself and the History teacher could come into play.  One aspect could focus on the historical relevance and the other aspect could focus on mathematical concepts from those historical figures.  It could be a fun endeavor in which to try.

The other aspect of this that I can't help but think about from my other "role" as Principal is this would be fantastic for my lower grade teachers to utilize as well.  I can easily see some of my 5th/6th graders just "rocking" this type of project.  My 3rd/4th graders would have a blast.  Even my 1st/2nd graders would be more than willing to take something like this one for their classroom.  Hmmm, I see this being a topic of discussion at a staff meeting soon.  :o)