HeathcoteTech has moved!

HeathcoteTech has moved!

Scarsdale students are now building blogs on the CampusPress platform. CampusPress is a managed service that uses Wordpress as it's engine but allows teachers to have administrative control over student blogs.

Since I will be teaching students how to build and curate their own CampusPress blogs I have decided to move HeathcoteTech to that platform as well.

You can find the new HeathcoteTech at:

blogs.scarsdaleschools.org/HeathcoteTech

Looking forward to another great iteration!

Cultural Tour comics - 3C

It was the beginning of June and Ms. Conklin and I met to talk about a final project. A project the students could have a lot of fun with through the last month, but also a project that would also incorporate their cultural universal unit of study.

We decided to take their research on a location and turn it into a comic book style travel guide. A comic book they create from the ground up and build collaboratively...

Animal Adaptations - 2-C

The following items are animated books created using Google Slides with Ms. Citron's class...

From Ms. Citron:
The students in 2C researched a variety of animal adaptations, wrote introductions and created drafts of their findings.  These presentations reflect a variety of interpretations of this assignment, and builds on a year long curriculum, devoted to this concept.  Students are encouraged to continue to add to this body of work. 

The books...

(student projects listed alphabetically by first name)

Animal Adaptations - 2-O

The students of 2-O researched animals and the adaptations that are crucial to their survival.

After researching the adaptations and creating paper-based rough drafts of books the students used Google Slides to create dynamic, digital representations of their books. These books include all of the research and writing the students compiled as well as the creative elements such as call-outs and animations the students added at the end.

The books...

(student projects listed alphabetically by first name)

Stand-alone Presentations - 5th grade

One option for Capstone is to do a "stand-alone" presentation. By "stand-alone" we mean using a tool such as Google Slides to convey your information, without presenting it in person. "Stand-alone" means the presentation has to teach the viewer about your topic, convey your learning, without you there to verbalize the experience.

Whereas an in-person presentation will have a few, minimal, clean slides a "stand-alone" presentation will be much more detailed and will include far more slides than an Ignite or TED presentation. The presentation has to tell your story without you being there.

As 5th graders you have done similar things in the past with the rocketry unit.

Here are a few examples of "stand-alone" presentations that convey the experience without the need for someone to personally present it:

Video story telling styles - 5th grade

5th graders,

As you think about how you are going to tell your Capstone story, one tool you might use is video.

The most common use of video is iMovie. But iMovie is just a tool to tell a story. It's not that you use iMove, but how you use iMovie that matters.

One of the best things to do when thinking about how to tell your story with video is to watch others, to see examples. Some of the best examples of video story telling are 60 Minutes and Real Sports with Bryant Gumble. These are two "news magazine" shows that combine research, interviews, and sites visits into short stories that tell compelling stories.

If you are planning on using video in your Capstone project it is highly recommended you use your own device. iMovie files are not able to be shared and when making a movie you need to use the exact same computer every time. The school computer you have access too might not always be available to you when you need it. iMovie can be used on iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.
You can also use WeVideo to make a movie through Chrome

Your Capstone project is a compelling story, here are some examples to get you started:

Heathcote Chickens 2016!

Every year the 1st Graders get eggs and learn about the process of chickens hatching.

We are live streaming the eggs and the hatching process!

Point of reference, some seem to have hatched a few days early, which is why some of these live feeds have more chicks then eggs, and others more eggs then chicks.

Enjoy watching the process...