Educational Media

It has been a busy start up - two new classes. I hope to make today the start of the routine use of the blog to keep students and parents current. Briefly,

American Military History - Ms Saffle will complete the course overview of the 9 Principles of War tomorrow. I will be leading a discussion of Command, Troops and tactics in the 18th century and military mapping. I will then spend a day or two on the French and Indian War before handing the baton back to Ms Saffle for the American Revolution.

Memory/Yearbook - Congratulations to Nate Larsen and Jessica Hatcher, editors, Carlie Moran, Business Manager, and Junior Rutter, Photograph Manager. Editors have assigned page responsibilities. Blogging assignments will be completed this week.. Students access to Josten's is in place, and we should be designing soon. 2011 Yearbooks are expected at Fairbanks on September 17.

Ed Media 8 Students have set up the new lab and taken apart a PC. We will conclude the set up phase tomorrow and begin working on preparations for working in Google Apps next week. Hardware quiz on Wednesday. Fun to be working with the 8th grade in the 12 week rotation.

Ed Media 1 and 3 - Students shot Side-by-Side, Two shot scripts today. We will look over the work tomorrow in class then on to Side-by-Side, Two shots and Shoulders/OTS by the end of the week.

Ed Production - Another new class. Tomorrow, students pitch their work plans for the School Web Page, Spoerts Pages and Announcements - then to work!

The communication tools in place for the 2011 - 2012 school year include:

Parents and Students

This blog - Class Summaries. General Comments

Progress Book - Assignments, Grades and Class Information

Students

Google Apps

e-mail

erebmann@fairbanks.k12.oh.us

fhsyearbook@edsmedia.net

erebmann@gmail.com

Students, note Google Apps offers e-mail for class specific matters

School Twitter

edrebmann (#FairbanksSchools - aggregator)

Csikszentmihalyi - the author of Flow - notes,

I am posting items and information that catch attention as being of possible use for FHS staff and students under the twitter hashtag #FairbanksSchools through the twitter account edrebmann.

(When you go on twitter you may also find my erebmann account which I use for reading feeds and non-Fairbanks work. I use this account for following others and communicating to a small group of collaborators. Don't be insulted if I don't follow you or open the feed.)

If you don't have a twitter account, you can join without charge at http://twitter.com It's your account, but I would recommend following people and institutions who make you grow and think by providing good information and useful ideas. I believe twitter is a place to build up a network of divergent opinions.

Ohio ILE Conference in Hilliard last week focusing on innovation learning environments offered a great opportunity for major educational reform leaders to discuss big topics and for teachers to lead smaller topic specific breakout sessions. Headliners at the conference included:

• Ian Jukes - the digital world and the digital generation -
• D. William - learning communities and formative assessment - Note: Pedagogies of Engagement, Contingency and Formation. Ask - "What is critical thinking in this discipline?"
• Robyn Jackson - working with the struggling student - Note: Productive struggle versus destructive struggle. Mastery Thresholds - Flags - Stepped Interventions
• Sara Kajder - promise into practice. Note: each student needs a space. Create a positive digital identity. Bring outside into the class.
• Will Richardson - Paradigm shifts: Stocks of Information to Streams of Information, From Your Passion to My Passion, From Contrived Problems to Real Problems Quote from Eric Hoffer, "Learners inherit the world, the learned are equipped for a world that no longer exists."

At the Harvard Business Review's Collaboration Center the editors have posted links to articles on collaboration and teamwork. Three I found interesting:

• Six Common Misconceptions about Teamwork
• The Discipline of Teams
• Building a Shared Mental Model

Students interested in taking part in still or video shoots this summer should go to http://fhsvideoshoot.edsmedia.net

Schedules, details and forms will be posted at that site.

Yearbook staff will meet June 8 at 10a.m. in the yearbook room. I hoope we will be able to finish the book for the year on that day. Several of you are working on pages at home so we may be able to wrap things up fairly quickly. Let me know if you will not be able to attend this work session and if would like me to get pizza for lunch.

I posted a web site with an announcements section and with a page--by-page status update. You may view that page at http://yearbook2011.edsmedia.net

As always you can email me at the fhsyearbook or at my gmail account : fhsyearbook@edsmedia.net or erebmann@gmail.com

Working with the sites and documents portion of the new fhspanthers google apps for education. Interesting to work with the templates particularly the pre-set pages. Students gain an effective way to housed documents and presentations for clsass use and teacher review. It has taken me a bit of time to work without coding. The gadgets piece is quick but hard to adjust the fundamental elements if a parameter does not work as in the timeline gadget. I need to adjust decades to centuries for one application and will need some time to figure out how to do so.

All in all a big step forward with a good bit of utility for teachers and students. I enjoyed setting up the AP History template, now we'll see how the AP History students do setting up their projects using it.

Thanks to Steve Stolte and Mardy Hanlon-Stolte for stopping in this morning to work on the pre-script work for the Covered Bridge videos. Mr. Stolte kindly consented to a 45-minute interview - great insight into the process and fact of bridge preservation. We will continue interviews in the studio and on site over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks to mr. Stauch and Mr. Stolte for their time.

We make shooting and site protocols to make sure we get back with the film and audio we need. We break the protocols when we are in a hurry or when time shows they don't seem to be necessary. Today, I didn't bother turning on the dtr

to back up the live presentation I was videotaping. We've never needed it. for an in-house shoot with that camera Half way through the shoot, the card glitched and the audio and video were lost. The second card worked fine. Sure, I can fit pieces together, do a phone interview, go and record something from the presenter. The point though is that I was sloppy. I could have had it done and up for view two hours ago. Now it's a headache for tomorrow, and the video is not available. No excuse for it. None.

Follow the protocols. Always!

Club schedules are disrupted this week by the requirements of other activities. Tuesday, we are doing a shoot for the District after school then next week I will be in D.C. with the 8th grade, so,

Club	May 10 - 13	May 16 - 20
6th Grade	May 10 - Cancelled	May 17 - Cancelled
7th/8th Grade	May 12 - Meet at 3	May 19 - Cancelled
Writing	May 9 - Cancelled	May 16 - Meet at 3
JSWorkshop	May 11 - Meet at 3	May 18 - Cancelled
Art Club	May 13 - Meet at 3	May 20 - Cancelled

Attended the Google Apps for Education Conference in Columbus today along with nearly 800 other Ohio educators. I have been using various google tools for some time - documents, forms, etc. Very exciting to see what can be done in an education environment. Thanks to BJ and the administration for bringing us to the point where we will be testing this system with high school students this spring then bringing all students on board in 2011 - 2012.

Over the next few weeks, AP History CP English and Advanced Ed Media will be working with docs, sites and other tools. I'll post the project piece-by-piece as we go.

AEM students did a great job forming teams and producing a short film out of a box containing unconnected props. The project required stretching out of the normal routine and working under a tight schedule to plan, film and edit. We'll look at the products tomorrow in class.

Clubs will be on the normal schedule this week.

Monday - Writers' Club work day.

Tuesday - 6th Grade production

Wednesday - JS Workshop

Thursday - 7th Grade Production

Friday - Art Club

Media Center will be open for student work until 4p.m. every day this week, open at 7:30.

Yearbook is planning to close advertisements for the year on May 9. Copy should be in our hands by that date. Give me a call or drop an email to fhsyearbook@edsmedia.net if this deadline will be a problem for you.

Thanks to everyone who has supported our program this year!