Genius Hour Blog Post #4.

Hi again! It’s so crazy that this course is almost coming to an end…. but I’m still learning so much. Today in class I added audio narration to my Genius Hour Intro movie on Powtoon! I downloaded a program called Audacity to do this, but I found it challenging to hear myself while in the classroom because it was so loud, so I had to step out of the room to do it successfully.

We also had the chance to do some exploring on our own which was very cool because I was introduced to a number of different web tools like Audioboo, Paper.li, WebQuest, EMAZE, and Google Sites. Afterward, we got the opportunity to collaborate with others in the class that looked at different tools, and broaden our knowledge on a bunch more resources that we could use in the classroom!  For the core learning activity, I made a Learning Object using Wordle, which is a word cloud from text that I used that highlights some key words from my Genius Hour project to introduce people to my topic! Feel free to go check that out, it’s under in my page called ‘My Learning Object’.

That’s all for now :) 

Genius Hour Blog Post #3.

Today I made an trailer for my genius hour project on Powtoon! I had a lot of fun creating it, as I got to refresh my memory on my knowledge of the program (it’s been a little while since we made our last one!) Also, making this trailer forced me to think more about the important ideas I want to include in my final project. Remembering all the different options the program offered was a little bit difficult at first, but once I got help from a classmate, everything slowly started coming back.

Next up is working on my TED Talk about my Genius Hour Project, which I am nervous and excited for. It will be difficult to measure up to the TED Talks I’ve seen in the past, but I’m going to do my best! 

Genius Hour Blog Post #2.

Helllllo again,

We are concluding Session 3 today and I feel like I have learned so much already from this class!  The high-paced learning environment is challenging at times, but I've learned that patience is key and if you don't understand something at first, don't panic!  Being exposed to foreign concepts and a variety of different programs in this class, it's difficult to take in so much information and understand how different systems work. Words like 'Powtoon, Genius Hour, Plickers' were brought to my attention throughout my time in this class, and even though these unknown words were frightening at first, there is no shortage of support and being immersed in this positive learning environment helps a lot!  Technology is time consuming and can be difficult and I'm grateful for this learning experience and the ability to remember to stay calm, ask questions, and stay motivated.


"Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents."
         -Ludwig van Beethoven


I wanted to share the above quote from a musical prodigy to start off my rant about my Genius Hour Project for the day. Throughout my reading of an article on "John Hopkins: School of Education", it pulls information from Chris Brewer's book called Music and Learning. He emphasizes that music is one of the joys of life, and it has the ability to be one of the joys of learning as well! Further, he goes into depth about the different WAYS music can be used in the classroom, and the more practical implications of this powerful tool. He says that there are 3 areas of teaching where integrating music can be highly effective:

• Learning Information
• Music can be used to help us remember learning experiences and information
• Music will activate students mentally, physically, and emotionally and create learning states which enhance understanding of learning material.
• Music stabilizes mental, physical and emotional rhythms to attain a state of deep concentration and focus in which large amounts of content information can be processed and learned.
• Attention, Attitude, and Atmosphere
• Certain music will create a positive learning atmosphere and help students to feel welcome to participate in the learning experience.
• Music can energize lagging attention levels or soothe and calm when necessary.
• Music is a powerful tool for understanding other cultures and bonding with one another.
• Personal Expression
• Creation of musical compositions offers a pathway to expressing personal feelings and beliefs in the language of musical sound.
• Background music is used to stimulate internal processing, to facilitate creativity, and encourage personal reflection.
• Writing songs related to content allows students to express how they feel about issues brought up in historic incidents, social studies topics or literature.

Still have a lot of research to do to answer my Genius Hour question, but I love what I am learning so far! Until next time..

Genius Hour Blog Post #1.

SO I finally decided on my Genius Hour question... after much deliberation. When the opportunities are endless, it's hard to narrow down all of your ideas and focus them into ONE final question! This is what I came up with:

What are the benefits of educators incorporating music in the classroom?

I chose this topic because music is of significant importance in my life. I've been singing since as long as I can remember, and love playing the guitar and piano. Growing up, music was rarely included in my elementary school classroom, but I feel as though it has started to become a more prominent tool used in the learning environment. On first thought you may think music would be a distraction in the classroom, however I believe it can contribute to a more positive and productive atmosphere for learning. 

My goals for this project are to learn about the different ways music can be used to enhance student learning  and the overall dynamics of a classroom. My research will include information looking at playing music in the background while students are working, to students actually being involved in producing music and using instruments to create their own works of art. Additionally, I'm interested in finding out how music influences different age groups in the classroom and their productivity and performance levels. 

By using SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely), I will be able to measure my progress with this project effectively. My Genius Hour Proposal Pitch includes a timeline - including the research stages, the writing stage, editing stage of my project - which I intend to follow in order to reach my goal. Throughout the duration of the project, I will monitor where I am in relation to my timeline, and adjust myself accordingly. If something takes more or less time than anticipated, I can account for that! 

Copyright

In today’s technologically advanced world, people have the ability to access a wide range of pictures, music, and video clips - amongst many other tangible pieces of work, all of which are protected by copyright. I learned through my research that just the act alone of actually creating the work enables the copyright, and it’s not something that you have to go to acquire. Hence, if I created something, I am the only one who has the right to it.  Because of the power of sharing and the growing necessity to allow individuals to access the abundant amount resources out there, an organization called Creative Commons was created. This organization allows authors to give others the right to share or use their work in varying degrees and aims to maximizing innovation.  

I believe the most important concept to teach students about copyright is recognizing the value of each individual's work and being aware of the ways that you can infringe on that copyright. Giving students the tools and knowledge to accurately give credit to original authors of work, i.e.: proper citation and documentation, is a critical lesson that will be beneficial throughout their whole life. 

 San José Library. (2009, August 29). Three girls using the computer at the grand opening [Online image]. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1gkOpYa

 Ribeiro, L. (2008, June 30). Children at school [Online image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/lupuca/8720604364 

Genius hour

Welcome to my blog! Today we learned about this cool thing called genius hour, which is where students get a period of time throughout the day to create an article of work - whether it is a report, project, speech, or piece of art - about something that interests them which they want to explore further. It stretches students' creativity and engages them to master certain skills and challenge themselves in different ways.  

Chris Kesler, in "What is Genius Hour" calls these projects "passion projects", which I think is a great name because students have the freedom to choose something that they are truly passionate about to work on and working on something you are interested in, in itself is motivating. 

I want to share a few resources with you...

• First is an article by Lifehack called "How 30 Minutes a Day Can Increase Your Intelligence", where Zoe B shares that you should do doing one small thing every day for a half hour - such as reading a book or researching something that interests you on the Internet - and after a period of time you will expand your intelligence and truly improve your life! Learning new skills and keeping yourself up to date can have such a positive influence on you, and it's critical that we recognize this opportunity and encourage kids to do the same in the classroom. 

• To get some ideas of how you could engage your class with genius hour, here is a video on SchoolTube, called "Genius Hour: Follow your Passion" - which encompasses a number of different genius hour projects kids have done, from cooking to basketball tricks to robotic arms. The video is a clear demonstration that there is no absolutely shortage of creativity with these projects and the sky is the limit!

So... what will YOUR genius hour project be?