Friday, August 31, 2018

Multimedia Projects

Happy Friday!

This week We started classes. At UNCA we have a culture of undergraduate research and strive to provide students with what is affectionately called Inquiry ARC (inquire, Apply, Reflect, Communicate). When we give Projects within our class we are asking candidates to consider an idea or a deeper understanding related to coursework, apply their knowledge, reflect on it and communicate their understanding in some way.

So my Inquiry ARC 'opportunity' (One of our professors always invites her students to engage in an examination as their opportunity. I like that.) is as follows:

Create a multimedia product that illustrates the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to complete EdTPA. Inquiry ARC stands for Inquire (learning about EdTPA), Apply/Analyze (there are three tasks), Reflect (How does EdTPA impact your own professional development?), and Communicate (Share your findings.)
Your goal is to create a 3-5 minute product that is both entertaining and inspiring. Consider memes, images, drama, song.
The topic is EdTPA, the three tasks, and consider this through the lens of developing your own professional development.
I was met with 


So, wow, I thought, maybe students in schools don't do much of this. Maybe students in college don't do much of this. So, I am here to liberate my students!
To create this multimedia project, students will first need something to say! They, like k-12 students, need some scaffolding. The scaffold is this....
RefLeft on the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to create EdTPA ( EdTPA is a portfolio based on a 3-5 day learning segment. ..Educational Teacher Performance Assessment).

Choose something you love to do! I love taking pictures.
Throughout the course keep a reflection record of what knowledge, what skills, what dispositions are being shared. Towards the end, write a script 2-3 pages, collect images, Memes, video clips, or paint images....that compliment the words, give contextual meaning. 
Then choose your presentation tool...video, virtual newspaper, song, interpretive dance....

Multimedia is magical and can give students a fresh way to share their passions.

Friday, August 24, 2018

It's a New Year!!! Recognize your Superpowers!


Welcome to your new year. I hope all goes well.
Last week I gave a talk with our incoming freshmen about the relationship between contemplative theory (the idea that when we are present and aware, we can enjoy and troubleshoot more than when we are not "aware" of our surroundings and our own inner response to events or people), and Superpowers. I refer to superpowers as how we address our own
Physical
Intellectual
Social
Emotional
Spiritual gifts.

These superpowers are important to all of us as we travel through the journey of preparing and interacting, problem solving, and celebrating. It is my hope to examine and share ways we can enhance and "feed" our own superpowers and provide support to our colleagues along the lines of recognizing and taking care of them. (:
Welcome to your new year!