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=A team of our 8th-graders is just about finished a digital storytelling project about World War I. Their teacher said that the kids were not finding the topics they have to study interesting, and she was frustrated.= =These boys are not all top students, but they've been working on this project for a couple of weeks. They just had a test, and it was great to overhear them telling each other how much of their project was on the test -- and they knew it!= =They used a wiki to store all of their material, and to plan their storyboard. They used Discovery Education and some Creative Commons sources to obtain their visuals and sound effects, and they recorded their voiceover using Audacity. They were able to work together and asynchronously, and from any computer, without trying to remember where their files were.= =We're going to send the finished proj​e​ct to Cynthia Casciola-Kitts for inclusion in the DOB Schools YouTube account.= =I'm especially thrilled here, for 2 reasons:=
 * 1) Students who were not especially interested in the history content //were// interested in creating a video that would end up on YouTube.
 * 2) We have a great marketing tool here ~ it showcases our kids' scholarship and technical skills, and it doesn't show their faces or full names, there's no safety issue.

For whatever reason, this never made it onto the Diocesan site, but here it is : media type="custom" key="6405129" width="60" height="60" = = =When our graduates put their yearbook together, they didn't get these pictures in, so they made an Animoto. They were able to upload their pictures from wherever: their home computers, their FaceBook pages (no, of course they don't have Facebook pages LOL), their cameras. Then, two of them rearranged them, made a class list and checked to be sure that everyone had a picture, added their class' favorite song, and here's the result. We're using it tomorrow at their Awards ceremony and their Graduation.= It took them a couple of hours to edit the photos so that they were happy with the results, and they tried a couple of arrangements before they were satisfied, but the whole project, including photo editing, took about 3 hours. If your photos are ready to go, it might take 20 minutes. It's a great way to show off work, create a photo essay, or "remember when." 2.0 because it's collaborative and user-created, and completely brainless and painless. media type="custom" key="6405241" width="60" height="60" align="center"

One more: google.sketchup7 tools for developing 3-D models; they can be added to googleearth.


 * Happy Easter!!**

Post our Pre-k Shapes (circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, triangles and diamonds) work. Match the pictures you see in. everyday life to the correct shapes up top.