Professional Learning Goals

We wanted to learn how technology could be used to give students a real audience.

We learned how to use YouTube, iPads, MacBooks, iMovie, iPhoto, Google Docs, Google Classroom and Google Sites to help promote school spirit.

We wanted to give the community the ability to see inside our school and all the wonderful learning that happens daily.

We wanted to promote a sense of belonging and community among our parents and our school.

Activities and Resources

Just having the devices and playing with them with the kids really helped. We used Google a lot and learned as we went and found all sorts of shortcuts along the way.

For example, we couldn’t figure out how to apply a tile on iMovie for iPad, so we decided to take a black photograph and place it in and write on top of it.

Unexpected Challenges

We found it hard to share the iMovie slideshows between devices.

We  sometimes faced difficulty uploading media and sorting through the various pictures and making sure they were filed correctly on the computers.

Because we created the media club as an extra curricular, it didn’t reach its full potential. I think it would have been really great if it was more embraced school-wide, and homeroom teachers included into their programs.

We needed more time with the students to create content and to make sure they were able to see their projects through.

Sometimes we ran out of devices. It would have been great if we had two or three MacBooks because the iMovie is much better on the desktop version compared to iPads.

Enhancing Student Learning and Development

Students developed their writing skills and ability to edit their writing using Google Docs. They learned how to frame and take photographs. They learned how to organize photographs on a computer; putting them into folders where they were easily retrieved.

They learned how to create a slideshow and pick music that is suitable and relevant. They learned how to upload to YouTube and write descriptions for their videos.

Sharing

Sharing is the primary focus of the project. We shared the achievements of the school and the club every month in the school character assemblies. Not one month went by without something from the media club!

We put a link to the website on the school website and regularly made mention of the club in the school newsletter.

We hosted a community information night where we met with parents and community members.

Project Evaluation

We think the project was a great success. For the first stab at it, we certainly achieved a lot. I would like to see it embraced on a larger scale and get more submissions from other classrooms.

Next time, I would have made the website as a part of my classroom, rather than an extra-curricular activity.