Top Ten Rules

                                  What’s happening in Mrs. Lowerre’s Class?

My class was very excited about getting to use the iPads as part of our pilot program.  When   they heard the news of earning a permit and then a license, they were ready to get started.  Our first activity was to write the rules and expectations we would follow as a class.  We spent one period brainstorming all the problems we might encounter and then wrote a rule that would solve that problem.  After lots of discussion and debate we decided on 10 very important rules.  

Students were assigned a rule and placed into groups to write a short skit that would demonstrate the rule.  Posters were drawn to provide a visual.  It was wonderful to see the great pride the kids took in creating  their skits.  Each rule began to take on a personality of it’s own as the kids wrote and rewrote their rule  until the skit was just right.  After the writing was finished, students began to practice their performance and identify any  problems.  One big problem was that many of the kids didn’t speak  loud enough or face the camera.  There were also some sections of the script that didn’t flow naturally and the students needed to re-write.  The recommendation that repeated over and over was “how would you really say this to your friend?”  Our goal was to be ready to tape when we had our first lesson with Mr. Sonnenberg and Mrs. Fromen.

When the technology team of Sonnenberg and Froman arrived we were ready.  Mr. Sonnenberg did a great lesson on how to use the iPad as a video tool.  The students practiced on each other taking pictures and videos. ,Students dispersed to locations all over the school to find a “quiet” space for taping.   Using their newly acquired “camera man” training, the student teams gladly took turns taping each other.  Students felt empowered as the teams problem solved movement, sound, props etc.on their own.    It was rewarding to stand back and watch the students collaborate as they made this video their own.  The kids were focused, did little arguing and continued to problem solve together as they improved after each time they watched their tape..   When the kids would watch each draft it looked like a big donut of kids surrounding  the iPad in the middle.  What a cool picture.  

After all the taping was completed, Mr. Sonnenberg taught the students how to upload their videos to our school Youtube Account.  He then magically turned all our clips into our first production:  Top Ten Rules

We were drained after all that work but proud of our accomplishments. The key to success with the taping was being prepared with the scripts written and rehearsed in advance. Also, it is important for the teacher to stand back and allow the students to do the work and have ownership of the product. The process is so important and the product becomes perfect when the students are the owners.