Virtual_Tour

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===- a MICCA funded grant by [|Beth Singleton], GT Resource Teacher & [|Gwyneth Jones], Teacher Librarian & Technology Specialist===

=Take a Virtual Tour in English= =media type="custom" key="7609439"= =Take a Virtual Tour in Spanish= media type="custom" key="7609443" =Take a Virtual Tour in Korean= media type="custom" key="7609461" =Take a Virtual Tour in Urdu= media type="custom" key="7609463"

a variety of camera angles.




into their native languages: Spanish, Korean, and Urdu.
=**Grant Application Information:**= for those of you who are curious or are desiring to try for the MICCA grant next year, here is an edited outline of our Grant Application:

A. States the title of the proposal. – Go On a Walkabout: a Multi-Lingual Virtual Tour of Murray Hill Middle School B. Includes a brief description of the grant. (Maximum of 75 words. This description will be published if the grant proposal is selected for an award.) Students will storyboard, shoot, edit and narrate a video virtual tour of our school in both English and Spanish using the Flip Video and Small Wonder video camera. The completed imovie will be uploaded to our webpage, TeacherTube, and our Blog for new students to access. After project completion, students will evaluate the two video cameras highlighting: features, ease of use and editing, and quality of picture and sound.

D. States the purpose and objectives of the proposed program. The purpose of the project is to bring together students in the ESL program with students in the Film Production Seminar in a partnership to identify the needs of new students and to learn technology skills in order to create a bi-lingual product to benefit new students of our school. The objectives of the project include • The student will evaluate student-created product design based on purpose, audience, and format • The student will design a product based on purpose, audience, and format • The students will select and use the appropriate multimedia and publishing tools to express original ideas with print, drawings, digital images, video, sounds, and/ or person recordings • The student will compose texts using the prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing strategies of effective writers and speakers.

E. Describes how the program will be assessed. The program will be assessed in the following ways: • The ESL/ Film Production Team will develop an evaluation to accompany the viewing of the video addressing purpose, audience, and format. • The students who view the video as part of their orientation session with the guidance office will be asked to complete the evaluation, in either English or Spanish, noting the usefulness of the video for the intended audience and providing this feedback to the Film Production Team. • The ESL/ Film Production Team will track this feedback and utilize the feedback to revise their product for the intended audience. • The ESL/ Film Production students will evaluate the Flip Video Camcorder and the Small Wonder Video Camera using a rubric based on features, ease of use and editing, and qualify of picture and sound. They will use the results to write a report to the county Media Specialists and GT Resource Teachers detailing their evaluation and making a recommendation for future technology purchases. • The ESL/ Film Production students will complete a metacognitive self-evaluation about their learning and its impact on their achievement

F. Lists a specific Maryland Content Standard or the specific VSC Standard, and Topic which is being addressed by this grant application. VSC 3.1 The student will demonstrate understanding of the nature and structure of language, including grammar concepts and skills, to strengthen control of oral and written language. VSC 2.2 The student will compose texts using the prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing strategies of effective writers and speakers. VSC 7.2. The student will demonstrate appropriate organizational strategies and delivery techniques to plan for a variety of oral presentation purposes

G. Lists a specific Maryland Teacher Technology Standard which will be addressed. Standard II – Communication Outcome B. Use technology to communicate information in a variety of formats.

H. Lists a specific Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students which will be addressed.

Standard 4.0 – Technology for Communication and Expression: Use technology to communicate information and express ideas using various media formats

J. The grant proposal must have improved student achievement as its primary focus and address an instructional need in a new and creative way.

This program will increase the achievement of students in the ESL Program as well as the students in the Film Production Seminar by providing them with an opportunity to create a product for a real audience. Students in the ESL Program often feel marginalized from the mainstream culture of the school. New students also feel displaced when entering a new school mid-year. Research shows that students are more effective learners when classrooms and schools create a sense of community in which students feel significant and respected. The magnitude of this project and its significance will maximize the capacity of each student involved. AFI Screen Education research findings support that screen education increase students’ desire to share work and collaborate with peers and mentors. This project addresses many standards to improve communication skills and critical thinking skills while providing differentiation for students who have an expressed interest in technology and creative production. Research further shows that student learn best when they can make a connection between the curriculum and their interests and life experiences (Thomlinson 2000). This project capitalizes on those connections as a method for advancing student achievement.

K. Include a brief statement of the qualifications of the applicant(s) administering the program. Gwyneth Jones has been a Library Media/Technology specialist in Howard County for over 15 years. Winning the NTTI / PBS / MPT Teacher of the Year in 2001 she has gone on to also be a graduate instructor of Professional Development and Technology Integration at Johns Hopkins University in addition to working at Murray Hill Middle School which she opened in 1997.

Elizabeth Singleton is a Gifted and Talented Resource Teacher and former English teacher and team leader with 19 years of experience in Howard County Public Schools. Since completing the HCPSS Satellite Technology Academy Seminar on Designing Multimedia Products for Instruction in 2004 and the AFI Screen Education program in 2005, she has worked to integrate and promote technology as a powerful communication tool across the curriculum through instruction seminars such as Film Production.


 * MICCA Grant Summary Article**
 * Go On a Walkabout: a Multi-Lingual Virtual Tour of Murray Hill Middle School**

Our MICCA grant helped us purchase Flip video camera and film production accessories so that students in a Beginning Film Production Seminar could work in teams to create a video virtual-tour of our school. Students received instruction in storyboarding, camera angles, using a tripod and lighting, editing and voice-over narration. Once students had received preliminary instruction, they were assigned to work in teams of three in the roles of producer/ direction, camera operator, and actor based on their interests. The big group divided up the school and students set out to scout their area and revise their storyboards. The students took this responsibility very seriously, carefully selecting camera angles and reviewing their video footage for quality. In addition to film making skills, the students learned valuable teamwork and communication skills. They were motivated by the project and viewed it as important and valuable. When it was completed, they were very gratified to see their work published to the website. Once the English version was completed, students in the ELL program watched the tour and began translating the script into their own languages. To date, we have tours in Spanish, Korean, and Urdu in addition to English. The ELL students were also very proud of their contribution to the school community and more students in the ELL program have asked if they can help with the project. Family and friends all over the world have viewed the tours. It is our plan to involve the ELL students in adding a section to the tour about the ESOL classroom which they will storyboard, film, and script. The completed imovie includes original music composed in Garageband. It has been uploaded to our Wiki, TeacherTube, and will be uploaded to our school webpage for new students to access and to evaluate. Once the students completed the project, they worked with their teams to evaluate the Flip video camera for features, ease of use and editing, and quality of picture and sound. Their evaluations were tallied and their conclusions were sent to the GT Resource Teachers and Media Specialists around the county to help them make equipment decisions. All of the documentation related to the process and product can be accessed on our wiki: http://mhmsmedia.wikispaces.com/virtual_tour This grant has offered our students an opportunity to express themselves creatively through film and to build their communication and teamwork skills in the process. They are very proud to have created something that will inform and entertain others and that is available to the whole world to view. We look forward to expanding the project to include additional languages and perspectives so that all students in our school feel welcomed, valued, and included.

=Evaluation of The Flip Video Camera= =by the Members of MHMS Beginning Film Production=

3 – high level 2 – satisfactory level 1 – unsatisfactory level
Overall, the flip video camera earned satisfactory marks from the users earning a 2.1 average.

For the ease of use for the flip, the users said that it was small and easy to hold. It was also very easy to use. The users liked that at the bottom of the camera, there was a hole so the tripod could be placed there. This is true of the 60 minute camera but not the 30 minute.

The ease of editing was also rated a high level by the users. The users said that it was simple to connect to the computer and it was easy to use editing programs on the clips. The only problem with the editing software inside the camera is that you can’t delete videos very quickly in camera.

The quality of picture received a satisfactory by users because the camera image was shaky but the lighting was satisfactory.

The quality of sound was rated an unsatisfactory level by users because the microphone was placed on the side of the camera that was facing the person who is filming rather than the subject. Also, the sound level was very low.

The flip video camera is an economical choice for shooting web-based videos.

==The word doc to the above is here: [|Fliprating.doc]==