Embryology Video and Ustream Broadcast
1. What standard(s)/outcome(s) are being met?
1 A. Identification, selection, installation and maintenance of technology infrastructure, and hardware and software applications for school administration and instruction.
1 B. Integrating technology into curricular planning and instructional design.
2. Identify 1-3 elements of the artifact and explain why/how they demonstrate mastery.
Every year, my class does an embryology study as part of their curriculum. The concept of embryology is exciting and advanced for third grade. We only have the eggs for three weeks before they hatch, and during that time the students study how the eggs grow and develop. The first time I ran the project, most of the eggs hatched while the students were not at school, and I realized they really missed out on the most exciting part of the project. I decided I would record and make a movie about the process the next time so students wouldn't miss out on the excitement. I posted the video on my class web page and made it accessible via a QR code at my school building. Any interested parents, teachers, or administrators could just scan the QR code next to our embryology display at school to learn more about the whole process by watching my video. The following year I had an even better idea. I decided to live stream the eggs hatching from their incubator via a web cam! That idea was so well received I started getting recognition from the school district superintendent. Now, every year I connect and coordinate the live stream of the hatches of all three third grade teacher in my school building. We announce the hatch dates on our web pages, through email, and across Facebook. Parents, staff and students from the community all love "tuning in" to watch our chicks hatch.
3. How does, will, or could the content of this artifact benefit your instructional audience or professional community?
This artifact benefits my instructional audience by extending our curricular project beyond the classroom walls. It makes it truly a global project as students share the excitement with friends and family all around the world so that everyone can take part. Whether people were viewing the embryology video or watching the chicks hatch via live stream, everyone was participating in the excitement of the project and sharing in the enjoyment that was unfolding before them.
4. Reflection: What did you learn from the experience when you created the artifact or took the course?
This experience taught me that technology is a powerful tool in connecting the world to your classroom. I had never before seen an impact quite like this one regarding how technology could effect a project. I also learned that hardware and software glitches will haunt you in larger scope projects. I went through many challenges with laptops crashing, software conflicts, and screensavers interfering with broadcasts before I finally worked out all the kinks. This year I transitioned to broadcasting with Chromebooks. The Chrome OS presented its own challenges for adding on third party web cams and needing to install extensions to shut down its sleep mode, but again it all worked out. Each year presents a new challenge, but that is what I love about technology!
Embryology Video Created with iMovie:
Ustream Broadcast Screenshots: (Taken while channel was off air)
