Sunday, September 30, 2012



My vision of my action research plan was to increase student achievement through effective methods of review.
I thought about how the students enjoyed doing labs in class, so I decided to create mini-labs that students could rotate through while reviewing the tested material. My target population was 105 students in the 8th grade. The setting of my study will be in my science classroom. The project will be implemented at the end of each six weeks. I will use the data from class work and teacher observation to determine weak objectives to include in the review. My principal encourages my work on this project and has observed one of our mini-lab reviews. My expected results from using this method instead of the tired worksheet or vocabulary game review are student achievement, student engagement, and increased test scores.
 My action research plan served the needs of all students. In the lab review students with special needs and those of diverse backgrounds were very successful. Hands-on learning seems to always be effective with special needs children. In addition, the technology station that worked on vocabulary was especially helpful for my English language learners. The group collaboration was impressive to observe. As I monitored the groups and listened to their conversations I was amazed at the problem solving and critical thinking they were exhibiting. They worked together to master the question, problem, or investigation. They worked as a team and learning was evident and for eighth grade that is achievement.

Friday, September 28, 2012

EDLD 5326 Web Conferences

Web Conferences
I try to attend each web conference that is available. I like hearing from the professors in person and to get clarification on assignments. Even with the technology glitches that occur, Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Abernathy have held some very informative conferences. Dr. Jenkins covered the information regarding ILD training, LCE information, field supervisors, how to find groups in the new discussion board, and directions to the department website. The transition to Blackboard has been awkward for me, but the professors have been patient and understanding as we make the adjustments. I enjoy the web conferences most when we discuss an issue about education. Dr. Jenkins presents enjoyable and real life issues to discuss. This past class has been great in that the web conferences were offered on two different days at different times.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

PSA - Holiday Festival

Final and Revised PSA Pre-Production

FINAL and REVISED PSA

Pre-Production



Project Proposal

Create your project proposal here. As you produce your public service announcement during Weeks 4 and 5, revise this proposal as needed before submitting it to your coach again in Week 5. Each member of the team needs a copy of the proposal.





General Information



Name(s): Johnetta Alfred
Renee Brawner
John Ellis
Steven Payne
Project title:
Holiday Festival


Purpose
Advertise and Promote Community Involvement with Families


Audience
Community
Students
Staff
Program length
60 seconds


Costumes
Country Dress
Holiday Attire
Clown
Animal
Santa outfit
Sets
Sunny Day at School
Familyland Park
Night time in a Small Rural Town
Car
Train on street
Props
Booths
Car
Popcorn, hot chocolate, wassel, hotdog
Posters
Locations
Children’s Playground
Familyland Park
Classroom/
hallway
Crew



Director(s)
Johnetta Alfred


Scriptwriter(s)
Renee Brawner
John Ellis

Talent
Men, Women
Boys, Girls
Animals
Mr. and Mrs. Claus
Camera operator(s)
John Ellis
Renee Brawner

Editor(s)
Steven Payne


Schedule of Deliverables



Project phases

Due date
Owner
Brainstorm and Prepare Proposal
Via Conference Calls, emails
11-28-2011 -

12-14-2011
Team
Prepare Script Outline
Via Conference Call
11-29-2011
Johnetta Alfred
Prepare Script
Via Conference Call
11-29-2011
Renee Brawner
Prepare Shot List
Via Conference Call
11-30-2011
Steven Payne
Gather photos/footage along with copyright/fair use documentation

12-7-2011
12-5-2011 - 12-11-2011
Team
Film footage by team member

12-6-2011
12-5-2011 - 12-10-2011
John Ellis and
Steven Payne
Renee Brawner and Johnetta Alfred
Combine & edit footage/videos/photos

12-9-2011
12-11-2011
Team
Provide voice overs

12-10-2011
Steven Payne
John Ellis
Final Edits

12-11-2011
Team
Final approval

12-14-2011
Team
Submission of assignment

12-16-2011
Team







Script Outline

Add a copy of your script outline here. As you produce your public service announcement during Weeks 4 and 5, revise this proposal as needed before submitting it to your coach again in Week 5. Each member of the team needs a copy of the proposal.

1. Opening Shot
a. Poster Advertising the Holiday Festival with  prizes, food, fun, and music.

2. Additional shots of information and locations such as:

a. People having fun
b. People eating
c. Face Painting
d. Fishing Booth
e. Dunking Booth
f.  Dancing
f.  School
g. Christmas Tree

3. Closing Shot
a. Poster Advertising the Holiday Festival letting viewers know when, where, time, and how much fun they will have at the event.  Time of the Holiday Festival







Narration Script

Add a copy of your narration script here. As you produce your public service announcement during Weeks 4 and 5, revise this proposal as needed before submitting it to your coach again in Week 5. Each member of the team needs a copy of the proposal.

Scene 1 - Close-up Shot - Poster
Voice over: Come one Come all to the Funtown Holiday Festival on Saturday, December 17, 2011 at Familyland Park 5PM -9PM

Scene 2 - Wide Shot - People eating, playing and having fun at the event
Voice over: There will be food, fun, and family events to brighten your holiday season!

Fade-in Wide shot of Santa
Voice over: Don’t be surprised who you might see.

Scene 3 - Fade in and out wide shots of people eating
Voice over: Enjoy mouth watering hot dogs, buttery popcorn, steamy hot chocolate, and wassail.

Scene 4 - Zoom in shot of person getting face painted (fade in and out)
Voice over: Have your face painted by an aspiring Picasso.

Scene 5 - Zoom in shot of person at go fishing booth. (fade in and out)
Voice over: Have fun fishing and catching prizes.

Scene 6- Zoom Tight in shot of person at Dunking booth (fade in and out)
 Voice over:  Come out and dunk your favorite teacher.

Scene 7- Wide shot of school
 Voice over: Stay connected to your school and community while having an enjoyable       evening with family.
Scene 7 - Wide shot of dancing and Santa in the street.
Voice over: Santa will be in the streets as we rock around the Christmas tree from 8-9.

Scene 8 - Zoom in/zoom out shot of Christmas tree. (fade to black)
Voice over: Santa will be in the streets as we rock around the Christmas tree from 8-9.

Scene 8: Fade in to Christmas Tree (fade to black)
Scene 9 - Close up shot of poster  Time of Holiday Festival
Voice over: Memories are made here- join us December 17, 2011 at Familyland Park, 5PM -9PM








Shot List

Add a copy of your script outline here. As you produce your public service announcement during Weeks 4 and 5, revise this proposal as needed before submitting it to your coach again in Week 5. Each member of the team needs a copy of the proposal.

Name(s) Johnetta Alfred, Renee Brawner, John Ellis, Steven Payne
ET-8039 Team
Project Title
Holiday Festival


Shot Number
Opening Shot (1)
Location
Campus
Familyland Park
Talent
Renee Brawner
Props
Poster
Special Equipment
Camera


Shot Number
Fun and Games (2)
Location
Familyland Park
Talent
N/A
Props
Pictures of games at a festival
Special Equipment
Cameras


Shot Number
Eats (3)
Location
Familyland Park
Talent
People at festival
Props
Shots of good food and people having a good time.
Special Equipment
Camera


Shot Number
Face Painting (4)
Location
Familyland Park
Talent
Face Painter (Google image)
Props
paint, paintbrush, person, and artist
Special Equipment
Camera


Shot Number
Fishing booth (5)
Location
Familyland Park
Talent
Boy fishing (Google image)
Props
Pole, Booth
Special Equipment
Camera, video


Shot Number
Dunking booth (6)
Location
Familyland Park
Talent
Johnetta in dunking booth
Props
Dunking booth
Special Equipment
Camera, video


Shot Number
School (7)  Santa in the Street
Location
Funtown Middle School
Familyland Park
Talent
N/A
Props
N/A Santa and dancers
Special Equipment
Camera, video


Shot Number
Tree Shot (8)
Location
Town square
Familyland Park
Talent
N/A
Props
Tree in town square
Special Equipment
Camera


Shot Number
Closing Shot (9)
Location
N/A
Talent
Renee Brawner
Props
Poster
Special Equipment
Camera





Copyright Information

Note any citation and fair use guidelines to any visual or audio assets you use in your public service announcement here. As you produce your public service announcement during Weeks 4 and 5, revise this proposal as needed before submitting it to your coach again in Week 5. Each member of the team needs a copy of the proposal.

All photos and video clips used will be created and shot by members of the group.
No Copyright needed at this time.
A Creative Commons license will be attached to the final product.
Last frame of video will include license and group member names.
Copyright 2011 – Johnetta Alfred, Renee Brawner, John Ellis, Steven Payne

Based on a work at sites.google.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://sites.google.com/site/chapter1renee/.





Reflection Week 5 - Renee Brawner



What an experience! Since I am new to technology, this assignment started as a daunting task. Adding to the difficulty of wide shots, voice overs, and a myriad of other strange and new terminology, the assignment had to be completed working with three strangers.

I was invited to be on a team and I quickly accepted. While looking at the assignment, I notified my partners that I was new to technology and they would not hurt my feelings if they didn’t want me to be part of the team. I was quickly answered with a response, “We are a team to the end.”

Soon we were collaborating using Google documents and conference calls. My fear of working with a team was replaced with gratitude for my team.

My partners helped me when I struggled and they have been great teachers. After much hard work we produced an excellent Public Service Announcement. We also became friends.

Renee Brawner



Reflection Week 5 - John Ellis



The success of our teams PSA video production project was contributed to the different talents each member brought to the table. In the video, Learning and working in a collaborative age, Nelson explained how to accept every offer that your team members bring to the table (Nelson, 2008). Our team applied this concept and accepted every idea, every photo, every video, and every audio file, and adjusted the material to produce our final product. All of our team members had done some type of video or audio production in the past, whether it was using Movie Maker, Audacity, or other video editing software. Having the background helped us brainstorm ideas for our PSA and collaborate those ideas using a Google document. Our next step was to develop a storyboard and plan our script and video shots. We shared all of our files through email or placed them in a shared Dropbox. Different team members practiced making the PSA and then discussed final edits during a conference call. It was a pleasure to work with such a professional group of teachers who are dedicated to succeed. This project has produced four good friendships that will help us support each other through the remainder of this program.



Nelson, R. (2008). Learning and working in the collaborative age: A new model for the workplace. Edutopia. Retrieved from April 23, 2009, from http://www.edutopia.org/randy-nelson-school-to-career-video





Reflection - Week 5 PSA Assignment - Johnetta Alfred



I have been blessed to be able to work with such an outstanding group of strangers. I often called us the GT group because no matter what problem arose, someone on the team was able to figure it out and end up with a solution. We managed to stay prepared and on schedule with assignments and conference calls. As a team, I was motivated because the communication was excellent and encouraged. We communicated openly and accepted assigned duties and responsibilities for a successful PSA. Each team member used leadership strengths to help complete this assignment. We collaborated throughout the whole process and ironed out any problems as they were presented. The PSA is a result of a talented team and an excellent working relationship that produced our first PSA video for a Holiday Festival. John and Steven were able to work together with photos provided by the team and audio to create a masterpiece for this PSA. Renee enjoyed writing the script for the video. John recorded the audio and Steven made it all flow together with photos and audio. The whole team provided pictures for the screen shots for the video. Steven was able to make the final video as a Windows Movie Maker and mp4 file so the team could post it on their wikis and blogs. The team’s collaboration was through emails, conference calls and a Google Doc which was most beneficial. From this assignment, I have new friends that will continue to inspire me throughout this program. I would like to thank Renee, John and Steven for being a Great Team!







Reflection - Week 5 - Steven Payne



For the past few years, my campus has been driven toward cooperative learning.  Getting students into groups and having them work on projects is one of many ways that students learn.  I believe that it is the same way for adults. I was blessed to work with such a talented group.  Each group member had talents that allowed for a quick and painless process to get to the final product.  While working on the public service announcement or PSA, I was able to make connections with my group members that I will take with me throughout the remaining classes for my masters.  As for the PSA, the group worked with a common purpose in all phases of the project.  In the Pre-Production phase, it was great to hear all the ideas the group came up with.  With all the ideas that we had, it was amazing how easy it was to decide on a common topic.  Once the topic was chosen, the ideas flowed.  I was afraid that would not happen due to the amount of time that we had and the distance between us.  Working together allowed us to fill in the required information needed to start the project and submit the necessary paper work.  For the Production phase, the conference calls enabled us to communicate what was going on our end of the project and relate information that was needed.  Once the information was stated, the group members went out and completed their part; no questions asked.  It was awesome.  The end of the Production phase concluded with a three hour conference call on Sunday, December 11, 2011, which allowed for the completion of the project and the finalized PSA to be presented.  The Post-Production part of the adventure was exceptional just like the rest of the project.  The final video was produced.  Errors were corrected, and the final video was posted complete.  This group project presented so many challenges and difficulties.  Members were hundreds of miles apart, but it was great to see a final product that I am proud of.  I would be gratified to work with this group again.





Links for Dropbox Gallery - with Pictures used for PSA