Project+Roundtables


 * ** Student Biographies – Adam Ehrhart, Red Lion **
 * Students in my fifth grade classroom completed their biography projects by researching a famous person, outlining the important aspects of his or her life, then dressing up and giving a speech dressed up as that person. Student speeches were recorded with a Flip video camera in front of a green screen. Students then met with me in small groups to edit and produce their movies in iMovie.
 * ** Granny Cam – Amy Musone, Central York **
 * What do you get when you have one retired (or not) individual, a computer with webcam, & a pair of speakers? A Granny Cam!
 * Students worked one-one-one each week with our very own "granny," Mrs. Sheffer. Each student met virtually with Mrs. Sheffer for ten-to-twenty minutes at a time. What did they work on? Everything. Students worked on reading fluency, writing, creating a website, and learned about primary documents. Not only did students' curricular needs get met, they also formed a caring relationship with her. Mrs. Sheffer had a strong presence in our classroom!
 * ** Blogging/Back Channel – Aly Tapp, York Suburban **
 * While studying a persuasive blog post that had gone viral on facebook, students used a back channel to discuss the blogger's rhetorical strengths. After debriefing in whole group discussion, we proceeded to review the extensive and angry comments following the post, for the blogger had not only fabricated his data, but had also responded disrespectfully to calm and justified criticisms. The back channel allowed students to demonstrate deeply active engagement in a low-threat atmosphere as we explored the pitfalls of digital citizenship.
 * ** Weebly Project – Cora Roush, Spring Grove **
 * I have been using Weebly for several years to create and update my own class website which includes pictures, videos, blogs, Vokis, and links to useful resources for my students. This past year, I decided to ask my students to create their own websites using Weebly. Because Weebly is a very user-friendly tool, my students caught on quickly and some of them even taught me about features that I didn't even know existed. Each chapter, I replaced the previous year's project (poster, brochure, presentation, etc.) with an eProject, which the students completed on their own websites. My students, the digital natives that they are, looked forward to each chapter's project and had an ePortolio at the end of the year to represent all that they had learned.
 * ** Game Modifications – Jeff Mummert, Derry Township **
 * Students in World Cultures II Honors and AP Human Geography at Hershey High School recently went beyond simply playing games, they "modded," or modified, existing games to reach specific educational objectives. Examples will be shown, specifically modifications made to [|Minecraft], [|The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim], and [|Civilization V] ** . **
 * ** Book Trailers – John Sengia, Spring Grove **
 * Need a way to spruce up the old book report assignment? Creating book trailers is a great way to not only have students share about what they have read, it generates student interest in reading more. In this round table, we will discuss pre-planning strategies to help maximize student time on task, tips for classroom management, and assessment strategies and considerations. Rubrics, student planning sheets, and how to's will all be shared in this session.
 * ** York Heritage Trust – Greg Wimmer, Central York **
 * In collaboration with the York County Heritage Trust, 12 Advanced Placement US History students scripted, produced, and edited videos for the Trust's downtown walking tours. Per request of the Trust, students also selected an augmented reality program for users to access the videos via their mobile devices.
 * ** Photostory Project - Missy Halcott, West York **
 * Third grade students completed photostory projects to share their research. They read nonfiction texts, took notes on graphic organizers, then illustrated and captured 2 images from the Internet to tell the story of their Pennsylvania tree, insect, or animal.