Classroom Vignette
How to Get Started Integrating Technology
by Dawn Ruehrmund
Would you like a new laptop for your classroom, complete with the latest and greatest
gadgets? This offer from the Cardington School District is what got me interested
in using technology in the classroom. Of course, I wanted in on that deal. As a
result— as part of "that deal"— I was signed up for classes on how to use these brand-new
beauties, even though I had no computer experience whatsoever, aside from hunt-and-peck
parent letters and emails to colleagues. Week after week I attended classes to learn
about spreadsheets, iPhoto, iMovie, digital cameras, and digital camcorders. It
was a bit overwhelming. This was in 2001, and it took me years of dabbling and lots
of tech support to get comfortable. Incorporating technology in your teaching is
like learning to walk . . . lots of baby steps!
Note: What you are going to read next can be easily adapted by
teachers of all grades and also by teachers who are looking for innovative ways
to teach students whose second language is English. And, in fact, the last section
offers suggestions to use with middle school students.
My Community iMovie Project
In following third grade state standards, my students study communities every fall.
We visit lots of local businesses and local attractions like the bank, post office,
cemetery, library, fire department, police station, mayor's office, and grocery
store. Before we take these trips, we discuss the importance of these businesses
to our community and how they impact our lives. Some students are very familiar
with the bank or library but have never been to the post office or cemetery. Students
compose questions to ask the community workers, and we talk about what makes a good
question. With third graders, we teach who,
what, why, where,
and how. If a question doesn't start with one of those
words, then look out! Here comes a lengthy story instead of a good question. By
the end of the trips the students are quoting me, "Remember, no stories!" These
trips have become a tradition around our small town of Cardington. When I make the
call to schedule our trip, I get: "It can't be that time of year again already!"
I was trying to come up with a project to incorporate technology in the classroom
for a class requirement when it hit me: Use pictures from our trip to make an iMovie!
So that is exactly what I did. I took my camera along on the visits, making sure
to get pictures of all my students. In addition to our community visits, I contacted
parents who were interested in speaking to the class about their careers and invited
them into the classroom for a short presentation and question-answer session. I
took photos of them as well.
Students spent time before each visit constructing questions to ask. We treated
it almost like an interview. It took some time practicing among ourselves before
the students understood the importance of a good question. Several students thought
that asking how much money the guest made was very important! I had to explain that
is not appropriate to ask that, and the importance of a job does not necessarily
correlate with the amount of money one earns. (As teachers, we know our jobs are
numero uno on the importance list, but that does not necessarily show on our pay
stubs!!!) Some good questions students came up with were: What is something fun
you get to do everyday? How many people do you work with? How far do you have to
drive to get to your job? Do you work on the weekends? Do you get holidays off work?
Who pays you? (We just couldn't steer completely away from the money issue!)
After we had our questions ready, we practiced standing up and asking them in a
strong voice. I stressed making eye contact and nodding or smiling as they answered.
I was glad that we practiced this, because in the beginning they would quickly blurt
out the question and then, even more quickly, sit back down. By the end of the practice
session I had some young news anchors in the making! It was great watching their
confidence blossom. And besides the fact that public speaking is an excellent way
to practice and model good reading and writing, it is also great fun to videotape
and enjoy together.
At the end of the unit I had nearly one hundred photos. I used a flash drive to
transfer them onto the computers that my students were to use for the project. I
had twenty students, so I paired them up and used ten student computers. I then
scheduled the lab for weekly sessions. Cardington has a contract with the Tri-Rivers
Educational Computer Association (TRECA), and we are fortunate enough to have Bob
Howard as our TRECA support once a week in our district.* We can email him
to set up times for him to assist with our projects in our classrooms. One-hour
sessions proved to be perfect. Bob agreed to help me with the "teaching" of iPhoto
and iMovie. We decided that for third graders, brief was all that was necessary.
I was amazed how quickly they caught on, much faster than I had! They weren't afraid
to push buttons and play. Sometimes we adults are so afraid of messing things up
that we don't try new things. Not so with young students. They seem to have a built-in
technology mind-set. They don't necessarily know how to do it, but they certainly
learn fast. They had a ball and seemed to be ready to create their own masterpieces.
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During the next session, we showed the students how to open the folder of community
photos and import them to iPhoto. This was an easy task of simply dragging the photo
name to the iPhoto icon. We showed them how to create a slide show to quickly view
the photos. We informed them that they wouldn't use all the photos and told them
to start thinking about which ones they wanted to showcase. I encouraged them to
organize their movie in chronological order. This helped organize their thoughts.
I explained that it would be like making a movie of their travels. We wanted step-by-step
footage. The parent interviews were to be at the end.
Session three was used to import pictures from iPhoto to iMovie. I gave each group
a list of places that we had visited and photos we had taken of our speakers, and
I instructed the groups to make their choices, open iMovie, and import the photos.
Most groups were finished in the hour session.
Session three was used to import pictures from iPhoto to iMovie. I gave each group
a list of places that we had visited and photos we had taken of our speakers, and
I instructed the groups to make their choices, open iMovie, and import the photos.
Most groups were finished in the hour session.
Sessions four and five involved creating titles for the photos. I had typed up a
list of names and places visited so the students would have the information right
in front of them. This also reminded them of who needed to be in the iMovie. This
part took a long time because third graders are slow typers and need a lot of time
looking from the paper to the keys to the screen. Some students kept it short and
sweet, using all-encompassing captions such as "Looking For Old Graves," while others
tried to recap the presentation on one slide: "The Founder of Cardington Lumas Cook.
He Opened the First Mill and Set Up the Town." I had given them a short lesson on
titles and captions: Capitalize all words except and, an, of,
and the; keep it simple; hit the main idea. I hadn't
thought they would want to say so much! For the most part, this was tedious for
them. There were spelling errors, and some names were butchered; it was like raking
stones out of your yard in the spring— you just couldn't get them all. I hope that
the students learned that writing is about the content and not just a perfect paper
with no errors.
Session six was used to give the iMovie a title and add opening and closing statements
and credits. Students had used class time to write their own statements and credits
and simply had to type them on their movies. Most opening statements were typical:
"We learned about the town of Cardington. We took a lot of trips and had a great
time!" For the most part, these statements were a reflection of the time they had
learning about their community. The closing credits were their names and date. Some
took a little more time and thought, deciding to add closing statements: "Our community
of Cardington is a very interesting place to live!" "We have many local attractions
and great people." Each group had a different title and closing. It was fun at the
end of the project to watch them together in a single iMovie.
We also used this session to talk about the different choices of words and how some
words "hooked" (a new word for their vocabulary) the audience to get their attention.
We spoke of different movies and books that we've seen that hooked us in. Some wanted
to go back to revise theirs to make them more interesting.
I edited the iMovie on my own time. I didn't correct every title or caption, but
I did make sure the series of student movies "flowed" and included all the places
we had visited. The average student movies lasted two to four minutes. TRECA Bob
added music and burned the iMovie onto DVDs so that the students had their own discs
to take home and share with their families.
Two main benefits resulted from culminating our community study with an iMovie:
First it excited the students. They begged to work on the project on a daily basis.
Second, it incorporated language, writing, speech, computer skills, and even social
skills— students had to work with a partner— all in one project. A written report
could never appeal to all your senses as a movie can! We could see, hear, and remember
each trip as the students' movies rolled on. Students could remember the names of
important community leaders since they typed them and watched their movies over
and over. They held a special ownership since they spent so much time planning and
doing the actual work. It was interesting that no movie was alike. Each was unique,
but each also followed the same guidelines. Creativity was in action!
Higher-Level Strategies to Use with
More Advanced Students
If I were to use this project with upper-level grades (middle school students or
even older), I would add specific requirements, as I am sure most older students
have more computer knowledge and skills. Students could take their own photos. They
could import them independently. Older students may have a good understanding of
iPhoto and iMovie and could choose their own music to accompany the movie. Interviews
are also a great way to incorporate literacy and practice public speaking. Invite
the town historian in for an interview. Voiceovers are also a good idea. They would
allow students to narrate their project (it would almost look like a documentary
in this form). Students can also add their voices to explain a photo in the movie.
Music can easily be adjusted to fade as the student speaks. Older students would
love the ownership of making an iMovie. The possibilities are endless. Making a
movie incorporates many different subject areas as well as learning styles. Your
students will never have to know the benefits and literacy practices behind their
cool projects! Learning can be fun— and it should be!
*To learn more about Bob Howard and TRECA, see "An
Interview with Bob Howard on Technology and the Classroom."
A 1995 graduate of Mount Vernon Nazarene College, Dawn Ruehrmund earned her bachelor's
degree in elementary education and her master's in curriculum from Ashland University.
For thirteen years, she has taught third grade in the Cardington-Lincoln School
District, where she is a lead mentor and a lead technology teacher.
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