Disclaimer: One more time. These are my notes. They tend to wander a bit, because my mind often wanders. It’s not necessarily a good thing nor a bad thing. It’s just the way I’m wired. Since these are notes, there are probably a slew of spelling mistakes, and grammar simply does not exist at all. Many of these issues that I talk about in these notes will probably be blogged about again later in a much more polished form. So if I haven’t scared you off yet, enjoy!
Digital storytelling workshop and I have almost no battery life left. I’ve dimmed the screen on my laptop so dark that I can’t actually see what’s on there. I’m typing blind. Consequently, don’t expect there to be too many notes from this session!
David Jakes just brought up something very powerful. He showed a project that a student created called Acceptance. I’ll try to find a link so I don’t have to summarize it, but he brought up an incredible point. The student was already very tech savvy. The project was amazing. Dave asked what the student learned by doing the project. In reality, the student learned very little. But a more important question is what did the student accomplish? The project itself was a breakthrough for this student. It had a worth that simply cannot be measured by a test, or a grade.
If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a million times more. Schools are about more than what a test can show. Show me the standardized test that proves students are self confident. That they are dedicated learners. That they can organize a research project from beginning to end. Education is about more than simply providing correct answers. We need to be assessing more than what students learn, we need to consider what they have accomplished.
Interesting. David is saying that the one thing students find the hardest when they create their projects is doing the voiceover. Students will do it over and over and over again. It never sounds just right to them. I know the feeling. That’s why I do my podcasts ‘live’, in one take. If I started editing it, there’s no way I’d ever be satisfied. I’d keep editing and rerecording it for hours upon hours. Shows would never see the light of day. So my podcasts are raw. They have extraneous laughs, coughs, sneezes, computer sounds, and annoying rattles from the rear of my car. However, I have something to say and I’m not going to let a rattle prevent me from saying it.
I wish I had more battery life. There’s a lot of things that I’d like to be writing about that I’m choosing not to because I know the computer is going to die any minute now. The only plus side is that I get to give Dave and Joe my undivided attention. This really is a fantastic workshop. Can’t wait to question them further about a few things later on at dinner.