Tech & Learning - August 2008 - (Page 47)

W W W.T E C H L E A R N I N G . C O M grade in reading, primarily due to learning English as a second language,” says Shirley. “We must help these students achieve at a ‘normal’ pace, but if they are ever to catch up to grade level, their progress must be accelerated.” Escondido data studies indicate the iRead program a success, showing 2-4 times higher student fluency and accuracy gains in classrooms using the iPod. Second language learners benefit greatly as the opportunity to hear native speakers allows students to practice correct pronunciation of troublesome words. “The device is incredibly motivating to struggling readers and provides immediate feedback—they can replay their recordings and self-reflect on their own progress. One of the most challenging aspects of improving reading is giving the struggling reader an objective view of herself. The iPod acts as a mirror for self-correction.” Teachers can even use ID3 tags as “information containers” to imbed comments, directions, and assessments directly into each student’s voice memo files. These completed files form Smart Playlists, or the ePortfolio, which can then be shared with the student, parents, and other teachers. What They Used to Build Eportfolios ADOBE Adobe Acrobat: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/ Adobe Creative Suite: www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/ Adobe Photoshop: www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/ Adobe Illustrator: www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/ ANGEL LEARNING ANGEL ePortfolio 2.1: www.angellearning.com APPLE I-Tunes: www.apple.com/itunes/ AUTODESK Autodesk Maya: http://usa.autodesk.com/ BELKIN Belkin Voice Recorder: www.belkin.com/ DAZ 3D Bryce: www.daz3d.com/i.x/software/bryce/ MICROSOFT OneNote 2007: http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/onenote/ VECTORWORKS ANIMATED TEACHING When Daniel Cornell relocated to Colorado, he left behind a posiVectorworks Designer: www.nemetschek.net/designer/ tion as tech administrator but regained his passion for teaching in the classroom by taking over computer classes in a Denver pubping them to create their most important demo reel; the reel lic middle school. Seeing a dearth of game design, video editing, that will get them their first job.” or animation offerings in the curriculum, he created his own. Cornell’s first students graduated this year and proved his Cornell brought his philosophy of “let’s open limits and see point. ePortfolios netted success in the form of national how far they can take it” to the program. “They were intrinsicalawards, rare paid graphic art internships, and assistant posily motivated by their own interests,” says Cornell. “It created a tions to animators for national outlets like Fox and system of perpetual learning.” Nickelodeon. Major industries A student determined to creoffer exclusive interviews ate billiard-table animation based on the impressive came for advice on angles ePortfolios, only to be and left with a smile and stunned to see a teenager Cornell’s old trig book. walk into the boardroom. Four years ago, Cornell Though he recognizes the took over as Digitallure of a position in the field, “I Evolutions Program Director always emphasize the imporand Teacher at the Smoky tance of education,” says Hill High School in nearby Cornell. The country’s most Cherry Creek School District. respected art and design colKnowing a static listing of leges approach Cornell to skills on a resume would do woo his talented students. So little to impress prospective far, every graduating student Denver students use HP computers to create custom ePortfolios. design colleges or animation received a scholarship to their houses, he incorporated the creation of ePortfolios into the choice of the prestigious programs, thanks to the most imprescourse. Showcasing work would be an important step to future sive portion of their application—their ePortfolio. academic and professional success and he would give his students years of practice to perfect the art. Sascha Zuger is a freelancer, public radio commentator, and “Demo reels, or ePortfolios, tend to be the culminating proj- author of Girl Overboard, a young adult novel, under the ect for all of my classes,” says Cornell. “I feel that [I am] preppseudonym Aimee Ferris. TECH & LEARNING | 47 http://WWW.TECHLEARNING.COM http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/ http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/ http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/ http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/ http://www.angellearning.com http://www.apple.com/itunes/ http://usa.autodesk.com/ http://www.belkin.com/ http://www.daz3d.com/i.x/software/bryce/ http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/onenote/ http://www.nemetschek.net/designer/

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Tech & Learning - August 2008

Tech & Learning - August 2008 Contents Editor's Desk News & Trends Q&A: Scratch That Best of NECC 2008 How to Build Better ePortfolios Focus on Digital Cameras Leader of the Year

Tech & Learning - August 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.