General
COVID-19 - 2020 Update
Students will be working virtually in Digital Authorship until the District reopens. This means that there are going to be modifications to the curriculum. Please stay tuned to Google Classroom for specifics. The following skills and G21 standards will continue to be emphasized:
-Author’s Craft
-Communication
-Self-Directed Learning
Key Course Learning Experience (Distance Learning)
Students will be creating documentary style videos that reflect their lives and experiences during this moment in time, the 2020 pandemic.
Over the course of this next month, students will gather up a variety of images, documents, and videos that reflect their experiences and understandings of this moment in time. Students will also create (or use--if completed in another class) writings or vlogs reflecting on their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the end, students will use the digital production skills that we have been developing this year, to create a documentary style video that captures their personal experience of this unique time in history.
Google Classroom Links:
A-Day, Hour 3: https://classroom.google.com/w/NDI4NTYzNTM5MDNa/t/all
A-Day, Hour 4: https://classroom.google.com/w/NDI4NTYzNTM5MTJa/t/all
B-Day, Hour 3: https://classroom.google.com/w/NDE5MDQzMzUyOTha/t/all
B-Day, Hour 4: https://classroom.google.com/w/Mzc3MTQ0MTg3ODBa/t/all
Course Description
Digital Authorship is a project based class that involves creating videos, music, animations, podcasts, and digital stories. Students participating in this workshop will explore digital production through the use of iMovie, Garageband, iBooks Author, green screen technology and additional Macbook apps*. The second half of the year holds a strong emphasis on student self-directed projects where students have the opportunity to define their own (independent and/or collaborative) projects. Students will develop their author’s voice and will explore their unique passions and interests!
*Students participating in this course have access to all needed technology in class.
Key Course Learning Experiences
Where I’m From Unit: Students begin learning video editing techniques in iMovie templates as they create their own personal digital poems. Using the “Where I’m From” structure, students write a poem that reflects their unique and individual identity. They then transform this written poem into a digital poem with the addition of images, video, music, and narration. A gallery walk concludes this project, so students can watch each other’s videos and get to know one another.
Storytelling with Sound Unit: Students continue to learn iMovie further, this time exploring how sound (effects, narrations, and music) can enhance a story and engage an audience. Students learn about Foley Artists and use a variety of everyday objects and props to imagine and create sound effects that enhance their stories. They also practice using intonation and inflection in their voice to tell a more convincing story.
Authoring Music Unit: Students study their favorite musical artists and songs to identify the qualities and features that make good music. Connections are made to lyric writing and poetry as students begin to write their own song. They then create the beats and rhythm of the song by using the music creating app, Garageband.
Stop Motion Animation Unit: Having the option of collaborating with partners, students write short stories that send a message to their audience. Using 2 or 3 dimensional characters, they then begin to take photographs of the characters, breaking down the movements into small increments. Use of light is studied as students capture individual movements for their animation. Students use iMovie and Garageband to assemble their final video.
Choice Projects: After learning the basics of several macbook apps, students define the topic, goal/purpose, audience, and project criteria for a Digital Authorship project of their choice. Choosing the tools that best fit the project, students assemble their digital project over a series of workshops. Through student teacher conferring sessions, learning becomes personalized to each individual student.
Fast Film Challenges: Taking a break from lengthier projects, students put their digital skills to the test as they complete quick digital challenges throughout the semester.
Essential Learning Goals
Students will develop their skills in the following Greenfield G21 Standards:
Communication:
Self-Directed Learning:
Creativity (Author’s Craft)
Major Assessments and Success Criteria
The Language Arts Department believes that learning by doing is the best way to gain new skills and expand existing critical, creative, analytical, and evaluative skills; consequently, this class is largely a performance-based class, a class that guides students through the process of creating something (presentation, portfolio, project, etc.) that demonstrates their mastery of and ability to apply key skills and concepts.
Students will evaluate their own progress while in the process of completing assessments, and teachers will provide feedback which students can use to upgrade their assessments. Assessment directions, minimum requirements, and success criteria will be provided at the introduction of each major assessment.
Skills and concepts that transfer from one assessment to others: Students effectively convey ideas and information, orally and in writing, to enhance communication; students interact appropriately for a variety of classroom situations; students make connections between and among a variety of texts: fiction, informational, and visual.