I am sharing these videos to help my seventh graders understand how to create their (up to) five-minute self-reflection video to prove the grade they believe they should receive. Yes, I am in my sweatshirt, and yes, I have some mistakes. Some of this is off the cuff - a one-shot deal is all I really need from students, as long as they can explain what they believe they have earned, and why.
How I Prepared:
Filled out this chart to have it with me as I speak:
Made sure the notes were organized, from left to right, so that I could read from left to right when recording myself.
Opened up YouTube, click "upload," click "record" under "Webcam capture," click "Start recording." (You may have to "enable hardware accelleration" and then click "allow" for your webcam to be used if you haven't done this before.) OR... Learned how to create a video another way to share it with someone. Perhaps through Google Docs, iMovie, or just a video taken with their phone.
...Students will take this one step further, and share this video with me.
I believe I should get an A in ELA this quarter because...
Looking ahead to second quarter, I'll be requiring one or more pieces for each standard. This is our first reflection, so I wanted it to be more open-ended. I hope students can see the ambiguity of our grading system, and I hope they focus on proof of what they are learning, and not their effort, as they did in their midterm surveys. I noticed I, myself, say a tiny bit about my effort in one video - such is the way I've been programmed, I suppose!
Directions for Students - on how to create a self-reflection video
My resources so far: "FaR" tabs of our classroom Weebly
Feedback Instead of Grades LiveBinder for parents to inspect
My own reflections on this journey
Hi, Joy! I have been struggling with getting my students to write their reflections and here you have solved my problem. While I provided a hypothetical example, few looked at it. So they have interpreted how to do this in several different ways. One student who did use my example, wrote a very good reflection, which I, then, used (with her permission) as an example in other classes. Now I see that what I REALLY needed to do was reflect on MY OWN activities and learning using the same standards. If I write it, as I've asked them to do, they may or may not read it. But if I record it and show it:
ReplyDelete1. They'll pretty much be forced to see it and I can upload it to one of the several blogs I use for the different classes.
2. I'll be able to add to my tech standards because I've never done it before. Thanks for providing actual instructions.
3. They'll likely see me struggle somewhat.
Great idea. Maybe some will opt for recording themselves. The remaining issue is that I have five preps - lots of work to do.
Thanks for the inspiration!