IIC Competition Finalists

Here are my thoughts on the finalists for the IIC competition:

I thought everyone did a great job! I’m so impressed with the technological knowledge of those that did they project!

Beth Yates and Amy Greenwood
I felt like there was too much straight “camera lecture.” I started to lose interest during the second speaking part. I wanted to see what she was talking about, not just hear her talk about it. Maybe I’m just impatient.
I wish they would have done more of a tutorial format where they led quickly led us through one of the programs such as kidspiration.
I really liked at the end how they displayed screen shots of the various technology sources they were proposing the fifth grade class to use.
It was also nice that they were actually in the school with the fifth grade class suffering from the issue. It would have been a “tender touch” to have the kids using computers. – Just a thought.

Danielle and Brittany
I thought that the idea was great in this proposal. The thing that concerned me most about this is the fact that the ipad hasn’t even been released yet. It is also pretty well known how expensive this sort of technology is, so it doesn’t seem extremely realistic for schools to purchase such expensive technology. I would have liked for the presenters to suggest a way for the technology to be affordably implemented into schools, or discuss a way that the program could be implemented without the use of the ipad.
I really enjoyed that they led us through the program, and then explained the purpose of the program. This was very clear and it was nice to see how the program functioned.
As far as their video approach, I felt like the “set” in the beginning was a little tacky. It was nice to see the effort, but their heads were cut off and they matched their background…okay, so I’m picky.

Teaching Persuasive Essays: Diigomeister – Becky, Rachel, Alison
I loved the intro to this video! It was immediately engaging and I loved that they involved the students. I thought the movie as a whole was done very professionally. I enjoyed that they were in a classroom setting the whole time. The video angles, panning, and zooming also made the video seem very professional.
I really enjoyed that they did step by step screen shots of their proposed technology. It was great to really see what the program has the capacity to teach students. Heck, I want to use mindmeister!
I really liked that they mentioned the pro’s very clearly at the end of their video.

Lewis and Alyssa Young
I loved the pictures because it allowed me to visualize the technology, but I would have like to have seen someone using the technology.
I’m curious what age group this is targeting. The book seems like it’s for a younger audience, while the technology seems to sophisticated for k-3rd grade. I may just be underestimating students ability to use technology.
I thought the voice over’s were really professionally done. The word choice and sentence structure was planned and professional.
It felt like a commercial with the music and the intro/conclusion bookends. I enjoyed that it was “commercial-esque.”

Helping Student Develop Historical Thinking
The cuts in the example video seemed abrupt. I felt like the example student video could have been much more creative. I don’t feel like the students really used technology creatively to gain a better understanding of history – they just read something in front of a camera. How is that different than just reading it in front of the class?
I liked the dialogue. It was very well planned. It was also great how they wore red, white, and blue.
I’m a little confused about the connection between the beginning student video and the google wikis. It was nice to see that the student video was embedded on the webpage.
So how does the video at the beginning connect to the classroom wiki?
As far as the video composition, I thought it was put together very professionally with transitions, voice over’s, etc.

Brittany and Russell
Woah! This project covers a lot!
First of all, I loved the sweet visuals at the beginning. This presentation was very visually creative which I really appreciate.
The unit seems very well planned. I am impressed. I really enjoyed that the technology presented in this video is virtually free, and could easily be implemented into a classroom. Teachers who go to their website could get a lot of great ideas of how to implement simple technology into their classroom.
I really appreciated the credits at the end. It made it seem very professional.


I thing Teaching Persuasive Essays: Diigomeister by: Becky, Rachel, and Alison wins my vote as my favorite. The technology seems easily accessible and their video was put together very professionally! Good Work!