Garageband Utilized For Wisconsin Commercials in Civics

GarageBand to Camera Roll on the iPad

Changing The Narrative - Communication, Critical Thinking, Creativity

Spending the entire day teaching the "tips" about GarageBand to over 250 juniors was a tremendous honor.  The U.S. History team of Mrs. Schartner, Mr. Krause, and Mr. Rodal want students to develop a 3-5 minute radio show.  As they progress into the era of the 1920's, students will see that radio was the "window to the world" for almost every American household.

As I worked my way through the presentation below, students were given three opportunities to "play" instruments, record voice, and record multiple tracks of instruments.



The content of the U.S. History curriculum is so important.  My teaching role allows students to experience additional learning opportunities while experiencing the information.

My main focus was NOT ANOTHER project, but an opportunity to develop the skills that will help them during their time in high school and after they leave.  I addressed their "attitude" as one more thing to do by changing the narrative.  It's not another project.  They heard me say that this is a tremendous opportunity to get better at skills that employers continue to seek from our students.

Communication.
Creativity.
Critical Thinking.



As always, the impact of the message is undetermined at the beginning.  I'm not a motivational speaker.  I do know that my message is helping students to view learning opportunities in our school differently.  In my time of co-teaching technology tools, GarageBand engaged students to the end of the learning time and beyond better than most tools.

All of this became even more validated for me because of the podcast I listened to this morning.  Education with an Edge, Mike Smith of The Bay  Visit It

Ideas & Learning Through Voice (Teaching Teachers)

Great days of learning! 
Voice Recorder Pro
GarageBand

Intro to Business: Creating a Radio Spot with GarageBand

Garage Band was the perfect tool for students to create a radio commercial with multiple tracks to make it real.  Creativity, critical thinking, and sharing were major skills practiced during this learning experience.  I appreciate Mr. Otto and Mr. Coenen allowing me to co-teach the lesson.

A Student Final Product

Student 2 Final Product

Student 3 Final Product

Student 4 Final Product

The presentation:

Raider Strong Podcast: Workflow That Makes It Happen

I finally understood and completed the entire workflow for creating and producing a podcast to iTunes!

I made the intro and exit music in Garage Band on the iPad. (Starter Book) I made the art work in Canva on the iPad.  I recorded the actual interview on the iPad.  I uploaded it to Google Drive where it can be produced into an MP3 on the iPad.

Here's where the entire process on the iPad could stop and people could listen to it via the Google Drive Folder.

However, that's not officially podcasting.  I needed to get it to a host, I chose Soundcloud for now as it allows three hours of free hosting.  See the product.  After that, I connected with iTunes Connect. This is the official "housing" area of all iTunes podcast accounts.  I used my iTunes account, completed all of the information, and waited 24 hours for Apple to approve.  Now, you can find my podcasts on iTunes OFFICIALLY!   

UPDATE:  Once the Soundcloud app is installed, use the Garage Band's "sharrow" to produce the podcast directly to Soundcloud.  No computer needed.

MY GOAL: Interview as many Raider Strong employees as possible which will help promote the GREAT people that work in our district. 

RELATING TO STUDENTS' LEARNING EXPERIENCE:

After conferences with Ms. Thut, we created the beginnings of how it looks for students.  Our students will focus on:

• Consuming quality content using Environmental podcasts found on iTunes
• Critically think about what makes an exemplary podcast both from a technical stand point and content stand point.
• Collaborate with experts on YouTube or in the community to develop a passion for an environmental issue that is important to them. 
• Create a series of three podcasts that directly relate to the environmental issue that they want others to know about.

While all of the creation can and will be done on an iPad.  Our students will spend time in the library downloading their podcast from Google Drive and then back up to Soundcloud. We will also use their Pulaski iTunes account to establish an official Podcast account.

I'm thrilled at the final results and can't wait for our students to experience the thrill of podcasting!

UPDATE: [June 2, 2017] Students really did a great job, and had fun doing it! They created unique "entry music" to their podcasts along with rich content.

UPDATE: [February 1, 2018] teacher asked for no frills step by step directions.  Read Them

Some of them can be found HERE.
All of them can be found HERE if the permissions are correct.

GIVE IT A LISTEN, Subscribe, and Review

If you are interested in more of an elaborate set up, THIS post provides great information!

Flex Modular Scheduling - Here We Go!

On Wednesday, our school board approved the implementation of the Flexible Modular Schedule for the 2015-2016 school.  With that, let the planning begin!  We will be meeting in a few short weeks to develop a plan for the upcoming school year.  This plan will focus on ALL the items that need to be completed prior to the schedule impacting our staff and students in August of 2015.

I had the fortunate opportunity of presenting in Westside School District in Omaha.  While it was great for me to give information to teachers and administrators in Westside, it was EQUALLY advantageous for me to receive a tour of their high school and to have a twenty minute conversation with staff and administration on how they conduct their modular schedule in a high school of 1800 students.  They have implemented the Modular Schedule since 1967.

I have compiled a video of the tour of the school.  I used an iPad Air and iMovie on the iPad to edit the movie.  I also used my iPhone and the included Voice Memos app to record the principal and assistant principal providing valuable, candid statements and advice.  I used Garage Band to clean up the audio (we were in a noisy area).  Exporting the "podcast" to my iMac and uploading to Google Drive worked great to get the information to others.

Creating a public Google Drive Folder compiles the recordings into a very presentable format.

WATCH & LISTEN to the conversation!

I am planning to document the continued progress of this journey.  The Green Bay Press-Gazette has already written a story about it! Please join in the conversation on Twitter #FlexMod as I know that the Sheboygan School District and maybe others are implementing this schedule as well.

I am proud of our high school and our district!  This isn't going to be easy, however, nothing great every is!