Mini-Lessons: Engaging with Multimedia

A colleague in White Oak ISD (Texas) once pointed out, "You can't hear President Roosevelt in your textbook."

Ask yourself, Is there a way I can get my point across using video and sound rather than just talking and sharing text? 

"In the mini-lesson," my mentor teacher explained to me, "someone--usually the teacher, but it can be a student or a guest speaker--introduces a new concept. The mini-lesson, lasting 10-20 minutes, can also be focused on meeting the needs identified in helping students create, evaluate or synthesize information. The mini-lesson facilitator models the approach introduced, working alongside the students." Using Edmodo.com or a Google Sites wiki, you can create a reference point that can house your mini-lesson content, including audio and/or video recordings. This doesn't have to be too fancy, more like a sticky board for content.

Some examples:

• Clay Burrell's 21st Century History and English Project (Video)
• Vicki Davis, creator of the Flat Classroom Project, shares her wiki approach to classroom
• Flat Classroom Project
• Student Created Wikis

Once you know where you are going to put your workshop content--where you can share anything, everything you and your students will need for writing workshop--decide what format you will put that information online in. Here are three types of tools--with specific suggestions--that you can use:

1. Create Digital Content viewable by Students using Digital Storytelling Tools
• MS Photostory (Windows only) - Enables teacher to create an enhanced podcast--pictures and sound--about the MiniLesson content.
• VoiceThread.com - Enables teachers to create an enhanced podcast about the MiniLesson content, but also allow students to contribute audio, text, or video content as comments. This enables many to many interactions. 
2. Create an electronic slideshow using Online Presentation Tools - Teachers can create presentations and make them easily accessible online, embedding the code of the presentation. This relieves students from the requirement of having MS Office installed on their computers.
• GoogleDrive Presentation Tool - Enables teachers to create a slideshow that students can participate in chat, as well as contribute slides to.
3. Share your MS Office/OpenOffice created documents as PDFs.
• GoogleDrive - Allows you to print up a long document as a PDF and place it online for easy viewing on-screen. No downloading (getting) of large Word documents. Instead, you simply paste "embed code" that allows you to directly include content on a web page you have created. Students simply view the content online.
4. Add audio introductions to writing workshop mini-lessons:
1. Audioboo.com - This allows you to use your mobile phone to record and share audio content. You call it in and the content appears magically online and accessible for students to access.

If you have access to an iPad, there is quite a bit you can do. Here are some tools to get it accomplished:

1. Video or Enhanced Podcasts - Pinnacle Studio ($7.99) - This is an easy to use tool that allows you to blend video, photos, and audio easily. You can't get any easier than this. However, if you don't need video, consider using Explain Everything ($2.99) or Educreations (free) to create narrated slideshows. I can imagine principals, teachers and students to share what they are learning as they learn it. Some people prefer iMovie ($4.99), but having played with both, I like Pinnacle Studio's multi-track approach. You'll end up with both of these, though, since iMovie's Trailer creator is just too much fun.
2. Audio Only Podcasts - Hokusai Audio Editor (free, ad supported) - For a few dollars, you can remove the advertising from this audio editor. While fairly straightforward audio editing, it does the job if you're not inclined to invest in Garageband for iOS ($4.99), an awesome component worth putting on your iPad.
3. Audio Recording - AudioNote ($4.99) - Finding a simple, easy to use audio recorder for the iPad hasn't been all that easy. One possibility is the free, albeit ad-supported, iTalk Recorder (free). However, I've found AudioNote a nice alternative for the simple fact that it allows you to take notes while recording audio then matches them up, and you can get the audio recordings off via WiFi and open then edit them in Audacity).

Remember, "You can't hear President Roosevelt in your textbook." You now have access to rich media resources that span history, current events, and the ability to engage students with your own voice (and their's as well). Are you trying to lock those voices up in yesterday's media (e.g. textbooks)?