Time Lapse Photography: Melting Snowman

The idea behind “time lapse photography” is take a series of images or short segments of video over a set interval of time. Combine these images together to make a slow event happen faster, or a fast event happen slower.

If you don’t have snow to build a miniature snowman, you can do this same activity with a couple ice cubes or a bowl of ice cream.

This works best if you have a tripod to put the camera on so there isn’t movement.

There are also video cameras that have a time lapse mode. This is the simplest way to do this. You plug in the camera, set the time mode, and then come back later to see the results.

Import the photos or short video clips into a movie software program. Then have children voice over with descriptions of what is happening in the state of matter change. Or, for a more creative twist, document what the snowman is thinking during the melting process!

Teaching with Technology about Snowflakes, Wilson Bentley, Perseverance & Snow

Why is it common knowledge that every single snowflake is unique? Who had the time to figure this out?

The fact lies in the historical story of “Snowflake Bentley.” Wilson A. Bentley (1865-1931) was a man who loved snow and went on to extensively study and photograph snowflakes.

The story of his life is documented in “Snowflake Bentley” by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. This book combines biographical data with scientific information. The illustrations are spectacular and the book is a Caldecott winner.

His story is one of discovery, yet also perseverance. Imagine the work that goes into trying to capture a photograph of a snowflake. Then add to that the time era he was working in and the technology tools he had available.

After reading about Snowflake Bentley the fun continues. By visiting the website of the museum that honors him, the snowflakes that he photographed are available to view. One by one, the snowflakes can be viewed and the intricate details exposed. Snowflake Bentley’s dream was to be able to share his passion of snowflakes with the world. If he were alive today he’d be greatly impressed with the ability of everyone in the world to view his work through the internet.

Besides being able to view the snowflake photographs, the internet makes it possible for people today to create virtual snowflakes. Fold the paper, cut little chunks out, open to see what you’ve made, and then continue to cut some more. All of this can be accomplished without a single paper scrap on the floor! Students love to make virtual snowflakes all year round. It is one of their favorite websites to visit. Save some of the snowflakes and import them into your favorite software to add snowflake poetry or stories.

Snowflake Bentley is also an excellent example of how multiple genres can be mixed within one story. There are online resources that allow students to choose a topic and pieces of writing to create their own multi-genre page of writing.

The story of Snowflake Bentley (by Jacqueline Briggs Martin) is an excellent way to kick off any unit about snow, seasons, water cycle, or states of matter.

The Moment We've Been Waiting for!!!

Funny, last night I tried to send a message about the technical difficulties I was having, but it seems that due to technical issues the message didn't go through! At least I didn't receive my own message!

I've mentioned lately about the Mastermind Group of Educators that I am building. I used that survey from a few weeks ago to build a group for those of us who want to do things just a little differently, and add technology into much that we share with students.

I found that most of us want some day-to day assistance and some guidance with quality lessons so we don't have to work so much when we are at home at night.

The video above that I made tonight (filmed by a 10 year old...so please bear with me when she moves and cuts my head off here and there!) highlights what this will offer and the unbelievable incentive that I have to give to just the first 100 charter members to join me.

The best part is that I'm sending the incentive to you just in time to make many of them Christmas presents! Sure can't beat that! Shopping for others while also choosing to bring yourself a little more peace and stress relief by joining a group of educators willing to share ideas and projects and top-notch information in regards to educational technology! Can you believe that I would be willing to send you all 7 books for just $18.95 (and that includes shipping!) to inspire you to join me as a charter member in this technology group of educators?

To just give you a little hint, this site has:

· Lesson Plans (those on my site for a cost are all free downloads in the member section!)

· Articles of Ideas (lots of specific ideas and broad topics for technology integration)

· Project Samples (see exactly what the project could look like from students!)

· Discussion Groups (share the ideas, thoughts, and successes that you've experienced)

· Conference Reports (find out what other people are talking about out there)

· Skill-building Articles (have some how-to questions that need answering?)

· Emerging Technology Ideas (What's new that we should be thinking about?)

· Ideas you can use (take these ideas and use them with your students tomorrow)

· Reproducibles (even better...make copies and start your students working...)

· Downloads (read current aricles, download presentations, and lessons and activities)

· Forums for sharing (together we arealways stronger than alone!)

· Video Updates (see, rather than read, how some of these strategies work)

· Much, Much More!

So, consider this just a glimpse into the exciting new site that is launching! You can take a peek at the site at http://mastermindgroupofeducators.com

...it is freshly loaded! I've been working on it for a few weeks now to be just what we want...

Like I said, I only have 100 sets of my books to send out to the charter members and then I will be pulling the offer off of the site.

Good night, and I look forward to working with those of you who choose to join the exclusive

masterminds on a whole new level! Together we will rock this world (or at least the foundations of traditional education!)

I'll be back tomorrow with more details....

Kathy Cothran

"The Original Gadget Girl"

The Living Alphabet

All of our written word is based on the alphabet. How many ways can we teach the alphabet and still engage our children?

Last night I shared the time lapse movie and tonight I'm sharing with you the techniques for bringing the alphabet to life! What fun!

For many years I've made the Living Alphabet book with my Kindergarten through third grade students with varying levels of difficulty. Tonight I'm sharing a movie that shows clips of how I manage this project. You'll see that I have multiple groups making letters and I usually have to stand on a chair to capture the digital image! I also learned that I can work up quite a sweat going up and down off the chair....so dress lightly on the day you plan to do this activity as it is quite a workout!

In the past I've made the book and then printed it and bound it and gave it to the classroom teacher. This last year I added the dimension of self-publishing the book and it sells on Amazon. Not too long ago the author, my daughter Hannah, said: "Mom, I really thought I'd feel different as a published author, and I really don't." That may be the case, but she sure was excited to write for a real-world audience.

Ever wonder what they do at night?

Ever wonder what caterpillars do at night? I was looking through my laptop when I came across one of my all-time favorite projects that my sixth graders did with time lapse photography.

There are so many fun ways to explore time lapse, and I'm looking for the movie my fourth graders made last year with the changes in the states of matter. We used time lapse to watch ice cubes and icecream melt. We also watched a pan of water boil away. Then the kids added the key science info to the movies and shared them with the other students. I'll look for those again tomorrow! In the meantime, catch a quick look at this time lapse movie:

Holiday Activities and Ideas

Cool Movie Maker! Animoto

See this cool movie I made of a school field trip by just uploading a few images! Try making your own by clicking here:
Click HERE

Create a Travel Log of Santa's Vacation by Superimposing Images: Teaching With Technology

Tie the enthusiasm kids have for the holidays with a technology lesson!

Read "Mrs. Claus Takes a Vacation" by Linas Alsenas to your students. To begin this story, Mrs. Claus has become quite upset with her lack of vacations and travel. Daily jobs like feeding the reindeer seem boring. So she jumps in the sleigh and travels the world for the days before Christmas. Santa is worried about her. She returns and they head out on the one night, world tour.

After reading this story, ask students to think about where Santa and Mrs. Claus might want to travel. Santa doesn't ever stay anywhere but the North Pole for very long, so imagine they are going on a vacation.

Using photo software, either something so advanced as PhotoShop or as old as HyperStudio, students can combine two photos together. Have students find copyright-friendly images online and save them. Then insert the background image. Next "cut out" an image of Santa and/or Mrs. Claus and paste them over the background. This might look like Santa visiting Mt. Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, The Great Wall of China, or any other place you can imagine!

Next, have your students create a journal entry for the travel log describing where he is and what he's doing there. For instance, "Santa has always wanted to visit Mt. Rushmore. Usually he just gets to see it from overhead. This time, he and Mrs. Claus took a three day vacation to hike all around the area."

Type that journal entry and add to the superimposed photo.

Once the pages have been created there are a few options:

1.Print each page. Bind into a Travel Log book for the class.

2. Combine all the pages electronically and make a slide show. Record the voices of each student reading his or her entry.

3. Convert the electronic slideshow into a podcast and share with the world. Publish on your class or school webpage and send it to iTunes.

Children love this activity. It seems to be one that they ask for year after year.

So, disguise a strong technology lesson with the holiday content and watch your students rush to the computers to begin their project.

Final note: this exact same lesson can be done using the book "Liberty's Journey" by Kelly DiPucchio. In this story the Statue of Liberty wants to take a look around the rest of the United States. Choose background photos of places in the United States and then superimpose Lady Liberty. Write about where she is and why she chose to stop there.

Want to see samples of this activity along with pages of other holiday ideas? Download the free packet of Christmas Ideas at http://technologylessonsforteachers.com

Will It Be A White Christmas In Your Town? Teaching With Technology in the Elementary School

Will it be a White Christmas in Your Town or wherever you'll spend the holiday?

If you live in an area of the world that sometimes has snow at Christmas you know about the annual anticipation of whether or not it will be a white Christmas.

Will it be a white Christmas in your town? Are the odds strong or weak? Are there places in the United States that are guaranteed to have snow on Christmas?

Your students can use the internet to read maps of historic data to decide what the chances are for your area to see snow on Christmas.

After looking at the historic data, use the internet to find the local forecast for your particular area. Students may have different information to analyze based on where they stay or travel to for the holiday.

Another aspect of the weather to compare is how the weather for the month of November and December compares to previous years. Has it been colder or warmer? Why could that be?

Reading these maps is also a great time to introduce the concepts of Lake Effect Snow that is especially prominent around the Great Lakes. There are maps online that show this data also and explains the process of Lake Effect.

Combine this activity with others to create a set of literacy work stations or centers based around the holiday theme.

Use the holiday season as a disguise for finding information, reading maps, analyzing historic data versus current conditions, and sharing with classmates. This is the kind of information that kids will go home and share with their families.

Would you like this lesson, the links, and more holiday activities to share with your class? Visit http://technologylessonsforteachers.com and download a free packet of activities for the holidays.

Kathy Cothran is an elementary media specialist committed to helping teachers use technology in the classroom with less stress. Her vast teaching experience ranges from preschool through Master's level education classes.