Blogging Again! (Wow!! There is a lot to recap...)

It has been a year from today that I posted my last blog! This past school year went so fast and was filled with a lot for great and challenging times. My class continued to learn with me and put up with my crazy ideas to try new things out at any moment. We improved our Makers Space, continued Genus Hour/20% Time, and at the end of the year we began experimenting with augmented reality!

One of my favorite days of the year-> Fun Day!

 Having a blast at ICE 2015

Learning a lot at ICE 2015

My class began experimenting with Augmented Reality using Aurasma. We begin playing around with this app while doing a close read on A Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes. My students really had an interest in learning more about Hughes as well as the Harlem Renaissance. In the video above, the student attached an "Aura" to a date near Langston Hughes's birthday. The image that appears is a piece of art that resembles artwork from an artist of his choice who was popular during the Harlem Renaissance. 

This is another video clip of our AR Harlem Renaissance project. This student create a work of art inspired by an artist of choice and found music to go along with it which played when he hovered over the art work. Both the music and art was based off of research about the Harlem Renaissance.

This last clip shows all the creation, creativity, and collaboration (like that alliteration!) that was going on during our Harlem Renaissance investigation. This is a perfect example of a flexible teaching moment. It started with a close read and my students questioned and wanted to know more!