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Vince LoTempio
Marc Rinow
08
Project
Summary
 TAH
Project:
Reflection and Evaluation
Marc Rinow, 7th
Grade U.S. History
Vince LoTempio, 8th
Grade U.S. History
Lancaster Middle
School
Living History
Project: Lancaster Veterans Interviews
November through
June 2007-2008
June 20, 2008
The
development of this project seemed to be the easiest part for the
two of us, but reaching the final goal of a full scale “movie” was
put out of reach due to limitations with our technology at Lancaster
Middle School. We developed release forms for students and the
veterans that they would interview, as well as a
release/responsibility form for students to fill out and sign if
they wanted to take home school iPods and microphones. There were no
problems with issuing and return of school equipment.
The
initial project was just going to be podcast interviews with local
veterans, but we decided (with the green light from students) to
take it to a higher level by having students either video tape their
interviews or collect photos of their veteran and make a mini movie.
They had the choice of using Photo Story 3 or MS Moviemaker.
The
number of local veterans that agreed to take part was amazing, and
they were eager to participate due to the fact that they were a
family member of our student interviewers. The feedback was all
positive, and it became a great family experience for the kids. This
was the most positive aspect of the entire project, and the result
we were looking for.
Any
projects done with Photo Story 3 came off without a hitch. Some
problems we encountered were a creation of our own ambition.
Students used their family digital cameras to film the interviews.
The student then merely had to transfer of these video files to a CD
for transport to school. The problems occurred when a file was in a
format that could not be imported into MS Moviemaker (such as Quick
Time format).
Also,
issues arose with file sizes and saving projects on our school
computers. It was difficult to save some of the working files and
the original video clips (interviews) for editing on the same hard
drives. We have been told that more space will be available next
year, possibly even a serve set aside for “tech” projects like this
one. The final products had to be reduced in size quite a bit, and
this had an adverse effect on their quality. Two things we can do
next year to make things easier on ourselves and the students:
revise the “tips and shortcuts” sheet (to include detailed
instructions on exactly how to get better sound quality) and have
students break up the interviews into smaller chunks (maybe short
videos with one or two questions at a time being answered).
Our
final disappointment came when we had a student try to compile clips
from all the veteran interviews into one longer movie using MS
Moviemaker. The files were way too large, and eventually became
corrupted. We still don’t know what happened there, and our tech
department gave us no answers.
Some
possible changes we are considering for next year are podcast only
interviews, with students collecting photos again (recent and during
their service years) and creating a web page for each project. The
photos would be displayed with captions, and the interview
transcript as well as a short write up could be posted. We are also
starting a search for software that may allow us to successfully
compile videos into one longer DVD.
Marc Rinow
Vince LoTempio
Lancaster Middle
School
Podcasts
Videos
Historical topics with
greatest depth of expertise: The historical topics that I
covered are American History To the Civil War
1. General
Overview of the Proposed Project:
___On Veterans Day
the Buffalo News published an article called, “As their numbers
dwindle, World War II veterans share their stories.” After reading
this article I have chosen to create a Living history project that
will focus on local Lancaster Veterans that will act as a vehicle to
preserve their stories for service to the United States.
2. Clear Purpose
and Objective:
The purpose of this project is to preserve
Lancaster history as well as the words of a group of people that
have a message for our youth. The emphasis will be on “What it
means to serve” and “Freedom is not free.” I will also make public
all interviews so that any one that wishes to view these treasures
have the ability to do so.
3. Stakeholders:
grade level, who will benefit, who will participate in this
project.
The Stakeholders
are the Seventh graders of Lancaster. I hope to preserve the words
and memories of their parents, grandparents, and neighbors so that
their service to our country can be an example to other for years
after their passing. I also want to show these students that war is
not just video game or a movie. This project will allow students to
compare the past with the present (the youth that are now going to
Iraq and encountering some of the same experiences of the World War
II, Korean, and Vietnam Veterans). The people that will participate
are the Seventh graders of Lancaster Middle School and the veterans
from World War II, Korean, Vietnam, Iraq wars, as well as any one
else who served in the U.S. military.
4. U.S. History
Content Area
The area of content
that will be addressed is local history, Citizenship, and community.
5. Outline
Describing Content
I. Podcast
interviews created by students. The content will be interviews with
veterans of any time period living in the Lancaster, NY area.
Students will have a set series of questions for each veteran
interviewed.
II. Some
students may choose to make a video of their interview with a
Lancaster veteran. The same format as outlined above but made into a
DVD.
III. One
longer DVD made from a compilation of all interviews with Lancaster
veterans. The audio only interviews will be included (with scans of
photos of those veterans).
6. Software to be
used, internet materials, contacts, etc.
The materials that
will be used: an iPod with microphone, video camera, Microsoft Movie
Maker, Audacity, proper permission and release forms, and a set
script.
7. Level of
Student Involvement
The level of students of Involved
will be seventh grade.
8. Evaluation
process (include students when possible)
This work will
count as an extra project grade for students in my social studies
class. The criteria for a grade will include:
·
Did students follow all directions and the
interview script?
·
Did students perform the required video/audio
editing?
·
Peer and teacher review during the editing process
·
Was the final product made ready and suitable for
posting on the Internet?
9. Timeline: how
you envision the project being carried out between start up and
conclusion
The timeline for this project will
occur between November and April. The project will be carried out
over a long period of time so that the students can prepare for the
interview. We will need this much time as well because of the
limited number of iPods and the large number of student
participants.
LoTempio & Rinow Reflection 07 08
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