Picture Story

They had traveled on foot for miles...a few on rudimentary bicycles...many from neighboring villages. They had heard that the white people were coming to host a medical clinic. This would be the first time that they had come to this village in Uganda. "Muzungus" the children yelled as our van approached the huts and erected tarps that were to house the medical clinic that day. The children had never been this close to a "Muzungu" before. Stories they heard about the Muzungus was that if you touch them, they'll bleed. Even with the ancestral folklore, the children pressed and crowded around us in awe, smiling big, sometimes laughing at something "funny" we would do. As they sun traveled higher in the sky, hundreds more gathered to have a chance to stand in line to see Rozena, the nurse hosting the clinic.

What can we do to help all these people? Will today make a difference in their life? Can the prescribed dosage of aspirin to ease their back pain from their long days in the field change their life? Will making balloon animals for the children to occupy them that day really matter?

I had gone to Uganda to make a difference, to offer something, to create change. In the end, it made a difference in my life. They offered me friendship, a look into a simpler way of life, a glimpse into what really mattered. In the end, I was the one who was changed.

Futuring: Sabrina's Journey

As a Model:

• Make an autobiography
• Use a sequence of pictures and narration to tell a story
• Create a phrase that is used for repetition and flow.
• Create a question and answer it with a story.

Futuring: Epic2015

The developments portrayed in epic2015 are far reaching in education presently and in the future. Technology is drastically impacting the classroom at an exponential rate and it is difficult to keep up. One development that was addressed is the inundation of information at our fingertips. As teachers, we need to instill into our students the need to be critical thinkers and discerning users of the information that is out there. With respects to podcasts and other techno-advances, the possibilities of how they can enhance education are limitless (and a little scary). They can be used as another form of assessment or a way to share information with a world-wide audience making learning more meaningful and authentic. With the use of these tools there can be greater student engagement and interest in class discussions, field research and independent projects incorporating the use of iPods. Courses can even be podcasted helping students to keep up with the material.

"I’m convinced that the real power of podcasting is twofold: It gives learners point-of-need access to information, and it disseminates information in exciting new ways. Students eagerly and actively participate in the creation of content-rich podcasts, and those who publish their podcasts publicly are quickly connected to the world community in ways never before possible."

Anderson, Larry S. “Podcasting: Transforming Middle Schoolers into ‘Middle Scholars,’” T.H.E. Journal. Dec. 1, 2005, p. 42.

Futuring: Assessment

Grading "Fox Becomes a Better Person" and "School Train":

1. Planning:

• Creativity -- Originality in the way the story was developed, critical thinking skills
• Storyboard -- detailed planning
• Content and Theme -- relavent, message is clear

2. Technology (if you were grading on this like would for a HS tech course):

• Videography -- quality, angles, framing, lighting
• Editing -- transitions, effects, flow

3. Mechanics:

• Spelling and Grammar
• Documentation -- sources cited, proper use of copyrighted material

4. Content:

• Addresses subject (such as using metaphors, or telling a story)
• Story elements present (beginning, plot, resolution)

5. Group Work (as in "School Train")

• Collaboration and contribution
• Teamwork
• Delineation of tasks

0r 5. Work Ethic (for individual)