RJ Stangherlin

Keystone Technology Integrator and STAR Discovery Educator

This site is for Mrs. Stangherlin's classes at Salisbury High School.

Students Guest Blogging: Doktor Faust

Cross-posted on Changing Connections and Learning Curve

Dr. Faust from RJ Stangherlin on Vimeo.

Long before anyone was involved in technology integration, long before the herald of 21st century learning and teaching, back in the 20th century, Frau Clauser challenged her students to create German videos.  The following post and video was created by 5 very talented students.  Since they are guest bloggers, I’ll let them tell their story.

Throughout the year of level three German at Salisbury High School, various authentic German tales and stories are implemented to broaden vocabulary and increase reading comprehension levels.  After reading through a story and taking separate tests on vocabulary and content, a video assignment is assigned.  This quarter we read the story of Doktor Faust, which was made famous first by Marlowe and then by Goethe. Frau has been assigning German video projects for well over five years.  These projects test the creativity as well as the ability of several very different, busy individuals to come together and collaborate.  These videos are a good experience to combine not only knowledge of the German language but also skills with technology.

This video of Doctor Faust was created by Todd Anderson, Nick Fisher, Ryan Maron, Chris Costa, and Erin Lobach.  The video required over twenty man hours to complete and was a serious test of our skill and patience. We had numerous predetermined filming dates and, like most high school students, we struggled not to procrastinate. We worked tirelessly after school and on the weekends to finish this project. The days usually consisted of going to Todd’s house, planning the day’s filming, organizing costumes, and rehearsing scenes and lines. Rarely did we complete a scene on the first try. In fact, the average line took three to five takes to get right. All these takes caused numerous distractions and many laughs. We did learn from our mistakes and improved upon our shooting techniques. For the trickier scenes, there were hidden scripts the actor was reading from and in one scene the actor was reading off camera. Narration and the Devil’s voice are voice-overs done after editing with the use of a microphone. Editing, this time around, was extremely irksome and time-consuming but the utilization of the program Sony Vegas aided the process and made an amazing final product. The battle scene between the Devil and Doctor Faust was filmed first to guarantee we had ample time to edit in the light sabers (over 1400 had segments had to be drawn in) and other effects. Effect editing took about eighteen total hours, and was done after filming or when the group could not get together to film. We have raised the bar for film making for our fellow class mates and for ourselves. It will be a challenge to outdo ourselves on future videos for German class or any other class.

Click here to read an English translation by Erin Lobach.

Salisbury High School
Erin Lobach
Nick Fisher
Todd Anderson
Ryan Maron
Chris Costa
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Highlighting Student Voices--Noah Sanders: DOS 2 GP

Cross-posted on Learning Curve and Changing Connections

The most important technological invention to benefit society is the simple-to- use Graphic Processing. Graphic processing changed the way computers work; instead of typing in DOS command, everything is displayed literally with graphics to make the use of a computer more convenient and easier to use. Present day, a lot of people have access to computers, and a lot of people know how to use them; thanks to the incredible self-explanatory way to use Graphic Processing. In addition to incredible ease, Graphic Processing also overrules the inconvenience of DOS command. Rather than having to type several commands for procedures such as starting the computer, pulling up precious files, or even running a compact disc (CD/DVD), all sorts of tasks are only a few clicks away. Finally, aspects of life fall into place, and weave themselves into the fabric of technology and humans. Communication is a snap, sharing is made easy, and entertainment becomes a breeze. Despite the fact that home computing technology is ever growing at an increasing rate, one can never forget where it all started becoming easier; with Graphic Computing.

Which would be easier; Typing for everything needed; or clicking and navigating smoothly for everything needed? Computers were built to help accomplish tasks. Although all computers are not “home computing” computers, they still help get the job done. In a factory, for example, machines which mass produce. What controls the machines?; computers. With home computers available to the public, surfing the web and finding needed information becomes as simple as a flick of the wrist. Most cellular devices even come equipped with some kind of internet connection. With all the simplicities of Graphic computing, the inconvenience of DOS commands are a thing of the past.

Picture this; a world where writing down as many codes that just cannot be committed to memory becomes a nonexistent obstacle. Tasks like saving valuable documents are all done with a few simple clicks. Sending pictures over the internet is done with the greatest of ease. Running CDs or DVDs is as nonchalant as pushing a button twice; to make it even easier, the same button. Taking a video is done in a few thoughtless steps; and sharing them is even easier. Organizing and relaxing to music takes such little effort. Without having to memorize such confusing codes to make a certain function, life on the computer becomes that of a vacation. Not only does Graphic Processing allow solo activities to become more enjoyable and easy, but also it increases interaction with other people from around the world.

While self activities can be enjoyable and unwinding, Graphic Processing also made it possible for increased communication; via the internet. There are plenty of ways to communicate with another human being through a computer. Chat rooms and Instant Messaging programs come free and by the millions. Another great aspect about the internet is how sharing files takes a matter of seconds. Word documents, multimedia, pictures, spreadsheets, and even slide show presentations can all be sent through the internet thus maximizing the power of sharing. What better way to have a voice heard than through text; where reading is a better way to take consideration of one’s thoughts and words? Other utilities such as Wikis and Blogs are a superb way to share thoughts and information. The internet is a fantastic tool open to anyone who desires to use it; This is all made possible because of the benefits delivered from Graphic Processing.

When a computer is utilized by the user; the common routine would be to turn it on, and log in. Without Graphic Processing it would not be that way. Instead, it would be much more challenging, and could be done a few times incorrect before the computer was successfully turned on. Due to this significant change, more and more people are able to access just what they are looking for without the hassle of memorization. Not only does this allow more people to operate them, but also it increases sharing and interactivity. Think of all the marvelous tidbits of information and discoveries can be shared and passed along on an infinite space in which cannot be seen, and accessed by anyone who seeks it. Just about every computer left on the entire planet is built with Graphic Processing. It is the cornerstone of computers today, and it will always be the biggest technological change in history.
DOS
GP
Noah Sanders
Education
Technology
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What If the Atomic Bomb had not been Invented?

Can a disaster be a saving grace?  That was the essential question that this team sought to answer two years ago.  Thanks to the diligence of Tom Smith, who figured out how to compress and convert a 50 minute file so it could be uploaded intact to Vimeo, we proudly present an Integrated Project video from the past.  It was the request of Brian Ludroff, and here it is:

What If the Atomic Bomb Had Not Been Invented? from RJ Stangherlin on Vimeo.

Integrated Project
Vimeo
Atomic Bomb
factual history
counterfactual history
what if
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FBLA WINS BIG!

Straight from Coach Laird’s email, the results are in. 

Huge kudos to the team and to their first-year coach.The results are in.

The following students placed in the top six in their respective events at the 2009 FBLA Regional Leadership Conference:

Team Events

1st Place – Banking and Financial Systems
The team of Colin Ackerman, Garred Greenberg and Donte McCrary-McClain

2nd Place – Global Business
The team of Meagan Walsh, Shannon Safi, and Dennis Peterson

2nd Place – Business Ethics
The team of Olga Karanos and Hannah Rucker

Individual Events

2nd Place – Accounting I
Elisabeth Houlik

2nd Place – Business Calculations
Jen Singley

2nd Place – Business Math
Andrew Tyson

4th Place – Business Math
Sean Zimmerman

5th Place – Business Communications
Jessie Gates

6th Place – Marketing
Sean Baker

The entire group of students did an excellent job representing Salisbury High School.  Please feel free to congratulate them on a job well done.

FBLA
Salisbury High School PA
Geoffrey Laird
Lifelong Learning
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Image Copyright

Living History: Great Expectations

Cross-posted on Changing Connections

Watching history shape in the words, pauses, and inflections of President Obama’s Inaugural Address, we become a part of history as we “lead once more,” a new day forward into the future.  “A moment that will define a generation,” a moment we will always remember.  Reflecting on the end of the war in Korea and VietNam, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X, the first words from space (Russian and English), the fall of the Berlin Wall, and 9-11, all these events are, as Miss Brinson wrote in her blog, A New Day in America, moments I will remember forever with you.  Where we were at those exact moments, what we said, the people with us (Chandra, Gabby, Megan, Shanon, andCody) how we felt, what we wore--all memories in our personal history.  Unlike so many other reflective “I was there” or “I remember when...,” today is cause for celebration, with great expectations for “something better down the road.”

Wordle of President Obama’s speech copyrighted under Creative Commons License by wordle.net.  From a tweet by Chris Champion.

Citing Brinson:

This is a moment to be remembered, honored, and revered.  This is history....To my students: Today - is your “moment”. You should commemorate it. You need to celebrate it. It’s your duty to pass it on….

I invite you to comment on this day by posting your reflections on your blog on Learning Curve, as well as Miss Brinson’s blog, Education, Technology, and Fun.

Inauguration 2009
President Barack Obama
Jennifer Brinson
2009/Flickr 365 Challenge
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SHS Model UN Team Triumphs at Kutztown University

Cross-posted on Learning Curve and Changing Connections

The following video and the accompanying text was produced by Miss Brinson.

The SHS Model UN team was in competition Saturday, January 17, 2009, at Kutztown University.  Overall, there were approx. 300 delegates from about 20 schools in the Lehigh Valley, Berks, Bucks, and Montgomery Counties.  They wrote, discussed, bantered, and diplomatically negotiated over issues like: creating a new constitution for the European Union, wargames in the Soviet Bloc in 1989, a Palestinian-Israeli conflict, universal education, private military groups, and imprisonment of terror detainees.  It was heated at times, clearly competitive, and overall a whole lot of fun!

The Salisbury Delegation took the following awards:

Economic Social Committee:

Honorable Mention:  Alex Weir (Somalia)
Outstanding Delegation:  Garred Greenberg and Matt Mattuiz (Russian Federation)

Legal Committee:

Best Position Paper:  Anthony Marze and Ryan Kloss (Mozambique)
Distinguished Delegation:  Donte’ McCrary-McClain and Victoria Ravenelle (Russian Federation)
Outstanding Delegation:  Brandon Aversano and Jeniffer Singley (Republic of Korea)

European Union:

Best Position Paper:  Robby Holler and Sean Zimmerman (Sweden)
Outstanding Delegation: Robby Holler and Sean Zimmerman (Sweden)

*It is particularly huge that they were able to win two awards within one committee—that is a first!

German Historical Crisis Committee:

Honorable Mention:  Sean McDermott (USSR)

Our delegation of 32 students took the award for Distinguished Delegation for the entire conference!

I am very proud of these kids, but also thankful to you for providing the guidance, mentoring, and leadership that these kids have come to honor and appreciate.  We are commended regularly for our strength in competition and in the character and respectfulness that our kids exhibit at every conference we attend.  I should also tell you that we are also consistently “commended” for our spirit in the competitions because truly, our kids love to have fun and they cheer each other on and today—welll - they sang with the “Um-Pah” band!  What else can I say?

Thanks again for the support, guidance, and leadership that you give our kids! (Classic Brinson--she never takes the credit so leave it to me to tell you she molds the good they do--I know).

Jennifer Brinson
Model UN Coach
Salisbury High School

SHS Model UN Team
Salisbury High School PA
Kutztown Model UN 2009
Model UN
Jennifer Brinson
Education
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The New Media Literacies

With the approach of the EduCon 2.1 conversation and conference next weekend, the MIT Tech TV video, The New Media Literacies series, posted by Randy Ziegenfuss, Director of Data and Technology at Salisbury High School, becomes even more relevant. As a team of administrators and educators participate in the EduCon conversations and sessions, we will explore the purpose of school, how to create engaged learning and flat connections, integrating technology, and transforming schooling in and for the 21st century. Those of us attending are looking forward to engaging in a participatory culture, and will be sharing our learning on our Best Practices wiki.
new media literacies
media literacies
literacy
EduCon 2.1
education
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Delving into Destiny with Smart Technologies

For the past month, Miss Honochick, our SHS library media specialist and CFF coach, has been delving into Destiny, our library’s new management program, and it is wonderfully comprehensive tool.  Ostensibly, it is a catalog manager, allowing students and teachers to manage searches by keyword, title, author, subject, or series.  But that’s just scratching the surface of its powerful potential, as Miss Honochick demonstrated with students.  Spending two days with my English classes, we delved deeper into Destiny Quest, and I must it was fun all the way.

Destiny Quest adds many features that mimic online audible platforms like Audible, where the software helps you select your reading genres, series, and interests, while updating its catalog of newest arrivals.  Like many subscription services, Destiny Quest features the Top Ten books and new arrivals, but what will make me a platform user is the ability to create My Personal List and customize my library space, similar to Shelfari.  Web Path Express delivers a world of web search benefits for students and teachers that is grade differentiated, self-directed, academically notches beyond Google (sorry, Google Certified Teachers), and safe, targeted to what high school students can expect to use in college, or rather, what college professors will expect in research engines.  Finally, I love the Resources List feature, where I can aggregate all my searches in one reliable, 24/7 space.

After taking an interactive tour of the new hardware, students collaborated on a WebQuest created by Miss Honochick.  Using our new CFF SmartBoard, students stand and deliver, the Smart way.  Enjoy the video of the IP class session.  (My apologies to English 11 classes; I borrowed a camera and all the photos came out too dark to use.)

Destiny
Follett Software
library resources
Miss Honochick
Smart Boards
CFF
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Film on the Fly

Cross-posted on Learning Curve and Changing Connections

A mobile phone video challenge from KOCE-TV via my Twitter network and the inimitable Hall Davidson (and maybe Steve Dembo--what going on there, guys--PowerTwitter posts faster than Twitter?).  If you’re interested, you need to act now. 

KOCE-TV is texting a secret story prompt to cell phones all over the world today.  Over the next 20 hours, people will be creating stories, making mobile phone videos, and posting them to YouTube.  Will you be part of this global experience?

KOCE-TV
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global video
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5000 + 10,000 = Engaging Digital Media

Cross-posted on DEN PA, Learning Curve, and Changing Connections

Nothing beats the Discovery Educator Network, and like the shameless commercial that I am for their communications networks, I just love that they are a gift that keeps giving true value to education.  Using their Discovery Education streaming Newsletter as my source, I’d like to share resources and reasons why I continue to use them.  Let’s begin with the addition of the 5,000th video to their streaming collection, a milestone in educational technology.  Reasons to love DE Streaming:

1. With your DE Streaming account, you have access to your own DE Streaming home page.  That filters down to my students as well, who can manage and control their content for project-based learning.
2. With 5000 videos, you have the largest film base that is VETTED = SAFE for student use.
3. Closed captioning addresses more than hearing-impaired learners; teachers can address multiple learning styles, targeting the visual learner.
4. DE Streaming is not blocked in school districts, making it a 24/7 learning tool.  I know that there are more than 50 ways and reasons to embrace DE Streaming, but these are my favorite four and cause sufficient for me to celebrate their milestone.

Here are samples of recently added videos. Try watching The Fantastic Festivals of the World: The Czech Republic.  Every year, Straznice in the Czech Republic hosts one of the oldest and most popular folklore festivals in Europe. In this festival, the Czech people celebrate many aspects of their intangible culture.  Or consider using this new addition in your classroom because it addresses a growing issue in internet culture, Internet Safety: Pitfalls and Dangers.  I know Steve Dembo does a terrific keynote on Your New Permanent Record, and this video can be used in tandem to reinforce Dembo‘s message.  And from what I have seen on my Facebook, where I let my high school students join me, I can tell you that this video is an excellent starting point.  (I do delete students whose behavior is not responsible, but that is another post.)

In addition to new releases, DE Streaming‘s newsletter also contains a “New Releases and Ideas” section.  Why do I love this feature:

1. The resources are almost always thematic and time sensitive, relating to a forthcoming event that celebrates a milestone in history.
2. Discovery does all the work for you, whether you are a teacher or student.  This month’s resources focus on Martin Luther King (I have a student working in an independent study who will just inhale these resources for her project).  How easy to use these links and images to create a Google Earth Virtual Field Trip; with embedded videos and images.
3. The suggestions are always inspiring, can be used cross curricula for writing prompts, address K-12 learners, and are ethnic, gender, and discipline-inclusive.
   

Take a look at this month’s offerings on MLK:
Videos:
”Martin Luther King“ from Heroes of American History-Grade Band: K-2
“Martin Luther King, Jr. Day” from U.S. Celebrations-Grade Band 3-5
“Civil Disobedience: The Work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
from Civil Rights: The Long Road to Equality-Grade Band 6-8
In Remembrance of Martin-Grade Band 9-12 (Discovery Education streaming Plus)
“The Civil Rights Movement” from Restless Society-Grade Band 7-12

Images:

Martin Luther King by Ben Shahn Martin Luther King Jr. at March on Washington Martin Luther King Escorting Children Martin Luther King Jr. in Jail

Or consider incorporating some of these resources for a project, unit, or lesson on Ameria Earhart:
Videos:
The Sky’s the Limit: Women Overcoming the Odds - Grades 3-5
“Amelia Earhart” from Discovering History: 20th-Century Biographies - Adventurers - Grades 9-12
Images: Pioneer Aviator Bessie Coleman Pilot Amelia Earhart Sally Ride, First U.S. Woman Astronaut

Or science offerings:
Start off this calendar year by exploring the beginning of life. Students will examine the two types of reproduction that organisms carry out. Check out these great videos and have students develop lists describing advantages and disadvantages of both types of reproduction. 
TLC Elementary School: Life Cycles - Grades 3-5
Biology: The Science of Life - Making New Life: The Basics of Reproduction - Grades 6-8
Biologix: Asexual Reproduction and Alternation of Generations - Grades 9-12

And math:
It is officially 2009, and everyone should have a new calendar for this year. This is a great time to show younger students how to use one and how it is set up. Create examples for students where they have to determine days, months, and years between different dates. Older students can examine the history of math and how it led to many developments such as the calendar. Check out these videos:
Learning to Use a Calendar - Grades K-2
Project Mathematics: Early History of Mathematics - Grades 6-8
“Maya Calendar” from Discovering Math: Concepts in Number Theory - Grades 9-12

Then there are the contest opportunities from Discovery’s friends:
$10,000 for Learning Science?
ExploraVision is a national science competition that encourages students to imagine future technologies. Entrants think creatively, solve problems and learn valuable skills. Winners receive $10,000 savings bonds!

Win a Wireless Lab
Enter the 7th annual CDW•G Win a Wireless Lab Sweepstakes for your chance to win one of five grand prize wireless computer labs for your school, or one of more than 30 additional technology prizes. Enter once per day through May 1, 2008!

Not enough resources (purely rhetorical).  Then there’s professional development, and let me tell you Discovery does it superbly.  Take a look at these webinar opportunities posted by Jennifer Dorman on the DEN PA blog.

Or you could:
Visit New Teacher Survival Central
You’ll find FREE professional development videos, time-saving tips, classroom tools and practical support all new teachers need. Register for a chance at over $50,000 in prizes.

Got a reason why you love DEN.  Take a moment to share it below.  And a belated happy new year to all.

DEN
Discovery Educator Network
DE Streaming Newsletter
Professional Development
Videos
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