42 - slsandkaraoke

The writer asked permission from school and special education administration to conduct the research project. The writer asked permission from administration to hand out student and teacher surveys, and to send project introduction/ student participation letters home to parents.

January 31, 2005 – February 18, 2005

Surveys were distributed to all teaching members at the high school dealing with SPED English participating students, and to all SPED English students. The writer reviewed assessment records for target population.

February 16, 2005

The writer will met with the school principal, SPED English teachers, parent resource coordinator, and interested to discuss findings of preliminary survey and aspects of intervention. The group discussed proposed solution strategies and brainstormed materials and activities. The writer received permission to move forward with project implementation.

February 18, 2005– February 25, 2005

SPED English teachers administer Accelerated Reader’s STAR assessment to all SPED English students. Data was being recorded by individual student and by class placement. Data was then be evaluated by role groups and reading growth was compared to previous three-month period and SDRT to identify tests that could be considered reliable. If student scored lower than previous SDRT, his or her data was not included in trial group. If base testing data was not available during pre-test period student was not included in data comparison groups. From 227 Sped students in an English class setting, this resulted in 149 students. First, from the writer’s class, 51 of 65 students made the basic qualifications. Second, of 43 students in larger study group who failed because STAR testing was below previous SDRT, students were screened to examine whether the difference was within the range of a time period loss since previous test (i.e. it has been 3 months since SDRT and student has scored 3 months below previous testing) The original plan was to screen the second group to determine if the score fell within the published STAR/SDRT reliability range, however all cases were clearly beyond test range and could be classified as false low scores. The testing group felt that including these scores in final data would unfairly demonstrate students making better growth than actual ability levels. Data was kept on all students.

February 28, 2005

Twelve-week implementation began. For the next 60 school days students began and ended each class with a SLS viewing activity for a minimum of 15 minutes per day.

Students typically:

(1) Entered class and obtained text worksheets;
(2) Watched in-progress 3 to 5 minute SLS presentation; (presentation played between classes and completely three times after the beginning of class bell ringing).
(3) Completed daily worksheet text related to video.
(4) Completed regularly scheduled classroom reading activities.
(5) Casually repeated observation of SLS during last 5 minutes of class (as schedule allowed and during transitions).

It should be noted that scheduling activity in this manner was a very efficient use of time. The projector and amplifier took students focus as they entered the room, and this quickly eliminated the normal classroom entry conversations and bickering. The writer typically sang along with presentation while taking care of basic housekeeping/classroom management chores. Classroom announcements were handled with PowerPoint immediately after SLS followed by short story/vocabulary activity/and or discussions. Most days also included an additional reading activity –either audio book readings or Sustained Silent Readings followed by review of homework assignments.

February 28, 2005 to March 4, 2005

Implementation Week #1.

The writer prepped SLS and reading activities using familiar popular lyrics at each groups average Independent Reading Level (IRL). This included Buffalo Soldier, By the Rivers of Babylon, All Star, This Kiss, Paint it Black Class Readings were pulled from various websites related to each artist.

Introduced SLS activities, and continued basic activity for next 60 school days. During first week the writer:

Trained students as to procedure to enter classroom while a film is going.
Emphasized that SLS will play on a loop from before class begins and repeat a minimum of three times after the bell rings. As needed, point out that those students who arrived early, on time and are quickly on task will have a better chance of completing work scripts.
Encouraged students to gather information from the SLS rather than copying directly from fellow classmates work.
Encouraged students to read along (or sing-along) with subtitling.

Additional Homework Assignment from week #1:

Locate your favorite song and hand copy the lyrics. Be prepared to hand in one copy and discuss on Friday. Cite Sources.

Note: Friday class covered the relationship between lyrics and poetry, the different language richness of different authors and genres, the social context and appropriateness of various selections.

March 7, 2005 to March 11, 2005

Implementation Week #2. Continued basic activity for next 55 school days. Teacher prepped activities using popular musical movie lyrics at each class group’s average ZPD level. Materials included ‘Beauty and the Beast”, ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat” Continued previous Audio-Book Readings from Harry Potter 3.

Encourage students to gather information from the SLS rather than copying directly from fellow classmates work. Encourage students to read along (or sing-along) with subtitling.
Technical Training on Computer. As these classes had already gone through basic training in computer usage and have all been issued Internet Usage Licenses, some of the processes for finding and editing lyrics only needed a brief review. Explored use of Internet to find lyric resources, review applicable copyright and fair-use rules. Reviewed applications of Microsoft Word, especially spelling and grammar and readability tools.

Additional Homework Assignment from week #2:

Locate a favorite song and edit the lyrics using Word to create a script worksheet similar to class activity. Be sure to create a document that is visually appealing, and fairly easy to follow if this was to become a full SLS activity. Be sure to use grammar and spelling check, and take note of where these tools would like to make changes in your script. Do not change your script unless the change will also match the performance of the song. Cite Sources.

Be prepared to hand in one copy and discuss on Friday.

Note:

Friday class discussion covered the relationship between lyrics and poetry, the different language richness of different authors and genres, the social context and appropriateness of various selections.

How to edit song lyrics so that Word can recognize complete sentences, or exclamations. Cover readability statistics and how that tool can be used to impact both reading and writing.

March 14, 2005 to March 18, 2005

Implementation Week #3. Continue basic activity for next 50 school days. Teacher previously prepped activities using Broadway musical lyrics at each group’s average ZPD level.

Encouraged students to gather information from the SLS rather than copying directly from fellow classmates work. Encouraged students to read along (or sing-along) with subtitling.

2) Technical Training on Computer.

Additional Homework Assignment from week #3:

Locate a favorite song and edit the lyrics using Word to create a script worksheet similar to class activity. Use basic text document to create a PPT presentation. This is first student application of part of 6 steps to create Subtitled Media (Modified for use with simple PPT).

(1) Obtain the text and audio source;
(2) Build a text transcript in electronic format to match the audio content;
(3) Make sure that it is possible to manually synchronize the text slides with audio file.
(4) Copy the completed PPT and separate audio file to a storage format;
(5) Create a script worksheet to accompany PPT.
(6) Make Subtitled Content accessible for presentation. Cite Sources.

Be sure to create a PPT presentation and document that is visually appealing, as this may be used as a class SLS activity. Cite Sources.

Be prepared to hand in one copy after SPRING BREAK and discuss process this Friday and products on April 1, 2005.

Note:

Friday class covered:

The relationship between lyrics and poetry, the different language richness of different authors and genres, the social context and appropriateness of various selections.

How to edit song lyrics so that Word can recognize complete sentences, or exclamations. Cover readability statistics and how that tool can be used to impact both reading and writing.

How various functions of PPT can be used when presenting SLS activities.

March 21, 2005 to March 25, 2005

Spring Break

March 28, 2005 to April 1, 2005

Implementation Week #4. Continue basic activity for next 45 school days. Teacher will prep activities using Broadway musical lyrics above each group’s average ZPD level.

Technical Training on Computer.
Review applicable ownership, copyright and fair-use rules.
Introduced/Explored Microsoft Producer for PowerPoint and use of application to create simple SLS presentations.

Additional Homework Assignment from week #4:

Locate a song that has lyrics within your ZPD range. Edit the lyrics using Word to create a script worksheet similar to class activity. Use basic text document to create a PPT/Producer presentation. This is second student application of 6 steps to create Subtitled Media (Modified for use with simple PPT/Producer).

(1) Obtain the text, photo/video file and audio source;
(2) Build a text transcript in electronic format of the audio content;
(3) Synchronize the text with audio and photo/video file;
(4) Combine continuous text, audio and video into one multimedia file;
(5) Copy the completed composition to storage format;
(6) Make Subtitled Content accessible for presentation. Cite Sources.

Be sure to create a PPT/Producer presentation and text script document that is visually appealing, as this may be used as a class SLS activity. Cite Sources.

Be prepared to hand in one copy and discuss process this Friday April 1, 2005.

Note:

Friday class discussion covered:

The relationship between lyrics and poetry, the different language richness of different authors and genres, the social context and appropriateness of various selections.

Readability statistics and how that tool can be used to impact both reading and writing.

How various functions of PPT/Producer can be used when presenting SLS activities.

April 4, 2005 to April 8, 2005

Implementation Week #5. Continued basic activity for next 40 school days. In addition, student produced SLS viewed on Friday. Student scripts at this stage are targeting literacy skills.

Encourage students to read along (or sing-along) with subtitling.
Technical Training on Computer.
Explored photo and video media sources, file types, and storage methods.

Review applicable ownership, copyright and fair-use rules.

Introduce/Explore Karafun and Dart Karaoke Builder, and use of application to create simple Karaoke presentations.

Additional Homework Assignment from week #5:

Choose a song from class’ collection that has lyrics within your ZPD range. Edit the lyrics using Word to create a script worksheet similar to class activity. Use the text file to build a basic Karaoke presentation using Karafun or Dart Karaoke Builder. (This is the third student application of 6 steps to create Subtitled Media and first usage of a program that can produce stand alone SLS presentations).

(1) Obtain the text, photo/video file and audio source;
(2) Build a text transcript in electronic format of the audio content;
(3) Synchronize the text with audio and photo/video file;
(4) Combine continuous text, audio and video into one multimedia file;
(5) Copy the completed composition to storage format;
(6) Make Subtitled Content accessible for presentation.

Be sure to create a SLS presentation and text script document that is visually appealing, as this may be used as a class SLS activity. Cite Sources.

Be prepared to hand in one copy next Friday, April 15 2005, but be ready to discuss process this Friday April 8, 2005.

Note:

Friday, viewed student produced SLS and class discussion covered:

How various functions of PPT/Producer can be used when presenting SLS activities.

April 11, 2005 to April 15, 2005

Implementation Week #6. Continue basic activity for next 35 school days. Teacher will prep activities using Broadway musical lyrics above each group’s average ZPD level. In addition, student produced SLS could be viewed on Friday. Encourage students to read along (or sing-along) with subtitling.

Technical Training on Computer.

Explored Karafun media sources, file types, and storage methods.

Reviewed applicable ownership, copyright and fair-use rules.

Introduce/Explore Karafun, and use of application to create Karaoke DVD presentations.

Additional Homework Assignment from week #6:

Continue previous week assignment: Choose a song from class’ collection that has lyrics within your ZPD range. Edit the lyrics using Word to create a script worksheet similar to class activity. Use the text file to build a Karaoke presentation using Dart Karaoke Builder. This is still the third student creation Subtitled Media (First program that can produce stand alone SLS presentations).

(1) Obtain the text, photo/video file and audio source;
(2) Build a text transcript in electronic format of the audio content;
(3) Synchronize the text with audio and photo/video file;
(4) Combine continuous text, audio and video into one multimedia file;
(5) Copy the completed composition to storage format;
(6) Make Subtitled Content accessible for presentation.

Be sure to create a SLS presentation and text script document that is visually appealing, as this may be used as a class SLS activity. Cite Sources.

Be prepared to hand in one copy Friday, April 15 2005.

Note:

Class discussion covered: Rubric for SLS productions.

How various functions of Dart Karaoke can be used when presenting SLS activities.

April 18, 2005 to April 22, 2005

Implementation Week #7. Continue basic activity for next 30 school days. Teacher prepped activities using Broadway musical lyrics above each group’s average ZPD level (Created mega-mix sampler). In addition, student produced SLS viewed on Friday--Scripts targeted literacy skills. SLS sources paired to class novel readings and assignments.

Encouraged students to read along (or sing-along) with subtitling.
Technical Training on Computer.

Explore zip files, compression files, and storage methods.

Review applicable ownership, copyright and fair-use rules.

Introduce/Explore Vegas 5 and Boris Graffiti, and use of application to create Multi-media presentations.

Additional Homework Assignment from week #7:

Choose an audio recording from class’ phonographic record/audio tape collection. For this assignment you will select from our collection of Radio Plays, Speeches and Poetry. Edit the text using Word to create a script worksheet similar to class activity. Transfer the audio from analog to digital format and save a media file. By listening to text, create a script. Use media program of your choice to clean up/clarify the audio file and then create a SLS presentation. Cite Sources.

(1) Obtain the text, and audio source, use editing program to improve quality of audio file;
(2) Build a text transcript in electronic format of the audio content;
(3) Synchronize the text with audio and create a photo/video file;
(4) Combine continuous text, audio and video into one multimedia file;
(5) Copy the completed composition to storage format;
(6) Make Subtitled Content accessible for presentation. Cite Sources.

Be sure to create a SLS presentation and text script document that is visually appealing, as this may be used as a class SLS activity. Cite Sources.

Be prepared to hand in one copy Friday, April 22 2005.

Note:

Friday, April 22, viewed student produced SLS.

Class discussion covered: Rubric for SLS productions.

How various functions of Vegas 5 and additional audio editing programs can be used when creating new sound files.

April 25, 2005 to April 29, 2005

Implementation Week #8. Continued basic activity for next 25 school days. Teacher created activities using Broadway musical lyrics above each group’s average ZPD level. In addition, student produced SLS viewed on Friday. Worksheet/scripts required targeting literacy skills. SLS sources were also paired to class novel readings and assignments. Began Cats and Les Miserables, classes began readings from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and Hugo’s novel –Les Miserables.

Encouraged students to read along (or sing-along) with subtitling.
Technical Training on Computer.

Explored cut and paste programs, file conversions, and transitions.

Reviewed applicable ownership, copyright and fair-use rules.

Explore Photo and video editing components of Vegas 5 and Boris Graffiti, and use of application to create Mixed Multi-media presentations. Introduce Pinnacle 10 video edit.

Additional Homework Assignment from week #8:

Locate photo and/or media files. For this assignment you will find visual media to illustrate support last weeks assignment. Practice using Edit feature to create movement in still photos and/or pulling still out of video. Use media program of your choice to add visual media to the audio file and then create a SLS presentation. Cite Sources.

Friday, April 29, view student produced SLS.

Class discussion covered: Rubric for SLS productions.

How various functions of Vegas 5 and additional photo editing programs can be used to create mixed file media presentations.

May 2, 2005 to May 6, 2005

Implementation Week #9. Continued basic activity for next 20 school days. Teacher will prep samples of multi-media presentations. In addition, student produced SLS could be viewed on Friday. Presentation will be paired to class novel readings and assignments.

Friday, May 6, 2005 possibly view student produced SLS.

Class discussion can cover:

How various functions of Vegas 5 and Karaoke producing programs plus additional photo and audio editing programs can be used to create mixed file media presentations.

May 9, 2005 to May 13, 2005

Implementation Week #10. Continued basic activity for next 15 school days. Teacher used student prepped multi-media of Broadway presentations.

May 16, 2005 to May 20, 2005

Implementation Week #11. Continued basic activity for next 10 school days. Class will viewed student-generated samples of SLS multi-media presentations.

May 23, 2005 to May 27, 2005

Implementation Week #12. Continued basic activity for next 5 school days. Class will view student-generated samples of SLS multi-media presentations.

May 23 – June 7

Follow-up Surveys distributed.

May 27, 2005

Twelve-week implementation period ended, SLS activities continued to end of school year. Students continue to use activity as schedule allows for remaining seven days of school year.

May 31 – June 7

SPED English teachers administered Accelerated Reader’s STAR assessment to all SPED English students. Data was recorded by individual student and by class placement. Data was evaluated by role groups and charted by reading growth in comparison to previous assessments. Returned surveys recorded and evaluated by role groups.

June 8, 2005

The writer held a follow-up meeting with the school administration, and special education department personnel to discuss initial results on the implemented activities.