Pixie+Workshop

= The Important Book a la The Power of Pixie = = = Prepare to immerse in the creativity and delight of original media-making incorporating the infamous reading pattern from Margaret Wise's **//The Important Book.//** Combining original artwork, photo images along with text and voice narrations makes Pixie3 the perfect canvas for creativity, learning, thinking and and representing deep understandings through digital communication. Pixie offers individual as well as collaborative project groups to develop multi-media representation and demonstration of learning. Beginning with a "transforming" learning task demanding rigor and relevance, participants will gain technical skills using Pixie software within a plethora of curriculum connections for learning styles, content areas and grade levels. Pixie training is less about mastering the technical components than experiencing dancing images, sound, and voice into illuminated understandings as a product that exports as slideshows, podcasts, movies, PDF documents, and webpages. Let the fun begin!

Workshop Agenda Topics

 * Opening
 * GalleryWalk of Pixie-Made Products a la Students
 * Group Learning Norms
 * Using EXIT Skill Checklists
 * Getting to Know the Basic Skills
 * Curriculum Connections
 * Lunch
 * Getting to Know MORE Basic Skills
 * Stepping into Advance Skills
 * Exporting the Work
 * Project Time for Creating Personal Art-ifications a la //**The Important Book**//
 * Show and Tell - Celebrating What We Learned
 * Closing

Creativity, Novelty and Thinking Skills a la The Important Book
Our goal is not to "DO" technology or develop amusing, entertaining digital recess projects. We want to tap into creativity while engaging rigor and relevance that will deliver visible ROL's - Return-On-Learning - tasks worth the effort and worth the resources in adding value to the results we want for our students.


 * OVERVIEW OF TASK**

//**The Important Book,**// written by Margaret Wise Brown, provides a very specific writing pattern that even the youngest of writers can imitate but also useful for older students. Requiring these types of patterns for writing tasks provides safety for all students, and when students feel safe, they can explore things (like details in writing) with less anxiety. Expect rich vocabulary - details that "show not tell" and meaningful reflection on the essence of the item being described. Teaching Children Philosophy a la Important Book Below is the pattern - enjoy the variety - enjoy the media connections of images and voice to deepen the experience of the author's creation! Choose to introduce yourself, a hero, a science concept, a family member, a literature or historic character or any object of your choice and follow the pattern. Choose rich words - and descriptions that enlighten the "essence" of your choice for others.



Today's Resources and Links

 * TodaysMeet ~ Microblogging Big Ideas and Curriculum Connections
 * Jungle images to practice Pixie selection tools ~ Participants need to download these two images to desktop:



Curriculum Connections a la Important Book

 * **Connect to Writing's SIX TRAITS** ~ The __focus trait__ in this writing assignment is **[| idea development]**; the writer's goal is to compose and prioritize memorable details as they write about their chosen or assigned topic. The __support trait__ in this assignment is **[|organization]**; students create paragraphs about topics while writing to this prompt, and both //linking introductions to conclusions// and //sequencing// can be discussed to build better organizational skills.


 * **Use Pattern as a Strategy for ASSESSING FOR LEARNING** ~ This prompt has students learn and toy with the book's pattern. Students can use //**The Important Book's**// simple pattern throughout a school year, applying it to things they've learned in any content area as a way of focusing reflections - summarizing understandings.


 * A Writing Lesson w/ The Important Book - Find details for implementation, affirmations of success along with student samples / models and strategies to activate good writing with students!


 * Explore this SlideShow - Using Wise's Poem Pattern with Students - Personally REALLY like the meta-summary questions to deepen the meaning of their poem beyond the words!


 * Teaching Children Philosophy a la Important Book