Watch videos from the project on YouTube!
Please visit the Wind project photo gallery!
"The YouTube wind animations and text will become a huge resource for teachers everywhere. Thanks to Leslie, Kevin, and the MPI team for staying with this project to develop it with all of its many layers. The computer animation, in my opinion, was the best and perhaps the only way, to help the children make their thinking visible, given that wind is inherently about movement and its effects. This project shows that childhood creativity can flourish when some of the technical skills are shifted to an older student. The final animation results from a child's line drawing transferred to the computer by a graphic tablet then animated by the high school student according to words of the child and questions for clarification by the older student. This three way dialectic among child, adult, and computer exemplifies the best type of learning systems. The child learns how to put his/her imagination into words and the adult learns to negotiate some compromise between what the child has asked and what the computer can answer. This system mediates creativity, reflectivity, and sensitivity.
Wonderful powerful significant work. Bravo. Congratulations."
George Forman, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor, UMass, Amherst
President, Videatives, Inc.
Amherst, Massachusetts
This fall, the MPI campus was abuzz about a joint venture between MPI preschool teacher Leslie Gleim and Kevin Tokuda's Digital Media Design class in the high school technology department.
Gleim's preschool class was working on a section on Wind while Tokuda's class class was working on animation. Leslie shared a discussion she was having with her children in regards to winds and how they have been analyzing the winds with the goal of eventually drawing their ideas. After the school's professional development day in October, Leslie and Kevin got to talking and decided to do a project together. Essentially Gleim's students drew their pictures of the wind into the high school computers and then the high school students used their animation skills to bring the wind to life!
The scenario Tokuda gave his students was to think of themselves as if they were working in an advertising firm and a client asked them to create an animation for a website about the wind. The preschoolers provided the idea, the high school students put that idea in motion and added sound.
"It was so exciting because I just didn't know how my students would react with the preschoolers, but our kids were so good with them," said Kevin Tokuda. "Our kids were patient and treated them with the utmost respect, caring for them like they were their little brother or sister. It was awesome to see!"
From Mr. Tokuda:
"I asked my students that think of it as the preschoolers as their clients and they are here to provide a service/good for them," Tokuda said. "I was a little nervous at first, but the high schoolers have really embraced working with the preschoolers, almost treating them like a sibling of their own."
Here is the process:
(1) Preschoolers have their drawings and are redrawing or tracing into the computer using the Wacom Tablet.
(2) High schoolers bring their drawings into a program called Adobe Flash.
(3) They animate the drawings based on the preschoolers wishes and desires.
(4) When animation is complete a series of drafts will be presented to the preschoolers until they are satisfied with the work of the high school students.
(5) High Schoolers will then record preschoolers audio of their winds and add this audio to the animations.
(6) The animations will be put on DVD and a separate file will also be created to share on youtube.
A project within a project :-)
By Leslie Gleim
I want to share some of my thoughts about our collaboration on Tuesday with the high school students. This being our third meeting -- the students, children and teachers have now become familiar and comfortable with one another. In the tech lab, our team -- as observers -- was on the upper level and -- at one end -- 5 students were working with 5 of the children while -- at the other end -- some of the students had begun animating the winds.
Jayna and I began to document the children's work. Soon, I was asked to start looking at the initial animations of some of the winds. As I went from one computer to another -- it wasn't in the role of a "teacher" ---- rather, I was greeted as a "collaborator" by each student. As I looked at what a student had created to that point, we then unpacked the child's theories, and the essence of that child's wind.
While I was busy at one end of the room -- I happened to glance over to see Jayna functioning in the same role as well -- working with a student and child -- not as a teacher, but as a collaborator. When I finished looking at the animations in progress, I walked towards the children on the other end. At that point, I happened to glance down and noticed Kevin, below, behind 2 students and 2 children -- all of whom were looking at one of the winds. It was priceless!
In looking at what was happening -- I recalled some images that Mrs. Hussey had shared from High Tech High in California -- a school being looked at as a model for the Schools of the Future.
At High Tech High -- teachers and students collaborate in their work.
In observing the interactions -- between MPI's High School students, preschool children, HS and Preschool teachers, if someone were to have walked in at that moment -- I think they would have been looking into the future at what "education" might -- one day -- truly become!
I began to smile!
In the Animation Project -- our children have been experiencing 21st century learning at its best. The 7 essential skills that Dr. Wagner shared with families and staff have been coming "alive" -- along with our children's "winds!"
1. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving
2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence
3. Agility and Adaptability
4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
5. Effective Oral and Written Communication
6. Accessing and Analyzing Information
7. Curiosity and Imagination
This is what the future holds for your child here at MPI!
