Powerful PSAs

Bullying, obesity, poverty, disability.  These are some of the social issues we've been studying in class.  Well, it's time to make our learning come to life with powerful PSAs.  A PSA is like a commercial for an idea.  Concerned individuals and groups create them to spread awareness.  Through their strong images and powerful words, they often make such an impact on the viewers, that they change their behaviors and actions as a result.

Check out some of these powerful PSAs:

Obesity:  The Silent Killer 
by Mr. Riley

There is a silent killer lurking in our cities and neighborhoods.  It attacks the young, the old, the rich and the poor.  It has no limits, and it can strike at any time.  It is obesity, the condition of having too much body fat.

Obesity is a major social issue.  1 in 3 children in California are obese, and their future doesn’t look good.  77% of them will grow up to become obese adults, and they’ll be more likely to suffer from diabetes, hypertension, strokes, and cancer take over.  Obesity doesn’t only affect those who are overweight, it affects us all since treating it raises all of our health care costs.

For my PSA, I wanted my viewer to be scared.  I chose to use a scary theme with music and words to match.  I made obesity a silent killer that enters a neighborhood and attacks inactive children. I chose text (ex. “but now it’s too late”) and images (ex. children running) that are suspenseful, and my last image of a hand reaching out and the children dying will leave an impact on my viewer.

I participated in creating this PSA by filming, editing, and directing the children.  I also wrote and typed in the text for the PSA.  I feel that I achieved the goal of my PSA and that my viewers will become more active to avoid becoming obese.

Making Movies that Matter

Lately we've been using iMovie to enhance our speaking and listening skills when discussing books with our partners.  In the first round of videos, we explained the top tips for a successful partner talk.  Check out what some of your classmates came up with.




In the second round of videos, we highlighted our top two minute clips.  Here are some inspirational ones.  Can you tell why?

Google Search Stories

Have you ever had to write a summary of a story?  You know, "who...wants what...but...so...then?" Or maybe you use the 5 W's to frame your thinking.  Whatever the case, you need to think about the most important ideas from a story and write it succinctly.  It can be tricky, especially if you are trying to summarize a story with multiple plot lines and complex characters.

Well, check out this summary of Freak the Mighty:

Pretty cool, huh?  Google came up with this storytelling technique when they first launched a superbowl ad in 2010 that told a great story.  Here it is:





Et voila.  In a matter of seconds, a beautiful story (or book summary) is told.  Want to try it out yourself?  Just go to the following link, and fill in the search boxes and search items.  (You do need a youtube account to publish it.)  If not, let me know what you think of this storytelling technique.

The World We Live In

Tweets, emails, texts, posts, live updates.  Let's face it.  Our lives are interrupted by these dings, buzzes and "You've got mails" more than ever before.   That coupled with the rate that change is happening, I can't but think it's only going to get worse (or better depending on your perspective).  Whatever the case,  with the impact of technology in my life, I just feel like I can't keep up.

Don't get me wrong, I love my gadgets as much as the next guy. In fact, everyone in my family has their favorite gadget.  You might even consider us an iFamily.  They're amazing, and they allow us to connect with our family at home, pursue interests online, and create family memories with photo albums and movies.  Not only that, they provide countless hours of entertainment and learning opportunities.

Having said that, I can't help but think that technology has some downers. It seems to fragment my thinking when I try to process and respond to the overwhelming numbers of emails. During dinner, our phones ping with incoming texts. I also find myself behind the computer screen a lot more than I used to. (Of course the irony is that I'm behind the computer screen to write this post!)

Not only that, some days we spend more time on our devices than we do interacting with each other.  Just the other day, I looked up from my computer and noticed that we were all on some sort of iPad or iPhone at once.  Sure we were together, but were we really together?  (Of course the irony is I'm writing this post on my computer when I could be playing with my kids).

So how does technology impact your life?  Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks in your opinion?  What about the future of technology?

The Wonderful World of Blogging

Believe it or not, we're living during an amazing moment in history.  Sure, there have been inventions like the printing press and the telephone that have revolutionized the way we communicate, but in the last few years, the exchange of ideas has exploded at an alarming rate.  New genres are being formed as we speak, and they are already making an impact on how we learn and communicate.  What's causing this big explosion?  Technology.

Enter the blog.  When I was your age, the word "blog" wasn't even invented yet, let alone Facebook, Twitter, and the internet itself.  Like those other innovations of the 21st century, the blog empowers us as we express our opinions and communicate with each other.  Maybe you're like I was until recently though, and you don't really get how a blog works.  Check out this video:

With blogs, we can share ideas and grow our community beyond the walls of our classroom.  We can include images and videos to enhance our ideas in ways that words alone cannot.  We can connect with others in the world and hopefully make an impact on them.  And finally, we'll be able to track and link our own thinking as we do it.

Of course many of you already know this.  I was amazed at your responses to the blog survey you completed.  Over half of you (24 to be exact) have written for a blog already, so maybe I'm already preaching to the choir.

You're not the only students trying this genre out in hopes of seeing results.  Recently, a teacher from ISB told me all about his students' blogging experience.  One of his students, Brian Leong, wrote a post about his experience with Operation Smile, a charity organization that provides free surgeries for children with facial deformities.

Along with his post, he created a video to show what he experienced.  Well, his video went viral.  It even got back to the folks at Operation Smile.  They loved it, and not only did they contact Brian to tell him how much it meant to them, they also asked him to be a keynote speaker at their conference.

So you never know where the ideas on your blog may lead you.  One thing's for sure, they'll connect you with people and places like never before.  So what do you say?  How about we give it a try and see where it takes us?


Images from:  http://www.daily-dose-of-art.com/2012/05/helping-hands-series-3-operation-smile.html