Well it seemed simple enough....

So the students on 606 have started on their iMovies and we have had a few technical difficulties mainly resulting from location services not being turned on or the photo sharing to apps not being enabled.

But honestly, the biggest difficulty has been getting the images all of the kids need to make their projects work. When Gary and I were discussing our progress he made a statement that stuck with me. As we were talking about the project and trying to come up with an assignment sheet we were talking about how hard it is to get the kids to create the images. Gary said that he is not used to this. With his college kids at Columbia, he usually has to "force the story." That is, the images are easy for the artistic kids and he just helps develop story behind it. It is the opposite here in 606, we wrote the stories but are having a heck of a time getting them to create or even bring in the images to "show" their story.

And that leads me back to the main ideas behind the CCAP project that appealed to me as an educator. Our students really need to develop that creative side and use the "other" side of their brain. Especially now during middle school, when we know their brains are reshaping and reforming themselves. 

I reflect often on Tony Wagner's ideas about education in the 21st century. He recommends five essential educational practices needed to help shape our students into future innovators: 1.) Collaboration 2.) Multidisciplinary Learning 3.) Trial and Error 4.) Creation (vs. consumption)  5.) Intrinsic Motivation.  I feel like our projects through CCAP, really include many of those ideas. But man, there is the old theory vs practice reality again. It has really been a struggle getting our kids to CREATE! They have been taught how to use the apps, they've practiced, but oh the creating is the hard work. And manipulating images, I'm now convinced, is definitely a higher order thinking skill.