Every year, classrooms share their learning stories through RockyTalks, and this year of Learning From Home will be no exception!  In June 2020, the RVS YouTube Channel will host presentations from all over the @RockyViewStudio community, from teachers and students in every grade, from every corner of the region and share them publicly in the RockyTalks 2020 Online Exhibition!  RVS Teachers can share their YouTube playlists of RockyTalks videos that their students created at HOME, in any subject or format including speeches, essays, position papers, opinions & editorials, learning stories, numeracy/literacy/design, Arts & CTS, creative writing, poetry & spoken word, and more! Follow the Practice Guide to share your students' presentations playlist in the RockyTalks 2020 Exhibition! 

Produce Your RockyTalks!

1. Draft, Critique & Revise
   Design cycles of feedback, critique and formative assessment to accompany your students’ inquiry & study in any subject or grade level. The straightforward method to create a presentation script is to submit a Google Doc to a Google Classroom assignment for review. It’s always helpful to share with your students one or more teacher and student exemplars of the project in which they are engaged.
   
   
2. Rehearse & Record
   When the script is finalized through the writing process, ensure that the AF144-A Consent Form is on file to begin the presentation phase. Student presenters will benefit from rehearsal with their teacher that includes feedback and an opportunity to revise and improve. The easiest way to listen and respond to a student rehearsal is in a video conferencing environment like Google Meet. Of course, students can record their presentations and submit a Google Drive video link directly into your Google Classroom Assignment for feedback, but you can also do the recordings yourself on your laptop, if you have the permissions complete. 
   
   
3. Upload, Organize & Share
   When you have all the videos, upload them to your teacher RVS YouTube Channel and organize them into a playlist with a title and description. The link to your playlist can be embedded into your Google Site or Schoolblogs as well as shared on your social media. Please share the playlist link with @RockyViewStudio, as well, for inclusion in the RockyTalks online exhibition.  
   
   

If you're looking for inspiration to share with your students, you can see examples of wonderful presentations shared by RVS students and teachers in the RockyTalks galleries!
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When the latest survey results came in, families said they loved it when teachers created a personal video message for them each week that put their Learning Plan into simple terms. Share all your videos on your RVSchools YouTube Channel to connect your learning community and inspire others toward Creative Confidence!

After you have connected with your students via a Personal Message from your new YouTube Channel, and you have created and shared one or more video lessons, you may want to organize your channel with YouTube Playlists and Sections on your Channel's Homepage. Not only can you organize your own videos into curated playlists, but you can also add sections of playlists from other channels, too. Check out this new tutorial for curating the content on your Channel:

Many teachers connected with their students this week with personal messages, live zoom sessions, email, classroom and brand-new google sites. Now, it will be fun to create and share weekly lessons, provocations, pitches and projects to students from the channels we have created. And making new video lessons from content we already have is actually pretty easy. This new tutorial video shows you how to take your presentation slides from any software, whether PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, a folder of images, or even a website, and turn them into a narrated video that can be shared on your RVS YouTube Channel. Check it out:

If you haven't started your RVS YouTube Channel with a personal welcome message for your students, fear not! You can check out last week's tutorial video How To Launch Your Channel with a Personal Message to get started.
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Shifting to online learning with your students means video chats on Zoom or Google Meet. It's easy to make yourself presentable on camera with a couple of simple tips for setting up your video.

First, you've gotta face it, the window is a lamp, not a backdrop. Turn your chair or desk around so the natural light pours in on you, rather than casting you into a silhouette.

Next, level with your camera.

Steady your device (camera, tablet, laptop, phone) on your table or desk, so that it is pointing at your eye level, even if you have to stack some books under it. ​So, you should be able to look your camera in the eye, and whoever is video chatting with you will feel like they are, too.

You can step up your game even more by composing your frame like a photographer would. So, whether you're meeting with colleague, students, family or friends, you can Zoom in with confidence. These brief lessons review how to create inspiring images and pro videos:

With the closure of schools in Alberta, many teachers still want to connect with their students in a personal way, and a short video recording is a great way to share a message with your students while teaching and learning from home.

​Plus it's also a perfect opportunity to launch your Youtube Channel!

So, here is a little how-to video to get you started by recording yourself on your laptop in iMovie and launching your Youtube Channel by connecting to your RVS Google account.

​Stay tuned to the Rocky View Studio channel for more lessons in the coming weeks. Next will be a tutorial about sharing videos of your Teaching & Learning by recording lessons on your laptop! ​

For a long time now, I have practiced the daily habit of handwriting in a journal. There's something about writing on paper for an imaginary audience that never judges and always listens. And it feels especially precious these days during social distancing, when we are in video contact with others, staring through screens all day long. For me, scratching marks on physical paper in the early morning is a reliable time to slow down, think and make something simple, made all the more enjoyable with an espresso.

The habit of daily writing also informs the kind of storytelling that's meant for an audience. It's like doing exercises, in a way. Or warming up before a run. The writing process is often hard work and it feels good to be limbered up and ready to go. The writing process is what drives so many creative and professional endeavours. This little essay features images I've captured in real Alberta classrooms in which students use the habits, routines and mindsets that are common across all disciplines that begin with writing with purpose for a real audience: