Multimedia- it's elementary!

June 19, 2011

The last few weeks of school, the computer teacher and I (the music teacher) collaborated on a fun, multimedia project with our kindergarten through second grade students that combined language arts, computer, and music. Students sang a song by Raffi (a Canadian children’s singer/songwriter) in music class, brainstormed new verses, then wrote and illustrated their verse in computer class. For kindergarten, we used the song, Goin’ on a Picnic. Down by the Bay was used for first graders, and Corner Grocery Store for second graders. Once the students created their verse, they saved them as jpegs and I imported them into Powerpoint. I added a title slide, and slides for the refrain and the end, then recorded the students singing the song. I synched the slides to the audio to create the finished product – a Powerpoint show to share with other classes, their teacher, and their parents. Everyone loved it!

While I feel it was successful, there are improvements I would like to make next time. Songs that are also books can be introduced at library time, and related fiction and non-fiction titles explored. The library would also be an appropriate setting for students to write rhymes for the new verses. Older students would gain valuable technology experience by making the audio recording, and putting together the slideshows. I think these changes would enhance the project and give more ownership to the students.

We found that using a multi-media format with our elementary students was highly motivating. Most students seemed to really apply themselves knowing that their work would be part of a larger whole and viewed by an audience. It was very satisfying for them to enjoy the finished product, and mostly, it was a lot of fun! There’s a great article on using multimedia projects in elementary school at: http://www.techlearning.com/article/17402