Scooter the Dog

I've been doing this blog for several years now and it just occurred to me that not once have I ever given a pitch about my beloved dog Scooter!  Now just wait, before you go judging me about this being a "school" blog and I'm posting about my dog, I promise there is an academic undertone to this post...so stay with me.

First, if you haven't already, check out my pup Scooter on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  You will not be disappointed, I promise (at the very least, it's always fun to look at his pics for a good laugh, especially on Mondays).

I have been blessed with the most patient dog in the entire world.  Seriously.  Here's a few pics to prove it to you:

So it's obvious I like capturing images (hence most of my blog posts include some sort of picture or video), and hopefully by seeing those pics it's really obvious to you that I love taking pictures of my dog (and son) posing for all sorts of pictures.

After having tons and tons of "Scooter pictures" at my disposal, I decided to actually do something with them (this is where the academic part comes in!).  I've written 3 "Scooter the Dog" children's iBooks that are available for FREE on iTunes for you to download onto your iPad, iPhone, or Mac, and another few iBooks that are on their way to the iTunes store soon once they've been approved by Apple.  These are children's books, with an age-level roughly around preschool and early elementary (although my 4 month old son loves to have these read to them, and I've had high schoolers enjoy reading them too! (probably because of the pictures!)).  This is a new hobby that I am really enjoying.  I've always wanted to write a novel, and decided to start small with doing some children's books first with my own "illustrations" before I tackle my novel idea.  Anyways, if you like to read, or like to read to little ones, check out these books!  I hope you'll enjoy them (click the links below to go to iTunes to that book) and following Scooter along on his many adventures and journeys.

The Adventures of Scooter the Dog

Scooter's Buddies

Scooter's Travels

Scooter's Wonderful World of Colors

Story Time with Scooter

Bellefontaine Cemetery: A Mobile Device Civil War Expedition

Yesterday was our Bellefontaine Expedition that I had recently posted about.  After worrying about it for a while--worrying about if the iBooks would work, if the kids would be able to find the graves, if the iBooks were written easily and had appropriate cemetery tasks and easy to follow--the expedition was definitely a success!

First off, we had a gorgeous morning--it wasn't too hot or raining.  We separated the 8th graders into two groups to tackle the two clusters (hence the need for 2 iBooks) they took off in pairs to complete this mobile device scavenger hunt expedition.  This was my first expedition I've planned using solely mobile devices (iPods, iPhones, or other smartphones) as our only "journal"-type documentation (usually we give the kids a journal book and pen and paper...not this time!).  The students could use their own iPod touch, iPhone, or smartphone as long as it could do the following:

1. Take pictures and videos
2. Be able to open and read PDFs
3. Be able to get the pictures and videos off of your mobile device once we get back to school (meaning, if you're planning on using your smartphone, make sure you bring in your connector cable so you can upload your pics and videos to your computer)

We also had our 20 school iPod touches to use too for the kids that didn't have their own device.  Once we got to the cemetery the kids set off, using their iBook and mobile device, to locate as many of the 26 Civil War figures they could.

At each located gravestone the students had to perform a task based upon who was buried there and that person's legacy.  Sometimes it was taking a picture, other times it was reenacting a battle scene that person fought in.

After several hours at the cemetery, we headed back to school to complete the second half of this mobile device expedition.  All of the pictures and videos the students took would be used to create a movie detailing how Bellefontaine Cemetery is important to the legacy of the Civil War and the people buried there.  Students were given a set of instructions and set off the rest of the afternoon to create their video.  

In just two short hours, the students blew me away again!  They created some amazing informational videos detailing about Bellefontaine Cemetery and its connection with the Civil War.  Below are some of the videos the students created.

This really turned out to be a great expedition and really fun to both plan, prepare for, and for the kids to participate in.  I know they learned a lot about not only this cemetery but the people buried there...and I think these videos below showcase that very well.  Enjoy!

Bellefontaine Cemetery Expedition: iBook Challenge

In a week we are going on our final 8th grade expedition to Bellefontaine Cemetery in north St. Louis.  This cemetery has oodles of history buried within (literally!).

However, this is not going to be a typical expedition--instead, we are taking this expedition 2.0, or going digital.  Students are going to be in groups of 3 or 4, and each be assigned an iPod touch.  On the iPods are two iBooks I created that are scavenger hunt type books for each of the historical Civil War people buried at the cemetery.  Students will have to first read about the person, then follow certain directions that include locating the person's grave, and performing certain tasks at each grave using the iPod touch.

After we spend the morning at Bellefontaine on our Civil War grave scavenger hunt via iBooks and using the iPod touches, students will then have to compile all of their digital evidence from their scavenger hunt from their group's iPod into an iMovie in the afternoon when we return back to school.

I'm so excited about this expedition and really hope that the students will be too.  It's right up their "digital" alleys, and I hope it works out just as planned.  I'll post a follow-up blog after the expedition next week with some reflections, photos, and hopefully the iMovies each group makes from the expedition.

Until then, here are the PDF versions of the iBooks I created...if you're heading to Bellefontaine Cemetery soon, feel free to use them for a Civil War scavenger hunt challenge.  There are 2 books for the 2 different clusters of the Civil War people buried there.  Enjoy!

Bellefontaine Cemetery Civil War iBook 1

Bellefontaine Cemetery Civil War iBook 2