So in class recently we’ve been studying poetry — all types, those that rhyme and those that don’t . . . ballads, elegies, odes . . . (Well, we haven’t got to odes yet, but they are on the horizon.) There were two that we read by Walt Whitman, famous American writer. We read “O Captain! My Captain!” and “I Hear America Singing” together. Then, I asked students to “mimic” the style of one of those poems and write their own with their own choice of a subject. I gave them a handout for each poem to guide the process. After students wrote their poem, I asked them to use the iMovie app on our iPads (or another app of their choosing) to do three things: (1) record themselves reading their poem; (2) provide visuals for the viewer to look at as they listened to the audio recitation of the poem; and (3) provide lyrics (like subtitles) along the bottom of the film clip. Once finished, they were to create a blog post on their blog, and the blog posting needed to contain their poem, and the uploaded media file of their audio/visual poem.

I did one too; here is my sample:

I SEE LADERA VISTA LEARNING
by Jennifer Rovira

I see Ladera Vista learning, the varied lessons I see,
Those of our custodians, each day the vision of them working to keep our campus maintained,
The teachers learning theirs as they grapple with implementing new standards and delivering their instruction,
The students learning theirs, as they explore new technology or are collaborating on assignments,
The admins learning about providing intrepid leadership, while supporting faculty and students,
The office staff learning as they perch at their work stations, the parents requesting assistance,
The lunch ladies, our ASB’s as they prepare for a school dance, or a lunchtime activity, or a spirit day,
The intense learning of the maintenance crew, or of the conscientious bus drivers, or of the nurse administering medicine or checking a temperature,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day — at night the quiet blanket of calm, serene, tranquil,
Learning with inquisitive minds their very valuable, lifelong lessons.

(Audio visual iMovie will be uploaded soon!)