ImagineIT: Spring Update II

The focus of my ImagineIt project is to use audio and video as a pedagogical tool for learning.  In short, I seem to be drifting around.  My project doesn’t seem to hit on a specific plan or purpose.  Yet, I am ok with that.  I just haven’t found the right fit for how audio and video can be integrated into my work.  That isn’t to say that I haven’t made progress, and I still feel I have been productive and learned a lot from tinkering around with things and ideas.  Previously, I wanted to make videos that assisted students in discovering more about the projects they are working on.  Although that has failed, what’s actually been occurring is students are developing their skills at exploring and researching videos on their own.  Maybe this is the modern day style of research?  Why read about it, when you can listen and see it?  Students are learning to be critical of the videos, what videos have valuable content, and which videos do not.  I feel many students are starting to break out of the traditional mold where the teacher provides the answers, rather than tries to their questions on their own.  Although I will facilitate when things get complicated, students are learning that I am not their to give them the answer.  Students have been working with Snap Circuits, Makey Makey, Adobe Photoshop, etc., They get these tools without any prior knowledge and are learning to explore the unknown.  
Another side project I have started is to get third graders and fifth graders to create blogs.  We are trying to encourage the students to do more writing.  I plan to incorporate an audio component into the blog, where students record themselves and post it to their blog.  It would also be interesting to see how video can be incorporated into this project as well.  So, to sum up, my plan hasn’t gone the way I want, but I am learning and making progress as I try to follow the principles of STEM.