Computer Lab Update, Plus Fun with 3D Printing!

Hi and thanks for visiting my blog today! We have had a lot going on in our computer lab, as we update it to be part of the new STEAM Center that is being created in our Media Center. To see what the lab used to look like, check out my previous blog post. We were very fortunate to have Rich from Richard K Moore Painting in last week to give the lab a fresh coat of paint.He did a fantastic job and the lab is really starting to look revitalized. If you're looking for a painter, check out Rich's website.
Here are a few pictures of the space now:

It's hard to see from the pictures, but most of the walls are a light gray-blue color.

The front wall, however, is bright green! This is the "green screen" for our production studio. I discussed green screens and how they work on my last blog post.







This week we are getting carpet estimates as well as looking at a floor to ceiling whiteboard for the back wall. Furniture has been ordered and we are clearing out the furniture and bulletin boards that were in this space, to be reused elsewhere in the school. More updates to come as the room takes shape!

In other news, I had the pleasure of working with Mrs. Levine's and Ms. Meisner's classes this morning, which is always fun. Today they took a little field trip down to my office to check out the new 3D printer we just received. The students were able to watch the printer in action, learn how it works, and see items that have already been printed. As you can see, they were pretty fascinated.

The next step for these students will be learning about the design process and creating objects that can be printed. My next blog post will be about 3D printing - how it works, and how it can be used as part of the design process in the classroom.

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Using a Green Screen for Video Production

Recently, I've been hearing a lot about the use of "green screens" in schools. Students are using this technology to create, edit, and publish videos. So what exactly is a green screen? How could it be integrated into the curriculum? Should we get one here at WFS? I set out to do some research about all things green screen, and in today's blog post I'll be sharing my findings with you.

What is Green Screen Technology?
Green screen technology, also called Chromakeying, is when the image of a person or people is superimposed on a virtual background. This allows us to create videos set anywhere in the world (or even the universe!) without traveling to the location itself. Instead, all we need is a picture of the location or locations we want to use for our background.

Chromakeying singles out one particular color in an image and makes it transparent. This allows another image to show through. In our case, the color is green, but it doesn't have to be. In fact, many "green screens" today are actually blue! The trick is to use a color that will contrast with the colors the people are wearing in the video. The actors in the video can't wear the color green or they will be transparent and not show up in the video. This happened to my husband on a recent trip with our son and I to New York. We posed for a picture in front of a green screen and the image of the Empire State Building was inserted behind us. My husband had worn a green t-shirt that day and the finished picture showed my son and I, along with my husband's head floating in the air! Needless to say, we didn't purchase that picture, but here's another example of what happens when the actors in a green screen video wear green:

Green Screens in Schools
I wanted to see what the set up of a green screen room would look like in a school, so I went to visit my friend and colleague Colleen LaSalle at the Joseph J. Catena School, where they recently installed a green screen. Here are a few photos of the space:

As you can see, it looks great, and the students are already having a blast using it. I was able to watch as students created videos to use in their second grade show.

Rather than using a screen, the Catena School has painted an entire wall green, and also has some green boards for the floor. They also hung lights from the ceiling, as good lighting is so important in filming a video. On the table in front of the green screen area a TV displays the video as it is recorded, so students can see themselves in relationship to the digital background.

Students are using an iPad to record their video, in an app called Do Ink. You can find more information about this app HERE. This app is very user friendly. In fact, I went back to Catena a few days later and used it for the first time while training some of their staff members!

How would this work at WFS?

Now that I've gotten to use the green screen at Catena, I want one here at WFS! We will also be painting a wall green in what was our computer lab, and setting up part of that space as a green screen recording area. It will look very similar to what they have at Catena. Setting the space up is the easy part though - next I needed to find some ideas for integrating this area into classroom lessons in grades K-5.

Fortunately there are plenty of other schools using green screens and sharing their ideas online. I can't list them all in this blog post, but here are some of my favorites:

• Artwork as a background: These fourth graders used drawings from art class as the backgrounds in these pictures. It actually looks like the students are inside their artwork - amazing!
• A variety of grade level green screen projects are featured on this blog post, including first graders describing landmarks of countries they were studying, and fifth graders putting themselves on the cover of Time magazine!
• Tricia Fugle has tons of great ideas for using the Do Ink app and green screen technology on her blog.
• Scholastic has great information about how green screens work, the Do Ink app, and project ideas.

I'm so excited to start working on the green screen space here at WFS. Stay tuned for updates and pictures as it evolves, and of course - videos created using the space!
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Full STEAM Ahead!

I'm excited to share with you some changes coming to West Freehold School. Recently we have begun renovations on our computer lab and media center, in order to create a STEAM center for staff and students to use. Each building in our district will be undergoing similar renovations. These changes are being generously funded by the FTEF, our WFS PTO, and individual family donations. The finished STEAM center will have areas for 3D printing and scanning, 21st century workspaces, multimedia tools, drafting and design spaces, creation software, robotics, and more! To read more about the fundraising efforts taking place throughout the district, visit the FTEF website: http://www.ftefnj.org, or take a look at their STEAM212 brochure HERE.

At WFS, we are starting in our computer lab. Here's what the lab used to look like:

This year we went 1:1 with student chromebooks in grade 2-5, and with that saw a decrease in the use of the computer lab. We've taken out the older desktops that were in the lab and have started renovations in this room. Bulletin boards and cabinets are coming down to make room for our green screen area and a fresh coat of paint on the walls.
Here's the same space as a work in progress:

I'll be keeping you updated on the progress of this room as the school year goes on, and throughout the summer. Our hope is to have a fresh new space in place for the students when they return to school in September. To automatically receive updates, click on the subscribe icon on the right, and follow me on Twitter @wfstechlayman.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog! I would like this to be a place where teachers, students, and parents can learn about the technology being used at West Freehold School. My goal is to break things down so that anyone and everyone can understand and use the equipment, spaces, and web resources that we are so fortunate to have here.
There are a lot of exciting things happening at WFS, including the creation of our STEAM center, which has begun in our former computer lab and media center. Stay tuned for posts all about this new space and the equipment being brought in for students to use. I'll be showcasing our green screen area, 3D printing, robotics, and much more.
Thanks to Dr. Jeff Huguenin for the title of my blog- sometimes the most obvious ideas are not that obvious to me!
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I'm looking forward to explaining all things technology, in Layman's terms!