S2G: Progress Report 2 - As of December 1, 2005

At last, Studio to Go has taken flight, not only for Swansea, but for other schools in the TDSB. Check out the story in Chronicles.

S2G: Progress Report 1- As of November 15, 2005

• What have the benefits been to students thus far?

• Have any of the measurable outcomes from the application been achieved?

• What were some of the unforeseen obstacles?

The good news is there have been ongoing benefits to the students and staff of Swansea Public School. Studio to Go has been used every day but one at this location. Projects have included Keynote (PowerPoint-like presentations), iMovies, GarageBand audio tracks and other multimedia creations. No study has been conducted to measure these benefits but with daily exposure to the technology contained in Studio to Go, the development of "New" and "Traditional" Literacy skills are evident.

The not-so-good news is that, while it was well-advertised to other schools in SW2, only one so far - Garden Avenue P.S. - has taken advantage of this state-of-the-art resource which comes with an equally up-to-date teacher. This first outing, hosted by grade 4/5 homeroom teacher, Monika Chawla, had students performing land and citizenship skits that were videotaped and turned into movies. Students did the editing, adding titles, sound, and transitions, etc. Mr. Higgins later put all of these projects onto one DVD and sent it to Ms. Chawla.

On another front, there was a huge expression of interest in S2G across the greater TDSB. When word of the kit reached certain TEL conferences, the requests came fast and furious. At that time, uncertain as to whether Studio to Go was to be used exclusively within SW2, I could not commit to these teachers. After some consideration, and given the limited interest within our own family, we decided to go ahead and allow outside access.

Other scheduled Studio to Go visits scheduled include the following: Julie Grierson at Alexander Muir-Gladstone has booked for the end of November. Tara Paterson, CyberArts teacher at Charles H. Best, and her class are on for the same week. John Philips of Annette Avenue P.S. has slotted his students in for a GarageBand session in the early new year, and Peggy Williams of John Wanless and Jim Martella, from Hollycrest Middle School, are booked then too. Studio to Go has many interested parties on board and welcomes more.

• Has the project been able to expand into other areas of the school or community?

Already this year, two videos - one about planting tulip bulbs, the other about our food drive - have been posted on our website. Another video - about the theme of War and Remembrance, incorporating scenes from a Black Light performance at our Remembrance Day assembly, put together with images of war from Google and Public Domain images - is currently being edited by grade eight students, and will later be shown both live and in a short web version.

Also, this year marks our third year of participation in the Panasonic Kid Witness News program, which has students creating videos about a range of topics for submission into an international contest. The fun and excitement of this participation aside, students are motivated to use this new equipment to create impressive movies with original music and high-tech effects.

Studio to Go will also serve as a great professional development tool - if we can ever get it out of the hands of enthusiastic students and into those of the staff. There is something irresistible about these iBooks; even the most hardened technophobe will not walk past one without saying something like, "Hey, those laptops are really cute?" But, beauty being only skin-deep (or plastic-deep, in this case) it's really what's inside that counts. And with Studio to Go, that's saying a lot.

So, all you SW2-ers, what are you waiting for, a personal invitation? Well, you've got one. Find out what the rest of the TDSB already knows: Studio to Go brings it all to you. 'Book it.