It is with sincere pleasure we invite the entire APS community to the 2017 Aurora Borealis Film Festival on Tuesday, April 11th at 5pm. The festival will showcase the best student films from middle and high school students across the district. All are welcome to attend and there is no cost for admission. All student submissions accepted this year will be screened at the event followed by an awards ceremony and photos. All students with accepted submissions will have their photos taken on the red carpet in celebration following the screening and awards ceremony. This is a FORMAL EVENT so please plan you wear your best and look sharp, it will be a great celebration. We are very happy to announce the location of this year’s Aurora Borealis Film Festival will be the Sie Film Center on East Colfax. The Sie Film Center has been host to the Denver Film Festival for 40 years and has hosted a large number of famous stars. We are very excited about providing students the opportunity to engage with the center as well as show their films in an authentic theater where great films have been screened throughout the years.
You are more than welcome to share this information or pass along to anyone you think might be interested. If you would like more information you can visit the Aurora Borealis Film Festival Website at http://bit.ly/apsfilm2017 or contact the film festival team at apsfilmfestival@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you there!
Looking for Lesson Plans to Teach Google to Secondary Students?
CS-First from Google has the answer
CS-First from Googlehas recently published video-based lessons for teaching Google to grades 7-12 students. This course uses instructional videos and creative projects to teach students how to use G Suite applications. Students will develop digital literacy through creative projects.
You will be prompted to connect to your Google account (use your @aurorak12.org) and school.
Next you will create a class and be given a class code for students.
Benefits and Features:
Prepares students for future careers. Prepare them with practices like communication, collaboration, and research
Contains project-based curriculum that allows students to apply their new skills to real, relevant problems.
Teaches students to behave ethically online. Digital citizenship is embedded in the lessons and encourages student to use technology tools safely and responsibly.
Utilize the videos for a blended learning model in order to give individualized attention and foster student growth.
Personalizes learning for students by giving them the opportunity to explore their interests, use their strengths, and develop important skills and ideas.
Students gain computational thinking and programming skills along with creative problems solving.
Lessons are more than "how-to" use an application. Students express ideas, collaborate with others, analyze and solve problems, and create.
Today at 11:59pm MDT marks the deadline for all student film submissions to the 2017 Aurora Borealis Film Festival. The festival is open to any APS student in middle or high school grades. Students do not have to be enrolled or taking a film class to be eligible and they can submit films they've created on their own. The maximum time limit for all films is 5 minutes, they can be as short as 30 seconds if a students wants to send a quick message.
For more information, the Aurora Borealis Website has all the details and it can be easily accessed at: http://bit.lyapsfilm2017 from any device with an internet connection. There are a few rules and restrictions to take note of as well as opportunities to view the accepted submissions from 2016. Any submissions for the 2017 festival can be entered through the website until 11:59pm MDT today.
The 2017 Aurora Borealis Film Festival will take place on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 with a start time at 5pm MDT. The location for the 2017 festival will be the Sie Film Center at 2510 East Colfax Avenue in Denver, CO. which is home to the Denver Film Society. The festival is open to anyone and is free of charge so feel free to come join us if you are interested in seeing the student films.
If you have questions or need information not contained on the website, you can email the film festival team at apsfilmfestival@gmail.com. We hope to see you there!
I had the pleasure of observing Marla Berkheim’s kindergarten class at Murphy Creek P-8 last week. I was amazed by the activities in this class. Mrs. Berkheim decided to include a STEM component this year. She researched to determine what her students would need for Coding and Engineering. Next, she used Donor’s Choose to help fund materials needed for Coding and Engineering lessons.
Last week the students started learning about Coding. Mrs. Berkheim created posters to help explain coding concepts to the students. The posters included real-life connections, definition and explanation of coding, terminology used in coding, and images of the Robot Mouse and controls.
After the Mrs. Berkheim and the class reviewed the posters and the rules of coding, the students paired up and explored using either the Robot Mouse or Think and Learn Code-a-pillar.
Film/video is a passion for students of all ages. Through film production, students gain access to a wide variety of 21st century skills that prepare them for their futures. Along with those skills, students are able to explore their interests while voicing their opinions and views about the world in which they live. Student film is an opportunity for everyone to hear about the ways in which students interpret the world and solutions they possess to some of the world's problems. It can also be a great way to understand their thinking and allow us to tap into the things that drive their desires and dreams so that we can hopefully support their efforts and achievements.
On May 11, 2016 Aurora Public Schools will host its first annual student film festival the "Aurora Borealis". The film festival will provide an opportunity for APS students to showcase their film production talents. The festival is open to all students in APS who have a desire to write, capture, produce, and edit their own short films, videos, or commercials.
The festival will be an Academy Awards of sorts to recognize and highlight the work of students within the district this year. Anyone is welcome to attend the event and view the student work while engaging in the socializing that will be present at the event. Light refreshments will be served along with opportunities to connect with various students, parents, teachers, district personnel, and community partners.
View the official 2016 film festival teaser video below.
Want to increase creative and innovative practices in your instruction? Check out this great free tool called Padlet. Padlet is an incredibly easy, web-based tool that teachers can use for free in any instructional environment. Padlet offers a platform where teachers and students can post information, ideas, or create projects. The basic structure of Padlet is a digital "wall" where anyone who has the URL for that "wall" can post based on the settings. If you're looking to enhance creativity and innovative practices in your instruction, consider using Padlet as an instructional tool. Click HERE to check it out now or watch this quick video that showcases some of Padlet's features for instruction.
I like to tell those close to me how Minecraft empowers people to change the world, which usually leads to eye rolling and the occasional snarky remark to get a life as it's just a video game. In reality though, it is so much more than a video game - I posit that it is a tool to connect people to collaborate and create for fun, but also for positively impacting communities.
Literacy skill development for students continues to be an increasingly important task that teachers should focus on. Regardless of the content area, students should develop and maintain the skills necessary to effectively communicate through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. These skills will be vital to the success of students in the 21st century workforce.
