Orange County Writing Faire

Earlier this year my students competed in the OC Technology Showcase event. They created digital stories and recorded their own voice to make their stories come to life. We did fairly well in that event (we won a 52" flat screen TV for our classroom!), and we were then invited to participate in the OC Writing Faire.

The students created new digital stories with their friends to submit. We used the application Voicethread to make our stories. This time, the kids had to make their own pictures and not ones from the Internet (copyright free). Some students recorded video, some drew photos by hand, and others created slides on PowerPoint. I was really impressed by their creativity.

The event was held today at the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) from 8-noon. I was really impressed by their generosity. Every student (even if they were not an author at the event) received a goody bag full of swag (pencils, stickers, blank books to make their own books, and a free book)! The guest speaker was Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, so the students got a brand-new hardcover copy of his book, What Color is My World? Plus the students were given a delicious pancake and sausage breakfast courtesy of the Kiwanis Club.

Over 1/3 of my kids showed up! We had so much fun. There were face painters, animals, booths with tons of freebies, authors, live entertainment, etc. I will definitely be participating in this event from now on.

Here are some pics from today's event:

Swag!

Sky Hook Shot!

21st Century Writing. I'm a bit too tall and I need sunglasses!