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Education News: Fall/Winter 2017

School of Education & Human Development students create Claymation videos, attend a student educators' conference and collaborate with students almost a thousand miles away

December 21, 2017

On Dec. 4, university studies students learned how to make Claymation videos using modeling clay, their iPads, Apple Pencils, and the Keynote app. The workshop, led by Apple Distinguished Educator and Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the School of Education and Human Development Karrin Lukacs, Ph.D., focused on how to combine these media to create engaging student projects. Participants created the mini-movies “Snowball Fight,” “Crocodile Tears“, “Joe and Kelsey Build A Snowman,” and “Watch Me Grow”.

“I attended a how-to session for Claymation at a recent conference of the Virginia Education Association. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be a great tool for K-6 teachers to learn,” Dr. Lukacs said. “It is an easy technique to learn, it’s highly engaging and hands-on, and it is applicable to any and all content areas and grade levels.”

The students said they enjoyed learning the technique. “It was fun, and a great way to de-stress before finals,” said senior Kimberlyn Abel. “It’s like molding your knowledge into art,” added senior Maryjean Gillis. “This is perfect for creative learners,” noted senior Kelsey Nicely.

“You can show a lot with this,” said senior Sara Kenney. “Young students who don’t like to talk can still show you what they know.”

Photo above: Sisters Evelyn Gillis and Maryjean Gillis work on their Claymation project. Both are seniors from Purcellville, Virginia, studying elementary education. Photo by Rick Ours.

Shenandoah students at the 2017 SVEA conference. — From left to right: Lydia Cromwell, Kayla McGhee, Sara Kenney, Jessica Bailey and Courtney Jackson. (Photo by Karrin Lukacs)

Several members of the university’s chapter of the Student Virginia Education Association (SVEA) attended the Virginia Education Association’s Instruction and Professional Development Conference in Richmond in November. The theme of the conference, which was sponsored by the Virginia Lottery, was “Celebrate! Educate! Advocate!” The keynote speaker was Yewande Austin, founder of the Global Institute for Diversity and Change. Breakout sessions covered issues including managing stress, teacher retention, special education policy, mobile apps, and inclusion and diversity, and were led by association members, university professors, and Virginia Department of Education officials.

Shenandoah education students collaborate with students at the University of Central Arkansas — Photo by Karrin Lukacs

In October, university studies students in the EDU 346 Management and Methods class used their iPads and MacBooks to connect with fellow future educators at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) in Conway, Arkansas. Using the Flipgrid app, each of the 16 students in an assessment course at UCA uploaded a short Clips video about a questioning strategy like Broken Record, Instant Replay, or Point of Error, and demonstrated its use in a K-12 classroom. EDU 346 students watched a selected Clips video, and then used the reply feature in the Flipgrid app to share their constructive feedback on the post. The instructors of the courses – Dr. Michael Mills (UCA) and Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction Karrin Lukacs, Ph.D. (Shenandoah) – met during the Apple Distinguished Educator Academy in Houston, Texas, in July. The results of the collaboration can be seen here.