PNG Week 3 - Summer Movie Madness!!

This week, we got into the spirit of the Summer movie blockbuster! 

First we finished up the projects we were working on last week and showcasing some of our awesome Photo-Chopping techniques.

 Next we are teaching the kids the principles of using video cameras and how movies are constructed and edited.


This year, instead of turning the kids loose we are reigning in their creative talents and having them re-create one of the greatest library scenes in cinematic history.  GHOSTBUSTERS!

Right now, we're just in the planning phases, but when we're done we will post the results to YouTube!

Summer Session - Week 2 Phototastic!

This is the week most of our PNG students have been looking forward to.  UNLEASH THE CAMERAS!!

Students became veritable paparazzo this week, snapping away with their digital cameras and learning the basics of how to take good photos.

We attempted to focus most of the picture-taking on items the students (and our mentors) brought in to the classroom.

We got some seriously artistic shots!  The PNG students are becoming skilled shutterbugs.

 

On Wednesday it was time to move on to post production.  We showed the kids how to use Photoshop and the totally free Pixlr.com to manipulate their photos and then put together a nice presentation of their work in PowerPoint.

Summer Session Begins - Week 1

Project Next Generation is up and running again!  They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and that was definitely true for two of our students who are taking PNG again for the first time.  We've redone everything about PNG from the lessons we teach to the actual layout of the classroom.

Before

 

After

We started off slow for our first couple of classes this week, going through the basics of Microsoft Windows 7 and Microsoft Office.  We don't want to shock our students too much, because soon they will be up to their elbows in digital photos, movies and music!

 On Monday, we started out making posters to help us find our lost "pets".  Wednesday we made Wanted posters and tried our hand at Photoshop.

PNG IS Back!

...AND IT'S GOING TO BE BETTER THAN EVER!

Elmwood Park Public Library is proud to announce a brand new session of Project Next Generation, the technology-for-kids class sponsored by the State Library of Illinois.  PNG has been around for years but now with upgraded equipment, a remodeled classroom and some fresh new ideas we're ready for the best PNG session of all!

The new session will start June 20th and run Mondays and Wednesdays from 11am-1pm for 8 weeks.  It is totally free to participate, but there are a limited number of seats so make sure you sign up online June 1st!

This time around we'll be doing new activities like recording and sampling music as well as new twists on old favorites like making movies and mashing up photos in Photoshop!

So make sure you don't miss out!  Follow this space or ask your librarian to stay up to date with the last about PNG @ EPPL!

Last Day Of Png

The PNG session has almost come to an end. Today being the penultimate class, we tied up some loose ends. We finished our comic books. This involved assembling them into paper form. We also finished up our egg drop power point presentations. To end the class, we took part in playing some technologic charades for some student bonding.

Thurs July 22 -- Egg Drop

Eggs falling from the sky? Why, its the PNG egg drop. The students got to construct devices to hold eggs safely as they were dropped from a ladder and then from the library roof. Out of 7 contestants, only 3 of the eggs survived the final drop from the rooftop.

Tues July 20th -- Comic Books!

Today looked like the comic section of the Sunday newspaper. Students took four photos of various objects and put a short story line to them. They editted the pictures using different techniques on the program photoshop. They added text bubbles and put them into a comic strip format for a realistic look.

Stop Motion Day 2 -- Thurs July 15

Stop Motion Day 1 -- Thurs July 13th

Today everyone was working on stop motion with action figures/dolls. Each made their own little animation with videos that ranged from from master chief being eaten from candy to an epic battle of epic proportions. The students enjoyed their class and were able to add sound and music to their video. When they are completed on Thursday they will be uploaded to youtube.

July 8th -- Photohunt Day 2

Pose as a superhero! Today was another day of photo hunting. This time, we worked as individuals to create a scene described by the instructions. The person with the most pictures won a prize. After that, we participated in an internet math search. The math search consisted of finding answers to questions to such as how many pages are in a the first harry potter book multiplied by how many countries are in north america.

July 6th -- Photo Scavenger Hunt

Define a word.

Every team member points to where they're from on a globe.

Every team member sits in the same chair.

Thurs July 1st -- Podcasts

After a round of Sporcle, we decided to record podcasts. The class broke up into two groups, with each recording a radio show that could include things such as news, weather, commercials, and movie reviews. Once the recording was finished, students had to edit their shows with music and sound effects.

Tues June 29th -- Animation Day 1

THIS IS SPARTA. Seems to be the students favorite catchphrase. In other news, we took on the task of creating pivot man movies. This is a great introduction activity to stop motion animation. Some students practiced stop motion animation with simple objects such as toothpicks.

Thurs June 24th -- Make Your Adventure

Would you like the prize behind door 1, door 2 or door 3? This type of choice was presented to the class by their fellow classmates. Today they created powerpoint presentations with mini stories. The difference with these stories is that the class choose the out come by picking options. Would you rather climb through a window or go through that door. Some stories we had involved traveling though Disneyland, battling with evil lollipops and venturing through a forest.

Tues June 22 -- Commericials

Today was the last day to finish up our videos. They turned out great! The students used video cameras and a program called U-Lead to add special effects to their film. They also uploaded their videos to the Youtube community.

Thurs June 17th -- Inventions Day 2

Today photoshop inventions came to life. The students used their creative skills to build their ideas. We used cardboard, Styrofoam, and a bunch of different colored paper. These products were used to start making cheesy infomercials like the snuggie and slap chop.

Tues June 15th -- Inventions

Inventions

Today the students brainstormed ideas to create inventions. Some ideas included candy machines and an everlasting fountain made from apples. The students are going to created their inventions using materials in 3D and create informercials.

Thurs June 10th -- Action Photography

We continued with Tuesday's photoshop theme. Today the students took photographs of themselves in action poses. They photoshoped themselves into various scenes of movies, videos games and sports events. To get the class started, we played popcorn. The students put on their thinking caps to create ordinary objects using their body. Their favorite was rollercoaster.

Andy Warhol Inspiration-- June 8th 2010

To kick off the summer PNG session, students became apprentices of Andy Warhol. Using photoshop, they created collages with their portraits in his style. At the beginning of class, students competed against each other in their own personalized jeopardy boards.