Week 6 Question Time!

This week plenty of interactive learning tools were introduced, with many different possible options being presented. There are only two questions as there are simply so many options that I felt it would be crowded, and these questions are ones I have been interested in for most of this term.

For those who had regular access to computers in their schooling experience:

Do you have a particular memory of a teacher attempting to incorporate these activities in class?

I had one teacher in Year 5 who loved technology, and so we were very often in a computer lab. My favourite class was when we were introduced to EdHeads, I know I completed the knee replacement at least ten times over the next few weeks! I was absolutely fascinated with the human body at that point, and it was a really cool way for me to learn more. Did I mention coming in during lunchtimes to look at those activities because there simply wasn’t enough time for me to play in class? We also created games with learning objectives through GameMaker, and played games our teacher created for us. Overall I think she was brilliant at incorporating technology in the classroom, and it was definitely a turning point in my learning at school. I suddenly had a whole new world online to explore! Even if at the time it was only websites I was introduced to by a teacher.

For those who did not:

Do you feel you would have benefited from any interactive technology inclusions when you were in school? What are your feelings around the use of technology in this sort of way?

My father constantly comments that technology has made students lazy and less capable after leaving school. He uses examples of younger people being unable to calculate change at registers or being unable to grow food. He feels that rote learning should be the key learning tool as it has been for years. Do you feel there is some truth to these statements (that a regression has occurred due to increasing technology)?

Week 5 Specific Reflection

I have created a PowerPoint this week for my reflection, which I have embedded below. Please note that this is embedded and may not appear as originally planned (I noticed the transitions changed to an extremely slow fade). Otherwise I tried to use as many features of Powerpoint that I was unfamiliar with as possible, including uploading onto a blog!

Week 5 Question Time!

Question 1: How often do you see/ use Powerpoints in a week?

I use one each week to view for Accounting, my lecturers provide them as basic information slides which makes it easier to takes notes. On my prac I was also fond of them as it allowed me to display to the whole class images of what I was attempting to describe, and saved me heaps of writing on the board!

I am intrigued by the idea that they can be used for more than simple displaying, to be honest I have always thought of them as just a different way to present information in order to engage the learner.

Question 2: Would you ever consider using a Prezi presentation in a class?

I would, once I got to know it a bit better. I have seen it used to great effect once before, and it does make a great change from Powerpoint. A few weeks ago I did attempt creating one, however the fact I could not download my creation was a bit of a dealbreaker. If I knew I would use it consistently, I would probably just purchase a subscription.

Question 3: Would you prefer to create or simply access a Glogster page?

I thought I would rather have full control of the content, however after looking through some presented to the public, I have reconsidered this opinion. Not only are there heaps of options, but it allows students to search for information and see it in many forms. I do really like the format, it is interesting and looks fun compared to lecture notes!

For example, I found the following page on Pythagorean Theorem. I did not understand the notes, however my partner understood it quite well, showing that perhaps showing content made by others can be beneficial. http://erielcage.edu.glogster.com/pythagorean-theorem/?=glogpedia-source

Question 4: Which of the four options (PowerPoint, Prezi, Glogster or Thinglink) do you prefer and why?

I still prefer Powerpoint I must admit, when it comes to creation. I know the others are more engaging so I would try to utilise them more than I would have before looking into the possibilities, but I really enjoy PowerPoint. I like and am familiar with all of its options, and I find the animations great to create. Viewing however, I prefer Thinglink. I was introduced to this last week by another students of CC13, and I was amazed.

Week 4 Specific Reflection - Videos!

Week 4 Reflection on Videos

This week I chose to do a reflection on videos as they are the most fun, incorporating both audio and visual stimuli. I also really like that videos can cater to students who are deaf or blind, to almost any degree. Videos engage students, and can introduce or elaborate on topics in a way that can be difficult to accomplish any other way.

Basically, I love videos, whether it be watching or creating.

What can videos do?

Videos can display information in an entirely unique format, with audio and visual cues. It is a very creative platform! Videos can be used to inform or entertain. They can present multitudes of information in a very concise format, as there are simply so many ways of presenting that information.

A good demonstration of how popular and useful videos can be is Youtube. The following is a screenshot from the website with some of the statistics collected, and as can be seen from the first point alone, Youtube is incredibly popular!

Youtube.com

One example of what a video can do is the following video I created with a friend in 2011. We wished to observe weather patterns as we lived in an isolated area with no weather forecasts. We did not wish to lay in the grass all day looking at the sky however, so we set a camera to time-lapse and viewed the results a day later.

What are the limitations or restrictions?

Videos have many different possible formats (or ways of saving the information so that a device may show the information), and sometimes this can be incredibly useful. Saving in certain formats will increase the amount of space required, but save in a better quality, and the reverse is also true. However to play any format, a device must be able to read that format, which sometimes can be a problem. For example, the earlier video will play on some devices and not others, due to some devices not being able to play 3gp files.

Videos are also not interactive in themselves. They are a similar to blogs in this fashion, they only present information. However, just like with blogs, often comments are able to be created and discussions can be created in this fashion.

What is the privacy settings and abilities?

Privacy is completely controlled by the creator of a video. If they wish to keep it private (like that video of you in the bathtub when you were little), then you simply keep that video off of the internet. If your intention is to educate or entertain a wide audience, then post it on Youtube. If you want to show a limited audience, then only show those you wish to see it. Websites that allow a creator to post to the page often have their own guidelines and rules that are followed in order to monitor anonymity, safety or usage.

Can you customise the tool or space?

Videos are entirely customisable, with creators being able to use various editors or programs to not only incorporate images and audio, but to also manipulate videos. This could be through the addition of transitions, use of green screen technology, or cutting the video into segments. You can often also choose the format the video is saved into!

Is it easy to use (create or view)?

It is extremely easy to view videos, after two minutes on Youtube it is nearly impossible not to! Creation is also simple for beginners, and more complex as a creator delves into the possible options. 

Movie maker - simple editor example

www.leawo.com – complex video editor

Possible ways to incorporate videos into teaching:

• using pre-made videos to introduce topics (Substitution level), such as watching an overview of fractions and their uses in maths.
• engage students (Augmentation level), such as asking students to brainstorm ways to create a plasma cutter then showing them a video on a simple creation (Slow Mo Guys).
• students creating short videos on a topic (Modification level), whic requires them creating and researching independantly. Such as create a video on fractals! (Done that, so much fun and so creative for a Maths C class!)
• discussion of possible outcomes in an event, watching a video on said event, then creating a short video reflection (Redefinition level). This can take up a whole 70 minute lesson, however not only engages the students, but stimulates higher-order thinking and creativity. It can be modified to include research in the reflection, and could be used in any class!

SAMR Model video
This video was very quickly created by myself to demonstrate how easily and effectivly videos can be created. The audio was sped up as I had to speak slowely for the microphone, and it is just more interesting to listen to in my opinion. It took approximately 5 minutes after the slides were created in Photoshop, and the audio made in Audacity within 5 minutes. In total maybe 15-20 minutes. No transitions or effects were added. It was created with mobile viewing in mind.

Note: I have realised that the audio is very quiet, maybe someone reviewing audio could explain where I went wrong when recording my audio?