Week 4 and still going well, I am really enjoying learning how to use all these different tools in the course. I can do this.
Multimedia in education today?
As an older student I can remember when the office staff at school still used type writers, hand writing was compulsory for students (it still is at times) and images were found in a book. We did not have video, you had to go to a cinema to watch a movie. I will stop this now, I am sounding old. Students today are surrounded by technology, not just at school but at home as well. As educators today we have an extensive amount of resources at our fingertips. The press of a button or a couple of words typed into a search engine and we have text, images, video, podcasts and many more aids available to help engage the student on their learning journey.
This weeks reflection is based on Group 2 technologies and my experiences and analyses around the 3 tools for the week, they are as follows.
1) Images, using images in e-learning
2) Podcasting and digital audio
3) Digital video
1) I will start with Images in e-learning. Today's classroom is well placed in the digital world, we use computers, ipads, tablets, smart phones and interactive white boards to name a few. As teachers we will need to use these tools daily. The use of images to engage students, influence thinking will be needed. I know I would rather look at an image and text rather than just text (I am a visual learner). The use of images must however be relevant to the lesson and not just there for looks. I know that images will play a major part of my teaching discipline, as I am studying to teach ITD. I will use images daily. Lessons for me will revolve around images, students will need to see what they have to make (plans for wood/metal work) or designing (graphics or CAD). With the later the image will be created after the design process is complete.
Most images are quite large, not in physical size but space they take up on our devices, when left in this form they are quite bulky so to speak. If you try to send or upload them to a website such as Flickr can be time consuming. Flickr in case your wondering is a website dedicated to allowing users to share their photo's with the people that matter to them. It is a great site you should have a look if you have time. http://www.flickr.com/ This is when we need to be able to re-size them, it is a handy skill to have. It is rather simple process to carry out and the differences are extremely hard to see. I can't tell the difference most of the time. I have added the original and a re-sized copy of a Ferrari I came across not long ago. I dream of owning one, one day.
2) Podcasting and digital audio, What is a Podcast you may ask. It is a broadcasted audio file on the internet, you can listen to Podcast whenever and wherever you like. The task for this week was to record and save an audio file and upload to our blog, wiki or website. Most smart phones, tablets, computers etc have the capability to record and upload these files via the use of Apps. I have chosen to use QuickTime player to record a brief message. I then had to create an account with Audioboo. The Audioboo site then transformed my audio file to enable it to be embedded straight to my blog. It was very easy, only downside I don't like the sound of my voice in the clip. Unfortunately unless you upgrade your Audioboo account you can only upload 3 minutes worth of audio. As a teacher this technology could be very helpful. Using the SWOT analyses method I have come up with the following.
Strengths:
* Students could listen to the lesson in their own time or revert back to them around exam time or assignments.
* Lesson planning for relief teachers, Yr 12 English listen to Podcast 101a and 101b, quick and easy.
* As Digital Natives, students today are very skilled digitally and like to multitask with technology, listening to a podcast and working on other projects may compliment their learning style.
Weaknesses:
* Teachers may rely on the Podcast and loose the skill to engage the class without technology.
* Students will become bored quickly if it is not engaging.
Opportunities:
* Libraries of Podcasts relating to a teaching areas could become extensive, large pool of resources.
* Ability to draw on resources from around the world, different cultures, pedagogy styles and learning styles.
Threats:
* Will teachers be needed if lessons are pre-recorded or will someone just need to supervise the class
* Is this type of pedagogy productive to all students and the realisation of individual learning outcomes
3) Digital video, can be created from combining both Digital images and sound files. You can also record live video from most smart phones and tablets. This makes creating Digital video very easy. With this you don't even have to edit unless you think it is really needed. The ability to point and shoot from our portable devices to capture digital video has turned all who own these devices in to budding film makers. Today we as a society are constantly uploading videos to sites such as YouTube for entertainment/ instructional purposes to name a few. Teachers could use this technology for instructional purposes, documenting a students ability to carry out set tasks, a students improvement over time (video analyses, reporting). Students could use this technology to document their own class projects from start to finish. This could be used in most subjects taught today. For the ITD department the students could document how a project evolves from raw materials to final piece of assessment. It would be as simple as taking a photo at the end of each lesson for example.
I have created a small digital video to show I know how to use this technology. The video I have attached was created from digital images and an audio file. As a Mac user I have used iMovie to create this clip. The ease of the program surprised me, click and drag the images to the project pane from your photo album and the same with the audio. I then tried the same program on an ipad. I found the ipad more user friendly than the desktop. The process has definitely become more user friendly with time.
3 Key points for this week
1) There are many websites to assist you with these technologies, you just have to look and try. You will find one that suits your needs.
2) I found the ipad easier to use then my desktop when it came to creating the Digital video.
3) Youth today do not fear technology, they fear not having it.
Until next week
Bill
Image Acknowledgements:
* Bill Gates Quote: http://www.lushquotes.com/pics/bill-gates/Technology-is-just-a-tool.-In-terms-of-getting-the-kids-working-together-and-motivating-them,-the-teacher-is-the-most-important..jpg
* Soundtrack on video Clip: Back in Time by Pitbull
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