Post 4 - Assignment 1, Reflection 3, Week 4

Hi again, please tell me something new, I have waited all week!

Well, let me tell you it w as worth the wait!

This week I delved and occasionally drowned in the use of multimedia, before you ask I will give you the basics. 

Multimedia is the field concerned with the computer-controlled integration of text, graphics, drawings, still and moving images (Video), animation, audio, and any other media where every type of information can be represented, stored, transmitted and processed digitally. www.slideshare.net/fareedurrahman/multimedia-technologies-introduction

Flickr and its beauty! 

Firstly podcasts:

I created a podcast using the narrative from my movie attempt. 






I also embedded this into my wikispace.
Follow the link to my wikispace page, The Water Cycle. 
As I mentioned last week, I have set up a wiki guest member username for you or my students. 

The username clatcham101 and password cquin101 and 
just follow the links  http://learningteachingicts.wikispaces.com/

Secondly, digital Images:
I created a Flickr account and was amazed at the images available for common use.  I can see loads of potential for visual aids in the classroom and lesson planning, especially science. An image ready does say 1000 words!

Flickr common images which I re-sized!

Let me first point out that this is all new, podcasts, movies and audio are areas of technology up to now I have enjoyed and based on my experiences this week, most definitely take for granted!

What do you mean?

Well, I decided to make a movie!

This was after attempting podcasts and a round of Flickr. I thought after my first attempt at an animation last week, movie making was the next step to create a great learning platform. Boy was I up the creek without a paddle, and here was my first lesson and maybe the most important. You need time, and lots of it.

After having to install a free software to attempt this I had trouble finding common use videos I could download that met the copy right laws. As I was already finding the process hard work I figure filming my own footage to be the base of my movie would be too much. This meant I was restricted to what footage was available and then the second issue arose. The movie program I selected would not pick up the movies I had downloaded, obviously an issue with file type that after more time…did not get solved. So back to square one and a new program with even more limited functions.

So finally I started to snip, move, edit, arrange and repeat. It was a slow tedious process that took, you guessed it…more time.

Than the hardest bit, writing a transcript that covered the learning content and matched the length of scenes within the movie. Yes…more time.

Recording my own narrative was interesting and resulted in a one continuous file that matched the movie. I could have probably split the narrative to many files and gotten it perfect but by this stage I really needed better software and…yes, more time

I upload the movie to vimeo and hey presto my movie was made!
Vimeo is a video-sharing website in which users can upload, share and view videos. I used this resource to find common videos that meet copy right laws. I used the available movies to create my own and then uploaded it to Vimeo. I embedded the movie in to my Wiki space for students, which you can view by following the link to my wikispace page, The Water Cycle. I also embedded the links into my central weebly site for student access.

Can I watch it?

Go for it, grab the popcorn!

Use the password water

My Movie Yr 7 Water Cycle from Cassie Latcham on Vimeo.

The second movie I made was for my maths teaching area and was made using the PowToon free software. It is embedded into my wiki space activity Mathematics  Geometry Yr 7 (follow links page titled Assessment 1) or just follow this link and click MOVIE to watch at PowToon!

Here are some embedded pictures to show the general concepts I used for each movie.

For science, I focus on the curriculum link to Year 7 Science, Earth and Space Sciences; Water is an important resource that cycles through the environment (ACSSU222).

I wanted to show the processes of the water cycle in a film, highlighting the different processes the connections and the impact of human activity. I felt that the visual effect of a movie would aid the students understanding of the processes.

Screen Shot of  My Movie 

Screen Shot of  My Movie 

Screen Shot of  My Movie 

Screen shot of My Movie

I would Ideally use this movie to introduce a topic and follow this activity with a worksheet with a series of questions that would encourage them to analyse the new information and create new Ideas. Such as; 

What do you think would happen if the water being evaporated was polluted?

What do you think acid rain is?

What are issues with water use and management in your local environment? I.e farm runoff.

For my maths animation I wanted to introduce the declarative information for the concept of Geometric reasoning as linked to the Year 7 Math curriculum. I wanted to set a mission and could see additional missions being made to continue the theme and cover the whole unit.

Screen shot of my Maths Animation Movie

Screen shot of my Maths Animation Movie

Screen shot of my Maths Animation Movie

Screen shot of my Maths Animation Movie

Would you do it again?

Gosh yes!
The result may have been poor due to time constraints and definitely not to Oscar standards, but I feel that once it is completed it can be used for many years to come. It really is an amazing learning tool that puts the visual, audio users together to create a great lesson activity. The animation that I created for a maths mission made the whole concept more engaging and could be expanded to be a series of missions to cover a whole unit. It would be a great way to introduce each topic before getting backs to pens and paper.
Although, using movies in class can be engaging and helpful for students, it needs  to have clear learning outcomes as over time, teachers who show movies that are not connected to learning have given movies a bad name.  http://712educators.about.com/od/curriculumandlessonplans/a/Pros-And-Cons-Of-Using-Movies-In-Class.htm

Positives Engaging Visual tool that helps to see connections Can extend the learning beyond the textbook Meets different syles of learning Sometimes a movie can really help students get a feel for an era or an event.  Interest building,  students might need an interest building activity.

Minus Can be off topic and unrelated Can cause students to lose focus Movies can be distracting.. May take too much time Even a short movie can take up 2-3 days of classroom time. Really educational part may only be a small portion of the overall May not be completely historically accurate Perception of using movies can be bad. Parents might object to specific content within a movie.

Interesting Can make your own that meets all lesson plan needs and higher order thinking Can be used as an going element of a whole unit plan You should watch the movie and determine exactly how you are going to include it in your lesson plans. If you have any concerns at all about a movie, you should send home permission slips for students to return. It is wise to include as many specific reasons as possible why you feel the movie is necessary for your lesson

What would you change or consider using this tool in the classroom?

Well, the example I made were limited to the free software available, so having the right tool for the job would make it easier the meet the needs of the activity.

I would start early and have a clear idea on the purpose of the activity, the learning outcomes that I want to achieve and manage my time carefully.

I can see many ways of using movie tools in my teaching areas such as in science;

• Student recorded podcast explaining the weather report
• Student watch the life cycle of an animal and answer question based on their obsevations
• Student recorded observations of their local environment collated and narrated by the students
• A pre made movie that the student have to research and narrate to present back to the class

Or in maths;

• A Maths mission using real world examples and footage that they have to solve
• Get the students to show through film how they would explain maths problem/solution to a class.

Here is an amazing example of a movie that sets a maths question based on real world experiences.

                                                                    https://www.callutheran.edu/schools/cas/programs/mathematics/people/imhof.html

I believe it would be very important to consider how to encourage higher order thinking. For example, are you going to create a worksheet to be completed as the movie is being watched, provide the students with specific information that they are to look out for, stop the movie and discuss at certain points? All teachers need to have a clear understanding how they are going to redefine the learning experience as indicated by the SAMR's model.
. 

The SAMRs model for multimedia applications, as you can see below, has been the focus on which applications of multimedia can redefine learning. Movies are a proven way to redefine how to teach and learn, if used correctly!

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/12/ipad-apps-classified-by-samr-model.html

As the SAMRs model indicates, redefinition of a lesson using computer technology allows for new tasks that were previously inconceivable. Multimedia can stimulate more than one sense at a time, and in doing so, may be more attention-getting and attention-holding.
http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/746-new-ways-of-using-multimedia-in-classroom

Multimedia tools such as movies and animations are an amazing way to redefine how a lesson is taught and learnt. 
For example using these tools, a teacher can request the class to create a documentary video answering an essential question related to important concepts. Teams of students take on different subtopics and collaborate to create one final product that could be embedded in to a central weebly. 

Even on a simpler level of watching a movie, the learning process is redefined from a simple exercise of reading particular text on a topic to a complete moving, speaking explanation which can aid all types of learners in understanding a topic and especially aid those students that find reading challenging. 
Multimedia resources help different learners meet their learning needs. As we know, different students have different learning styles, educators can easily provide them with suitable learning resources using multimedia. http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/746-new-ways-of-using-multimedia-in-classroom
Instead of students with limited reading and writing missing learning opportunities, multimedia provides a opportunity for ALL students to understand and show knowledge.

At this level, common classroom tasks and computer technology exist not as ends but as supports for student centered learning. https://sites.google.com/a/msad60.org/technology-is-learning/samr-model

I found through my own experiences in creating a movie, that I had to be very clear on content to be able to create a concise transcript and visual aid. Students learn content and skills in support of important concepts as they pursue the challenge of creating a professional quality video.  Collaboration becomes necessary and technology allows such communications to occur.  Questions and discussion are increasingly student generated.
There are many ways multimedia can aid all types of learning on all types of topic, the multimedia needs to be carefully review and have clear learning outcomes, whilst meeting the guild lines for safe conduct. Here is a hint, always watch all movies twice, especially when it is not a documentary, it is amazing how some main stream movie involve scene that are not appropriate include swearing and adult only references. Always obtain school and parental permission and have a very, very clear learning aim.

There are a million ways that a movie can explain, show and engage and that’s just watching them. 

I feel after my own experiences, that getting the students to make their own would encourage them to clearly evaluate their research and critically create new views when developing a working movie. Through when including the students in this process, I feel that this activity could take a few lessons or a whole term so it would be vital to consider the following;

• Make the roles clear and straight forward
• Have very clear timetables and a scaffolded lists that they need to achieve by what times/dates
• Have the required tools and technology
• Understand and mitigate all safety issues
• Show clear learning outcomes from all multimedia use
• A great idea (always essential)

So I guess if a picture can say 1000 words, 

a movie with me narrating,

 says a lot more!

Cheers Cassie

References

http://www.slideshare.net/fareedurrahman/multimedia-technologies-introduction

http://www.powtoon.com/show/eECdgc7AsEE/mission-1-triangles

http://712educators.about.com/od/curriculumandlessonplans/a/Pros-And-Cons-Of-Using-Movies-In-Class.htm

https://sites.google.com/a/msad60.org/technology-is-learning/samr-model

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/12/ipad-apps-classified-by-samr-model.html

http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/746-new-ways-of-using-multimedia-in-classroom


https://www.callutheran.edu/schools/cas/programs/mathematics/people/imhof.html