I've got to say, making a video ain't no walk in the park. As a group, a few of my classmates and I logged several hours into a seven minute piece. I suppose I can see why it takes so long for movies to hit theaters after they've been filmed. I have learned a lot about the process of creating a movie, though, and I really enjoyed the creative aspect of the project.
Our project started with an assignment. The assignment was to make a video that talked about technology in the classroom. We then had to come up with ideas as to how we were going to do that. Thinking of creative ideas is something I love doing, so I like this. After a discussion, we decided that the style of our movie was going to be relaxed, and we were going to transition by passing around the camera (in our case, our laptop cameras). The audience was intended to know that the we weren't actually passing the camera to the person next to us, but the editing was meant for the transition to be smooth enough so that they almost could. With a few doubts, we went ahead with this idea and agreed that we each would have a little less than a minute to talk about one implication of technology in the classroom.
We were each responsible for this one minute, and I like the mixture of individual and group responsibilities that this video required. The first thing we did was to add to our idea a bit and actually pass the computer around as we sat with our backs facing to one tree. That was a lot of fun, as you would well be able to imagine, if you knew the "kids" in my group.
In fact, the stress that's involved with making a video was a little relieved by the attitudes of the people involved. We allowed ourselves to make mistakes and we weren't afraid to laugh at ourselves. I can't imagine having to take such a task on as this without the capacity of laughter. It not only improved the time we had making the movie, but also the movie, itself.
Fortunately, even though we had our doubts, the passing off the laptop thing actually worked. We were directed to include some WALLDO shots in our film, so we spent our conclusion including them. We had to think of another way to shoot our film, which was fine. What we came up with also worked, even though the video camera we had would record the sound (we don't know why, it had a microphone) and we had to dub over with the voice over tool. We were able to tease ourselves about that in the "bloopers" by dubbing male voices over female mouths and vice versa.
I hope our class enjoyed our film, even though it was long. I have noticed that there are some elements to the film that we could go back and fix, and that has been a learning experience. iMovie has been my favorite piece of software to work with so far, and I can see myself making use of film producing in the classroom. For one, my brother (who is a teacher) has to go to department meetings and school meetings, as well. I can see myself using iMovie if I ever have to pitch an idea to my coworkers or bosses. I would also be more than happy to share the program with my students. To me, literature is more than just reading out of a book, It's about expressing ideas creatively and carrying on a cultural conversation. This is definitely a good way to do both. I think that, therefore, this type of project is very appropriate for my content area.
I will now enjoy several hours of sleep tonight. :)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Google me this
So we learned about Google docs in class today, which was definitely interesting. I especially like the forms you can create with Google. There is a lot of recent bad press surrounding Google, though, and it makes me wonder how much I should allow myself to depend on this company. I have realized that a large portion of this technology class has focused on Google. I wonder if educational technology is destined to tangle itself irrevocably with Google, or not.
Our group movie is going really well. I had to leave for work as the rest of my group was working on finishing touches, but I have seen all of the footage and it's pretty exciting. Because of our initial idea of "passing" the computer around, we only had straight on shots for our first part. However, we worked with WALLDO shots today for our conclusion, and the results are pretty interesting. We even have bloopers, they're funny. Hopefully, this movie will convey our dedication to providing a quality education to our students and our easy-going personalities. I do believe I will get to bed early (for me, during this class) and work on my ISTE tomorrow.
Our group movie is going really well. I had to leave for work as the rest of my group was working on finishing touches, but I have seen all of the footage and it's pretty exciting. Because of our initial idea of "passing" the computer around, we only had straight on shots for our first part. However, we worked with WALLDO shots today for our conclusion, and the results are pretty interesting. We even have bloopers, they're funny. Hopefully, this movie will convey our dedication to providing a quality education to our students and our easy-going personalities. I do believe I will get to bed early (for me, during this class) and work on my ISTE tomorrow.
No sleep 'till Podcast....
What a refreshing time I'm having with technology! I will definitely be spending my free Saturday sleeping, that is for sure. I have finally finished a second version of my podcast. Only several other tasks to complete by tomorrow! Here is the second podcast:
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
iMovie adventures
In EDT 520 today, we explored the Apple software iMovie. Luckily for me, I had already been through the hair-pulling ordeal of figuring the program out for my podcast. We borrowed clips from archives.org so we could play with them. I used a clip someone took in their backyard of their puppies. I tried cut the clip so it looked like the puppies were dancing to a song, but I didn't quite get it right. We soon went into our own videos that we are working on in groups. My group pretty much has our video ready, we are just pulling together some extra pieces. It's been pretty fun planning this video. Although I certainly filled up my four daily hours of classwork (an hour of homework for every hour in class), I'm still far from finished with everything.
I'm afraid that my blogging fun tonight must give way to more EDT 520 homework. I still have my podcast to finish, my ISTE view to start, a reflection and work (the paying kind) tomorrow. Have a good night everyone!
I'm afraid that my blogging fun tonight must give way to more EDT 520 homework. I still have my podcast to finish, my ISTE view to start, a reflection and work (the paying kind) tomorrow. Have a good night everyone!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
8/18...oh wait, 8/17/10
The one thing that always gets me about technology is the need for every post to be time stamped. If it weren't for time stamps, I'm sure I could convince a fair number of you that I eagerly posted this entry right after class. Alas, I did not. I ate two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and then went to work. Then I got home and read and finished up some work for my group project. Oh well, I can model proper sleeping habits when I'm actually a teacher and blog right after school.
Today (yesterday), we explored various classroom websites that we had pulled together the night before. We went over the pros and cons of some of the website elements and decided what it was that made a good website and what it was that made a bad website. Unfortunately, we came across some websites with sparkling or flashing pieces of clip-art littered throughout. I'm surprised that people haven't realized that those types of decoration are distracting and, frankly, soooo Myspace. I think that if a teacher should pull together a website for the classroom, he or she should be sure to show students what an effective website looks like. There should be little to no clutter, a consistent design for every linking page and a modest color scheme to start. It's important for students to know what the expectations are for web building when they head out of high school. Near the end of class, we practiced building classroom sites through Google web hosting. I'm pretty satisfied with the practice site I created, but I won't share it here because it's all based on a fake classroom. I've always liked to design websites so this part of the class wasn't that big of an issue for me. I've never use Google Websites, but I like it well enough. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't have some of the flexibility that I've seen on other web hosting sites. Otherwise, it's very useful and straightforward.
We also discussed our final project, and I got into a group with Chelsea, Becca, Eric and Max. I'm pretty excited about the project we have planned. We each get a minute or so to talk about how we can use technology in the classroom. We are each covering different technological tools from EDT 520. I have my idea at about 45 seconds (probably less if I can get myself to stop stuttering on camera), but I'm not too worried about it because our complete project will be plenty long enough, time-wise. We are also bringing in some Sir Ken Robinson action, so I think the project will be really great.
Today (yesterday), we explored various classroom websites that we had pulled together the night before. We went over the pros and cons of some of the website elements and decided what it was that made a good website and what it was that made a bad website. Unfortunately, we came across some websites with sparkling or flashing pieces of clip-art littered throughout. I'm surprised that people haven't realized that those types of decoration are distracting and, frankly, soooo Myspace. I think that if a teacher should pull together a website for the classroom, he or she should be sure to show students what an effective website looks like. There should be little to no clutter, a consistent design for every linking page and a modest color scheme to start. It's important for students to know what the expectations are for web building when they head out of high school. Near the end of class, we practiced building classroom sites through Google web hosting. I'm pretty satisfied with the practice site I created, but I won't share it here because it's all based on a fake classroom. I've always liked to design websites so this part of the class wasn't that big of an issue for me. I've never use Google Websites, but I like it well enough. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't have some of the flexibility that I've seen on other web hosting sites. Otherwise, it's very useful and straightforward.
We also discussed our final project, and I got into a group with Chelsea, Becca, Eric and Max. I'm pretty excited about the project we have planned. We each get a minute or so to talk about how we can use technology in the classroom. We are each covering different technological tools from EDT 520. I have my idea at about 45 seconds (probably less if I can get myself to stop stuttering on camera), but I'm not too worried about it because our complete project will be plenty long enough, time-wise. We are also bringing in some Sir Ken Robinson action, so I think the project will be really great.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Horizon Report 8/15/10
For homework in EDT 520, we were also assigned to read the current Horizon Report, which is periodic report on current technology trends and their implications for education. As you will be able to read, if you had the inclination, the report lists four driving trends, four challenges and a few technologies to watch.
Something that struck me was what the report has to say about mobile computing devices. Interestingly, the report states that roughly two-thirds of smart phone users are from developing countries. Smart phones are cheaper and many people with limited incomes use these as cheap desktops with internet access. I guess that makes sense. In the US, we've all adapted to the need of having home computers and laptops before the smart phones got their rise, so the smart phones have become somewhat of a second option for us.
The report also talks about the use of mobile devices in education and I can't believe how progressive some universities are. Many tech schools are having their students create iPhone or Droid apps, while others are actually giving their students mobile devices so they can work on their studies virtually anywhere. Studies have shown that students with these devices log more hours on their work. I can't believe the ways in which universities are embracing this technology.
With the educational implications, I expect that there will be even more smart phone users in the US. Soon, everyone will be expected to have a smart phone as much as they are expected to have a computer. I doubt that these implications will quite reach the public schools of Maine very soon, but it is interesting to read about.
Something that struck me was what the report has to say about mobile computing devices. Interestingly, the report states that roughly two-thirds of smart phone users are from developing countries. Smart phones are cheaper and many people with limited incomes use these as cheap desktops with internet access. I guess that makes sense. In the US, we've all adapted to the need of having home computers and laptops before the smart phones got their rise, so the smart phones have become somewhat of a second option for us.
The report also talks about the use of mobile devices in education and I can't believe how progressive some universities are. Many tech schools are having their students create iPhone or Droid apps, while others are actually giving their students mobile devices so they can work on their studies virtually anywhere. Studies have shown that students with these devices log more hours on their work. I can't believe the ways in which universities are embracing this technology.
With the educational implications, I expect that there will be even more smart phone users in the US. Soon, everyone will be expected to have a smart phone as much as they are expected to have a computer. I doubt that these implications will quite reach the public schools of Maine very soon, but it is interesting to read about.
Podcasting it (8/15/10)
On Friday, we were all assigned to whip up a podcast to have ready on Monday. I noticed on our Moodle forum that a large portion of my classmates had their podcasts finished on Sunday evening which was fine with me, because that's when I finished my own.
Initially, I was pretty productive about working on my podcast. I went to class on Friday morning with an idea for it (how to write an essay) and quickly narrowed down and focused that idea (how to write a proposition). I also had it in my mind that I wanted my viewers to see me type as I was typing. After trying to figure out screencasts, I almost chucked that idea. However, I ended up keeping it, for better or for worse.
I downloaded a program called Jing because I had heard that it was a really great program for creating screencasts. It really is a great program for creating screencasts. The trouble is that I'm too cheap to shell out the fifteen bucks I'd need to have the privilege of saving my screencasts to my computer. With the free version, you can only save the program in such a way that it opens in a browser (on my computer, through Opera, which I rarely use).
Oh well, Screentoaster is free, though the quality isn't as good.
Though we learned all about Garageband in class, I created my podcast through iMovie. For some reason, I can't figure out Garageband like I can iMovie. I had fun creating the podcast visuals. I wanted to avoid using common use material because I figured I could create all of the materials, myself. I did, although I'm sure anyone viewing the podcast would have preferred the common use materials. I had an absolutely terrible time creating a voiceover for the podcast. I hate recording myself and I'm a terrible public speaker. I stumbled throughout the entire podcast, making it less than desirable.
Oh well. At least it was a learning experience.
I figure that I can use podcasting in my future classroom. Mostly, the students will be doing the podcasting. Perhaps, through podcasting, they will have the chance to develop the public speaking skills I will probably never have. I expect it to be the powerpoint of my generation. For awhile. Until they invent something newer and cooler.
Initially, I was pretty productive about working on my podcast. I went to class on Friday morning with an idea for it (how to write an essay) and quickly narrowed down and focused that idea (how to write a proposition). I also had it in my mind that I wanted my viewers to see me type as I was typing. After trying to figure out screencasts, I almost chucked that idea. However, I ended up keeping it, for better or for worse.
I downloaded a program called Jing because I had heard that it was a really great program for creating screencasts. It really is a great program for creating screencasts. The trouble is that I'm too cheap to shell out the fifteen bucks I'd need to have the privilege of saving my screencasts to my computer. With the free version, you can only save the program in such a way that it opens in a browser (on my computer, through Opera, which I rarely use).
Oh well, Screentoaster is free, though the quality isn't as good.
Though we learned all about Garageband in class, I created my podcast through iMovie. For some reason, I can't figure out Garageband like I can iMovie. I had fun creating the podcast visuals. I wanted to avoid using common use material because I figured I could create all of the materials, myself. I did, although I'm sure anyone viewing the podcast would have preferred the common use materials. I had an absolutely terrible time creating a voiceover for the podcast. I hate recording myself and I'm a terrible public speaker. I stumbled throughout the entire podcast, making it less than desirable.
Oh well. At least it was a learning experience.
I figure that I can use podcasting in my future classroom. Mostly, the students will be doing the podcasting. Perhaps, through podcasting, they will have the chance to develop the public speaking skills I will probably never have. I expect it to be the powerpoint of my generation. For awhile. Until they invent something newer and cooler.
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