Reflection on digital tools group 3

Powerpoint, Prezi and Glogster

Ah, finally a technology I had prior experience with - Powerpoint.  A nice simple, user friendly technology that I had used before when giving presentations.  I had always used it in the past instead of palm cards - it was a way to ensure that you covered the key material and gave the audience an idea of what was coming next.  The storyboard feature was new to me and I can see how that would be very useful when preparing a powerpoint presentation.  However, I still believe that powerpoint is predominantly a replacement for palm cards - a useful tool but nothing particularly exciting for the audience (your students).

I thought Prezi was great.  Where powerpoint just allows the presenter to list key points, Prezi allows the presenter to hone in on the details of each point.  This was a fun tool to use and was very simple and straightforward - huge bonus points from me for this aspect.

I've chosen to do my analysis on Glogster and will use a SWOT analysis.  I've chosen Glogster as I believe that of the group 3 technologies, this is the one that would prove to be the most engaging for students.  My own children were enthralled watching me create my glog, and were jumping over each other to contribute ideas.  Wouldn't that be exciting in a classroom context?

Strengths

•  private forum as when you set up your glogster account you nominate the student accounts that will have access to the glog.  Only those students and the teacher have access to the glog.
• design options were bright and colourful and would be very appealing to students
• the format of being able to upload videos, images and text made for a very exciting looking presentation
• collaborative learning as students would be able to view each other's work.
• because you can link multiple images, videos etc, the glog can effectively become a storage space for information about a particular topic.

Weaknesses

• more of a hassle to get started than the other technologies.  Had to sign up using my prac school which took some time.
• Uploading images and videos was very problematic for me.  For some reason, I was able to upload some images quickly and easily, but I couldn't upload other images.  In the end, I got so frustrated, that I only uploaded two images and couldn't spend any more time trying to upload the other two.

Opportunities

• many students, particularly artistic types, would really immerse themselves in the creation of a glogster and want to make their presentation as visually appealing as possible.  Because they are engaged and motivated, they may spend more time and effort researching their topic and writing their text
• students may be as creative as they wish and may choose to make their own movies and images to upload into their glog, further enhancing their learning.

 
Threats

• because students can view each other's glogs, there is always the chance that some students may be harassed, teased or bullied because of the content or quality of their glog
• the teacher would need to be vigilant in checking student glogs to ensure content is appropriate

My Glogster

http://morgo71.edu.glogster.com/a-day-on-the-farm

Working with Prezi

http://prezi.com/hynflei6qlpa/my-personal-journey/?kw=view-hynflei6qlpa&rc=ref-36567897

My first video

Reflecting on creating a video

The actual creation of the video using iMovie was much easier than I expected it to be.  The hard part was embedding it into my blog.  I ended up googling how to embed an iMovie into Blogger and came across a website that talked about changing the quality settings.  I changed the quality settings, and lo and behold, it actually worked that time.  This is what I'm finding so frustrating about this course - the little things that should be so quick and easy, have been taking me so long to work out.  Once you've got it though, it seems very straight forward.  I enjoyed making this video, and think it would be a very useful tool in the classroom as well as something I will use in my personal life.  Sending a video to my mum with audio explaining the images, would be so much more easier to comprehend and much more personal.  In the classroom setting, I think the use of video is pretty much unlimited.  School excursions, sports days, class presentations would all be great ways to use video, but even making a video of the students doing everyday things could be very effective.

Pluses

• Easy to use. My son who is in grade 3 watched me creating my video, and then promptly created his own (better than mine of course - little show off!)
• Lots of fun
• Unlimited use. Would be awesome for school excursions, sports days, class presentations to name a few.  Limited only by the user's creativity.
• Cheap to make.  All you need is a digital camera, smartphone or ipod to create the image, and then the app to make the video is free.  I used iMovie on my mac and found it very easy to use.

Minuses

• Embedding the video into a blog was very problematic and time consuming for me.
• There is potential that students could misuse this technology by embarrassing or harassing other students.  Appropriate video etiquette would need to be discussed in advance.

Implications

• Students would need to have access to a digital device for taking photos, and then have access to a computer with a video app on it, such as iMovie.
• Appropriate sequential scaffolding is required from the teacher to ensure students are able to create their video without unnecessary frustration and time delays
• The video could be used to highlight important information/facts/ideas about a particular event, which would be useful in helping students to remember and store this information in their long term memory
• The teacher would need to monitor student videos to ensure content and language is appropriate.

Podcasts

I had never listened to a podcast before, and in fact my only knowledge about them was that I'd occassionally hear on the radio how the program was available on podcast, so people from all the world were listening in to the show.

The major benefits that I could see of podcasts are that anyone with access to a computer, smart phone, ipad etc is able to access them.  You find information in much the same way that you would find any info online, by searching using a keyword or words.  The fact that they are audio only has it's pro's and con's.  Students may find it difficult to maintain interest in purely listening to someone speak, so I would not envisage that a lengthy podcast could be used, particularly in the lower grades.  However, the advantages are that they are free, and because they are audio only, you can continue doing other things while you listen, much like listening to the radio, except with a podcast, you've got your very own `call-in' line especially set up for what you're interested in listening to.

I've just had a quick look around some of the podcasts available, and I can see that if chosen correctly, a podcast could be very beneficial for use in the classroom.  Some of the podcasts I looked at were National Geographic, ABC Radio, the TED talks and ABC's indigenous podcasts.  I was interested in these particular podcasts, as I'm doing an assignment on indigenous students, so thought these podcasts could provide valuable information, and a different perspective.

ABC Radio podcast with Cherbourg's Principal

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2013/03/eer_20130323.mp3

ABC Radio podcast with Cherbourg's Principal

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2013/03/eer_20130323.mp3