Digital Badge H – Chapter 9

Chapter 9, Expressing Creativity with Multimedia Technologies presents a variety of tools that can be used to enhance learning and present lessons.  In the section PowerPoint and Next Generation Presentation Tool talks about the various tools used to keep students interested and engaged while the teacher presents the lesson.  The section mentions tools like PowerPoint, Prezi, SlideRocket, Acrobat, Dryfork 3D, Open Office Impress, Keynote, and Google Docs are all tools that can be used to produce presentation.  From the numerous tools available it is apparent that multimedia presentations have become an important part of learning in today’s society.  Although these tools are essential and can aid in the delivering of information to the student, there can be disadvantages to using these tool, the section mention that some student may not be interested, these tools lack in-depth analysis, it takes teachers planning time to create these presentation, the main idea of the presentation may be lost or overlooked due to the amount of information presented.  The point that resonated with me from this section is the teacher spending time creating these presentation on their planning periods, at the school where I work we do not get planning periods and the teachers are expected to do lesson plans while the children nap, so even if I wanted to incorporate technology into my lesson plan, I would surely need to spend my personal time creating the presentation at home.  Also I have a particular student that rarely takes a nap and I struggle to get all the tasks I’m required to complete done.  I believe that these tools would be a great addition to the lesson plan of teachers who are given time to develop these lesson, but in my case I feel that I already spend a large part of my personal time working on lesson plans at home.


http://prezi.com/znqnhwo1wqp5/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
Prezi credit to Dustin Bauer on Prezi.com



In the section called Video in the Classroom mentions that video can be important tool to present information in an interesting format, but stresses that students usually retain more if the teacher shows 5 to 10 minute of video at a time and must be relevant to the lesson being presented.  The section goes on to talk about student being brought up in a culture where computer screens and televisions are a constant presence in the lives of students.  It also talks about the unique learning experience that can be obtained from video, video can bring to life a book that was read but not quite comprehended by the student or it can enhance a book by adding a visual element, which in return creates a more meaningful learning experience for the student.  The section goes on to mention various formats of video available such as You Tube, handcrafted videos, and streaming videos just to mention a few.  I believe that video can be a positive element to any lesson as long as the teacher uses it responsibly to enhance the students learning and not just as a babysitter or a counting down the clock activity.  As with all technologies there will be teachers and students that will use it responsibly and there will be those who abuse these technologies, it is up to the teacher who decides to incorporate video into their lesson to insure that the video is relevant and not just eye candy. 

Video credit to Vbaviatorproductions on YouTube

In the section Photo-Taking and Movie-Making with Students talks about the opportunities available to students and teachers to experience what it’s like to be the editor and publisher of media.  Students and teachers can experiment with the creative side of producing a product that can be share with family, peers, and even the world if they so decide.  Photos and videos can be of great interest to some student and perhaps these students would be interested in the process of producing these material giving the teacher the opportunity to engage the student and build upon information needed to be presented to the student.  It is the responsibility of the 21^st century teacher to use every resource available to them in order to present the required information to the student in a meaningful way as to allow the students of various learning styles the opportunity to comprehend the material presented, hence enabling the student to fully understand the subject and take away a meaningful experience.

Photo credit to JensGyldenkaerneClausen on Flickr

         

Photo credit to MightyBoyBrian on Flickr

Children all over the world have a desire to use technology.

References:

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B. P. (2014). Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.