This week, we used a Google doc to communicate and sort out logistics. Our REFLECTIONS are in the COMMENTS section of this post.
Megha's, Tony's, Chris's and Purvi's digital stories:
6024 Coffee Group from Tony Rodgers on Vimeo.
Diana's digital story:
Please see this post's COMMENTS for our REFLECTIONS.
Woah! Scrollbars.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteAs you can see I am still figuring Vuvox out. I chose slow scrolling without jumps but random jumps are still happening. I also uploaded music that then disappeared. I will be tinkering away at this more this week, and will also try out "Vuvox Express" which might make it possible to have a video file at the end (not sure, have to look into it..) so that it can be put together with the other videos..
Reflection of Digital storytelling task:
ReplyDeleteI've done this kind of thing before, so I thought this task would be quite easy for me. However, in the past I have usually had control over the content and timing. I've never really done a digital story based on specific criteria.
So one thing I learned from this task was just how difficult it can be to tell a story clearly and succinctly - sub 40 secs. I had to cut the fat and be very critical about what I wanted to say. I adopted a 'less is more' approach and feel that, given the parameters, I think I did well. I can see now why some of my students have difficulty when I set a task of this nature.
I also found it difficult to visually represent what I was saying in a manner that was appropriate and engaging for the audience. I said what I wanted to say, then tried to find images to support that. In hindsight that was a bit of a mistake - while it gave me some 'purity' of my spoken content, it took ages to find pictures. Maybe next time I'll find the pics first and then construct the verbal section from them!
That's not laziness, as I think both approaches have significant benefits. One simply constructs the narrative then adds visuals, the other is possibly more effective and 'truer' to this task as you start with a visual reference and have to construct narrative around that. Given the medium being used, I think that would create a more compelling and visually dynamic end product.
It was really fun working on the photostory. Actually since then I've done a few for my daughter! (eg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtkkTYPYRAk)It's probably boring for an adult to watch, but my daughter loves it! I'm actually so happy that we're using applications in class that I can apply to my own world outside of class.
ReplyDeleteEven at work, I think there are potentials for application of this kind of story telling. For instance, I could present the case of a school in a village in Indonesia to my team, or I could talk about a child who has received a scholarship to study and show her progress. Actually I realize the possibilities are quite endless.
This week we also decided to choose between sites and a blog as our tool to present our group work. In the end, I personally found it easier to work with sites, I also found it was more organized and the presentation of material was much better. But sites does require more design work on the part of the users and the blog is much more straightforward in that you just post and comment. I think at the end that's why we as a group chose to go with blogs.
ReplyDeleteIn my other class, we decided to go with websites since everyone in the group was quite comfortable with editing the website design.
I am still a bit conflicted about blog use. I have never used a blog in my classes constructively. In this class the blog is used as a repository for our assignments that allows commenting.
ReplyDeleteI like how we have used Google Docs as our weekly forum for hashing out our ideas, plans and thoughts about how to complete the weekly assignment. I think Google Docs are such as vital collaboration tool, at least vital to my teaching. I don't like how it embeds in my Blogger site. The visuals are important to me.
I really like the new views of Blogger and think that can make these posts much more attractive. With the web being as visual as it is we cannot discount the importance of looking good.
I think to a degree I missed the digital storytelling experience in my contribution to this activity. I used iMovie to create my digital story but in the rush to complete the assignment I focus on the technology and not the story. I think that in a technology class like this, and in a high school classroom, we can get lost in the technology of a tool like iMovie.
ReplyDeleteThis is very much like what happens for our students when they first encounter these tools. It's like first time you used Microsoft's Powerpoint and you included all the slide transitions you could, the machine gun noise, the explosion etc... We didn't have a guide to presenting and what to include on a slide, how too much can be overwhelming and transitions can be distracting from your message.
I think it is often this way for students with digital storytelling applications or for that matter any new application. It takes some time to get over the "wow" and into the how can I make my story better with this. As teachers we need to be very conscious of this - in designing assessments the technology is the tool not the focus. Their needs to be a place for assessing use of the tool but the tool has to make the product better.
@Chris
ReplyDelete"I am still a bit conflicted about blog use. I have never used a blog in my classes constructively. In this class the blog is used as a repository for our assignments that allows commenting."
I'm with you on this mate. I like our blog at it is now, but I can see where you are going - I'm nit sure if we are using all of then affordances that it offers us. Our group conversations about the blog vs google sites focused on ease of access and simplicity of layout and design - in short we seemed to be self censoring our use to make it easier to Bob and Peter to navigate and determine individual input.
And I think that was the right approach. As an assessment tool we want to ensure that the lecturers are able to easily determine what is going on in this blog and we needs to balance that with trying to create a harmonious and continuous 'look' and 'feel'.
I think we've achieved that. Our blog is well designed and presented with a logical and consistent week by week approach. We may not be using the affordances of blogging to their full extent, but like all professional producers of a media text, we temper this with understanding and meeting the needs of our audience.
It's good to know that we were able to tame this beast - I wonder what other web 2.0 tools I can meld to my needs?
Cheers,
Tony
@ Megha
ReplyDelete"I'm actually so happy that we're using applications in class that I can apply to my own world outside of class."
Me too! Being able to experience the use of these tool as a student, has given me new insight into just how hard and easy and rewarding and creative they are. I've already adjusted my teaching to be more open to student needs when using these tools and I've given a lot more thought as to how I can use them to challenge students. But I'm also conscious of the legacy issues involved with digital media I now make sure that all of my students have evidence of their digital footprint of using these tools - copying it into their ePortfolios and downloading when able to their folder systems on their computers.
But I'm now thinking that blog may be a good way to showcase their work. The linear format is able to be circumvented on this and other blogging platforms and I think that it's a much easier platform to post to and comment on than our current ePortfolios. I think I'll have the kids blog, and then simply link from their ePortfolio.
I'm also using voicethread with my daughter. I take a photo of the drawings she does and then she records what they are about and how she feels about them. She also records messages to her grandparents on it and then we send it off. A great visual and audio legacy for her in the future. I then just screen capture the recording and keep the .avi file for the future. She loves it, I love and the grandparents are particularly pleased!
Like you, I'm really happy at how I've been able to extend what I'm covering here into my professional and private life.
REFLECTION
ReplyDeleteDear all,
I finally sorted out the previous technical issues I had with Vuvox (losing the audio after I had uploaded it, the slideshow 'jumping' at the wrong points) by manually moving the Vuvox slideshow myself while playing a song on iTunes, and capturing it all with Jing! Then I removed the Vuvox video from this blog and posted the Jing capture instead.
This way I did not have to make a whole new digital story. One technology solved the problems of another!
This experience has really made me value the myriad affordances of Jing and other technologies that allow students to author their own content (stories, tutorials, etc.) to share with others through Web 2.
I found it an empowering experience, to be able to share my viewpoint with many others (relatively) easily, and I imagine this is empowering for students in general. Creating and sharing content, and commenting on each other's content online, creates a social constructivist learning experience in which students are active contributors and not just passive receptacles of knowledge.