We each created a video tutorial, using Jing, about how to use a Web 2.0 tool of our choice.
Please see this post's COMMENTS for our REFLECTIONS
Please see this post's COMMENTS for our REFLECTIONS
Megha's Tutorial (Picture Book Maker)
Chris's Tutorial (Wordle)
Tony's Tutorial (Blabberize)
Purvi's Tutorial (Kerpoof)
Diana's Tutorial (Xtranormal)
Please see this post's COMMENTS for our REFLECTIONS
Reflection on Video Tutorial:
ReplyDeleteOnce again, I've had students create artefacts like this numerous times but have not done a whole lot of screencasting myself. I think that planning is key, know the topic and know what will happen so you don't have to search for things and wait too long or be surprised by what occurs on screen.
I liked this activity. It allowed me to really think about how to sequence instructions and. listening to myself later, it is a worthwhile experience to then conduct a bit of a post mortem on how I went. I tried to imaging I had never used this before - would I have gained a good understanding of the rationale for the choice and the procedural requirements to create a Blabberise video? What can I do to make this better? How did I pace my instructions? Was my language clear and free of too much jargon so it is accessible to a wide audience in terms of skills and age? Would a different approach have worked better?
I think that recording yourself deliver instructions is a really good idea as a teacher. It allows you to understand far more about the nature of your own mental structuring and approaches to tasks.
Like all new things, the first time you do it can often be the hardest - how do we as teachers reduce cognitive load in relation to new knowledge acquisition? well I guess something like this does allow self-paced learning in a solo non-threatening environment. But does it cater to all learning styles? Research suggests that visual and audio combinations of instruction do have a positive effect on retention and understanding.
Reflection on using Jing to create a tutorial
ReplyDeleteDuring the process of using Jing to create a tutorial, I really felt a sense of how easy it is to become a creator of content on Web 2.0. All I needed was the internet, a microphone and my voice, and I was able to create a tutorial that actually could be used by anyone looking for a tutorial about Xtranormal on YouTube.
It is relatively easy to share a Jing video, as all you have to do is upload it onto Screencast, which then provides you with embed codes. However, the paid version of Jing enables you to upload directly to YouTube without any steps in between, which is even easier.
It’s made me think I could set up a YouTube channel and upload numerous tutorials about useful Web 2.0 tools for education! It is that easy once you get the hang of it.
I think that Jing could be a very empowering tool for students, in the sense that when using it they experience what it is like to be a contributor of media content on the internet, and that anyone can create content on the internet. In the case of using Jing to create a tutorial, it shows students that they, too, can be teachers and share knowledge and expertise on the internet. Creating a tutorial with Jing also can encourage students to learn about and explore in some depth the tool about which they are creating a tutorial. Jing can also be used for presentations of the student’s own work.
An improvement I would suggest for Jing is for the videos to have a longer time limit, as not every purpose for which it is used will only require five minutes.
Overall, using Jing has made me realize that creating and sharing content with people around the world is becoming easier and easier. I imagine that in five years from now, there will be tools that far surpass Jing in ease of use and range of affordances. I also feel that students and people in general will become increasingly used to creating their own content for the web, which might affect how people view themselves in the context of world knowledge. Students might increasingly value a diversity of opinions and modes of learning (because diversity in both is growing on the internet). This will likely cause them to become more independent in their learning, and more likely to use resources in a self-driven and individual way, picking and choosing what is most relevant to their individual interests. This brings up the question of how we search for information on the internet. If there is so much out there, how do we find what is most relevant, and how do we judge what we find?
I started my tutorial midweek and used Jing to screencast my tutorial. At the end I could not find an embed code as an option for sharing my Jing. I hunted and found I could add a share button to Jing that would allow me to generate an embed code but I didn't see any way for this to be done after I had already created this Jing. I hunted and and hunted and eventually resigned myself to putting in a link to the video on screencast.com.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't until I met with my group that the solution came. It was from face-to-face conversations with my group that the problem was solved. We cannot discount this kind of interaction. I think we see this in the photos of Peter's trip to Oz. They are creating face-to-face collaborative environments. Even the walls, the learning environment is collaborative. So it is interesting to me that as our technology provides the ability to share by distance it is also providing the impetus to redesign our classrooms into more group friendly local environments.
It was really quite fun working on this week's assignment on tutorials. In fact after I'd done the one on picture book maker, i went on to make a couple of photostories for my daughter. I agree with Tony in that one does have to plan what one is going to say, and know the application ahead of time. I see a lot of potential for web 2.0 applications like xtranormal, blabberize, wordle, kerpoof and picturebook maker in learning and teaching.
ReplyDeletethe best thing about these apps is that students can create their own content. they can use technology to express in vivid ways how they feel or what they think. I feel like this technology can allow students a bigger voice, if used appropriately.
And just like I did, i feel all students would really enjoy looking through their peers' web 2.0 content, collaborating and learning from each other.
Jing was easy to use, in fact it took only a few minutes to set up and get comfortable with the program. And the recording process, once I'd planned my story board, only took about 5 minutes. I couldn't agree more with Diana that this sort of application allows anyone to be a creator of content. Before I started this Masters, I had never really created any content for the web. All my 'creation' was limited to my workplace.
ReplyDeleteSince being in this class (and others) i've gotten a lot more pro-active about experimenting with web 2.0 applications and exploring how i can use these to communicate with my daughter, at a distance. so far, she's loved everything i've created, and i've really enjoyed creating the stories too!
I have been looking at this online tutorial idea for one of my assignments and it holds great promise in my mind. Not so much the online tutorials for applications, although I must say I have used these a lot recently, but for direct instruction for biology. I guess this ties into what I posted earlier, now that I read it again, this technology of distance allows face to face interaction. I teach biology and the nature of the subject(and tests associated with it) is that there is a huge amount of content to be understood/memorized/applied. Traditionally that was lectures in class taking up a good part of the class. Now what about if we do the lecture at home in a video podcast(tutorial) and work on the application, differentiation, inquiry, collaboration, all the fun important bits face to face in class. I Think that is game changing and technology is making it happen.
ReplyDelete