Web Conference - Week 4

I attended the web conference on Sunday, December 11th. The conference began early in the chat section, which was helpful to read through. The technical issues were the most frustrating with audio and video cutting out consistently. I found myself distracted by the technical issues and the lag in the chat section from when someone would type in a comment about the lack of audio and the time the professor would read that comment. It is hard to troubleshoot issues in this situation when you are 5-10 minuted behind in the chat conversation. I was glad to hear live about the changes in the assignment. With EPIC losing documents it is very confusing to know what to turn in. I am actually still a little unclear, but am using the email sent out by my IA. I do find the conferences helpful as members of the class help each other work through different questions and concerns. I wish there was a way to keep the conversation more focused and ensure everyone got the main information at the beginning with time at the end for personal questions. Overall I find about 5 minutes of information helpful to me from each web conference. I will attempt to watch at least one more of the conferences to make sure I have everything completed for this course by Friday.

Action Research: BYOT Presentation

I was finally able to present BYOT ideas to teachers on campus as a session during their off periods. I had about 20 teachers attend and all were excited about some of the options available through texting, emailing, and apps. I am including a copy of the presentation i use to explore some of the options with the teachers.

 

I am looking forward to implementing these ideas in the Spring Semester.

Web Conference Reflection - Week 3

I watched the November 29th web conference.  It was a small group that attended the live session.  Dr. Abernathy clarified the discussion board requirements, which I wished were included in writing.  This has been the most frustrating thing about this course is that the information given in writing conflicts with the information given in the web conferences.  As a student you almost have to watch or attend all of the conferences in order to be on top of what needs to happen.   The flip side is that most of the conference is not needed information as it is answering individual questions.  

A third of the way through the conference Dr. Abernathy had to take a phone call which lasted for the middle part of the section.  This made the rest of the web conference limited to what happened in the chat between the few live attendees. I am not sure what happened that the web conference did not resume, but I do know that the professor has had several personal tragedies occur lately to close friends.  Once again this is a great example of how life happens and that we all need to be flexible to get the job done.  I have appreciated the multiple opportunities to attend conferences which makes it easier when things like this happen, you have another opportunity to get the answers.

EDLD 5363 Week 2 Web Conference Reflections

I have appreciated the multiple web conference opportunities offered in this class. I have been able to attend a few each week live, but most of the early sessions are not always practical for me as they occur during dinner time at my house. I have taken advantage of many of the recorded sessions. I have found that the web conferences have helped me connect to the class since we do not have a face to face class it is nice to get together and hear straight from the professor. I have also found that the web conferences are helpful in explaining the assignments and bringing my stress level down. However, I do find it a little confusing that the directions can vary from the syllabus, weekly overview, the assignment and the the web conferences. The ability to get answers from both the professor and the other folks through the chat feature is nice. I will continue to attend as many of the conferences in the future

Week 2: Video Editing and Podcasting

The week 2 assignment was focused on reviewing and becoming familiar with different video editing tools as well as creating a podcast.  I will have to admit I thought creating an audio podcast about a video editing tool was an interesting choice of an assignment.   I would much rather have created a video tutorial using software like Jing or Camtasia, but I was up for the challenge.   I looked at several suggestions given by the readings as options for video editing tools and in the end decided on choosing Windows Live Movie Maker.   This is the program my students on campus will be using and one in which I need to become more familiar in order to assist as needed. Also, many of the other online programs seemed to have issues with extra downloads and such that I thought made them sound cumbersome.  MovieMaker itself was easy to use and to edit a video.  I chose to edit a video clip from last year's Christmas.

The podcast part of the assignment was not hard to put together as I have been using audacity for quite a while and have sponsored a podcasting club at my school.  I kept my podcast simple.

Week 1 Reflection: Creating a Personal Story

I did enjoy the assignment this week, even the part about finding a partner.  I was a bit nervous about trying to find a partner on an online class when I really don't know anyone.  It also didn't help that somehow my cohort group got divided into different sections so people I might normally have chosen to work with were off limits.    I posted on the discussion board I needed a partner and someone answered my call for help.  I have worked with them for the duration of the course and have enjoyed the collaboration.    We used Google docs to share ideas and to communicate back and forth:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQlYlVeaC4y9AenLq_C2RQ1QFJic64jCpAAbs90v5QY/edit

The assignment itself was good as I had to work through storyboard development, script creation, and project execution.  Deciding on the idea was the hardest part for me.  My grandmother was dying at the moment and I thought about a tribute video for her, but that was too close to home at the moment.  My next idea was a video to explain my family of 16 siblings.  I decided to pursue that idea that included my parents finding pictures of the kids at the age they were adopted.   I choose to use Photo Story to create the project as I like the control it gives you to combine images and narration. The story-boarding process helped me focus what type of images were needed and how to keep the script short and sweet.   I am proud of the result of this assignment.

I often work with teachers on creating digital projects for their students.   This assignment helped me reinforce the need for a good idea, a developed storyboard, and a well-written script.  I have used this assignment to talk to teachers about what their students need to create a great digital story.

EDLD 5363 - Personal Narrative

This week was hectic for me. It didn't help that I was offering the most difficult of the technology camps I offer to my students this week before school. I was having to prep for them and try to get a handle on this assignment. Finding a partner was daunting as so far in my courses I have not had a chance to build relationships with those in my classes. I threw out an invitation on the discussion board and was able to find a partner. We exchanged scripts and collaborated through google docs. The process of developing the story was eased with the help of The Digital Storytelling Cookbook. As a former history teacher, telling stories was a key part of how I taught students about the history of our country. I realized early on the impact a good video clip could have on the student's understanding of the era we were studying. I choose to write about my family. My parents have adopted fifteen children in addition to the two biological children. It was an interesting experience growing up and one I am asked about quite often. I enjoyed working through the details and gathering pictures of the kids at the age when they were adopted. It was difficult to get it down to 2 minutes. My first attempt was much closer to three. I often encourage teachers to have their students tell stories, so it was very interesting to participate as a student in creating my own. I choose to work with PhotoStory as I like the ability to add narration per slide. I could continue to edit and refine, but had to call it done at a certain point. I am pleased with the end result and look forward to share the resources I have found with the teachers on my campus as they continue to build multimedia stories. Shank, P. (n.d.) The Value of Multimedia in Learning. Think Tank Retrieved from: http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/thinktank/valuemedia/,Mar 5, 2009.