Thing 20 -- Online Audio & Video

Why Multimedia? 

Our world has become incredibly media-rich. Kids grow up on a 2 minute news cycle in which everything passes by in flashy audio & video. While there is great value in books and static images, the inclusion of audio and video instantly brings any subject to life. It's also comfortable and familiar. Kids are accustomed to processing audio and video. Incorporating audio & video resources is a great way to instantly apply UDL principals as well,

Just having music playing in the background is a great classroom management tool. When I taught high school, I always played music during 'student' time. I rarely had to even have to ask them to be quiet, as soon as I paused the track, they stopped and looked at me, knowing I had something to say.  Now in PD sessions, I play music at the beginning, it fills the emptiness of the room and creates a more relaxed atmosphere. I've even noticed when I don't have music playing there is much less social interaction between attendees.

I use video to provide examples and background knowledge or to get my students thinking. Video clips can encapsulate ideas in an engaging summary. I use video clips to quickly get all my students on the same page and set the theme for the course.

Which Resource?

I'm very excited to have explored Learn 360 for this module. This is a video subscription service available in my district and I've recently been asked to provide training and consulting on classroom integration. Learn 360 gives teachers access to audio and video files of all types. Both clips and full-length videos, audiobooks, speeches, music, images and more. All files are downloadable and can be integrated into already existing lessons such as Powerpoint, Inspiration and others software programs. There's even an easy Moodle integration plug-in.

Many of the resources also come with pre-made worksheets, or have teacher-created resources attache to them. Or you can create your own and attach those to the Learn 360 site, sharing with ALL Learn 360 users. You can search by grade, content area, state standard, media type or keyword.

Learn 360 is much more than just an resource site with integrated sharing and collaboration. Save your results to a playlist, create a quiz, blog and more.

Audio  or Video?

Of course, each media type has its strengths and weaknesses but in the end I think they're fairly equal. Like anything else, you need to have a balance in your classroom.

Video is fun, but when it's video after video day in and day out, kids will lose interest. And each has something different to offer. In video, images contribute heavily to the meaning as do our own opinions when we see people. 

Audio alone gives kids more to work with cognitively. They can listen to something and then interpret it for tone or create their own visual representation.

Thing 19 -- Digital Storytelling

A fundamental skill for flipping the classroom? 

 Video Creation -- AKA -- Digital Storytelling.

 

There are lots of options out there for creating digital stories or short videos to demonstrate and present. Teachers and students can easily tap into these tools and take what used to be a timeline, report, essay, explanation of process, poster, brochure -- anything -- and  make a quick video, or digital story instead. For this activity I used Windows Live Movie Maker. Voicethread is another I like esp. because it has a great iPad app.

The How

To create a digital story, start with a series of still images. In my example, I created a digital story demonstrating the use of reflexive verbs in a beginning Spanish class. Here's the storyboard I started with:

As I worked through my project, I added title slides and more images. The storyboard is really easy to work with, you just drag & drop to rearrange items. Adding narration wasn't the smoothest. I had to kind of trick out the sound recorder, which is a separate tool in Windows. But it came together pretty easily in the end and only took about 1.5 hours. This might seem a bit long, but that includes finding images, creating script, adding narration--everything. Compared to what it would take to do this same activity by hand it's at least equal, if not shorter. And I never have to worry about it getting lost or ruined. One & done!

I asked a few colleagues to preview this and the only real improvement I would make is to fix the audio. In other projects, I might add more bells & whistles; fancier transitions, background music, etc. But as a project demo for students, I wanted this to be simple and focus on the content requirements of the assignment. However, I would encourage my kids to do  as much as they want as long as it doesn't interfere.  View my completed video below -- if the embed isn't working follow this link: 21 Things Demo Video

The Why

Digital stories give students yet another option for demonstrating knowledge. For those with less confidence in drawing skills, digital stroytelling takes some of the creativity fear away. Working in digital media also allows for quick, easy edits. No need to start all over or crumple up paper in frustration at one small mistake.
As a teacher, I create a video tutorial of exactly what I want my students to do, complete with instruction. I can pair it with a handout and easily meet multiple modalities without a lot of extra work. This is a great resource for others involved in educating a student. Parapros, special ed support, parents etc. can all see exactly what the content is, how it was presented in class and what the expectations are which supports them assisting the student.

Thing 16--Research & Reference Tools

 Beyond Google & Wikipedia! 

I’m thrilled with what MEL has to offer. I’ve been introduced to it before, but this overview really demonstrates the tools and resources. I’m excited to bring this back to my students. It offers so much of what we look for on a daily basis in regards to UDL, reliable resources and Internet experience for students. 

As for appropriateness, usability, content and credibility, all the databases on MEL rise above a standard Google or Wikipedia search. All are maintained by industry-recognized curators of information such as Gale. These are the same databases students will encounter in college, which is another reason to access them now – College & Career Readiness. They provide reliable resources that are updated regularly. 

Infotrac databases take the guess work out of Internet research. With tons of search options for students, it’s a great place to teach them how to research. Filtering tools allow for search by publication, topic, media type, keyword and more. Each database also returns suggested further search results similar to a yahoo, google or other traditional search engine, all of this in a super user-friendly format that students will find familiar based on general Internet experience. 

 

Further user support tools include audio files with text to speech read along tools, various download options from MP3 files to full-text copies, Lexile scores listed with all articles, and support for ELLs, such as the ability to change the language of the user interface and translate articles into 11 different languages. 

At the student level, I investigated Infotrac Junior and Infotrac Student. I searched for Summer Olympics in London. The main difference btwn Infotrac Junior and Infotrac Student is that Junior only returns full-text article and Student broadens the search to include podcasts and reference books.

I then searched the same topic in one of the advanced databases; General Reference Center Gold. This database combines all the materials of Junior and Student and adds maps, podcasts, videos and a few other magazines and articles of a less academic sort.

Citation Tools:  
With a quick click, students can generate either APA or MLA style citations right within MEL. Following is an example of a resource I found on MEL and the accompanying MEL-generated citation:  

Hennessey, G. S. (2012, July). Olympic games. Boys' Life, 102(7), 6. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA295057220&v=2.1&u=lom_accessmich&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w

As for general citation tools, I prefer bibme.org. Why like it better than others is that bibme doesn't require an account, and the adds they run tend to be more student friendly-- less visually distracting than on other sites. I also like the user interface on bibme, with the colored icons it's a little easier to use than some of the more clinical looking bib sites. You can also annotate your bib on bibme. 

 

Following is a citation for the film "The Mission" a fantastic historical fiction account of Jesuit work in the early Americas. (I used to teach Spanish at a Jesuit high school. This film was a wonderful resource!) 

The Mission. Dir. Roland Joffe. Perf. Robert DeNiro, Jeremy Irons,. Warner Bros, 1986. Film.

Thing 12.2 -- Rubistar

link to complete rubric

I created this rubric using Rubistar.  Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to test it out on a live audience. I intend to share it with colleagues district wide, as well as post on my Website which has been somewhat neglected as of late! 

At any rate, as with all the tools I've been learning and practicing via 21 Things, going through this process has helped me create a permanent resource for my students. 

 It's good to be 'forced' into the opportunity to create and share in this way. While this use of a rubric won't really give me any direct feedback, it will help me share valuable insight and process with them.

Thing 11.1 - Presentation Tools

http://prezi.com/bj2is5hg7eum/cabinet-in-the-cloud/

Prezi vs. Powerpoint:

Prezi gives you a web-based space to create, store & share presentations. You can invite collaborators and updates are instant. And, as with all things Web, anyone can view it anytime on any platform.

Powerpoint: So many people just don't know what to do with it and you end up with a bunch of bulleted lists and, if you're lucky, a few clip art extras.

Honestly, I think the tools are fairly equal in regards to creation. A Prezi can be just as dry as Powerpoint in content. Bells & whistles don't improve weak presentation organization. And I've heard many a Prezi viewer complain about motion sickness!

However, the collaborative, Web-based, social aspect of Prezi, makes it the clear winner.

Prezi makes it easier to create differentiated resources. One prezi with various representations of the same topic i.e. a PDF text explanation, embedded video, images with explanations. You can also use the path to build a concept from simple to more difficult.

Thing 6.2 -- Diverse Learning

Using Technology to Support Diverse Learners

Supporting students' literacy level seems to be a challenge throughout our district. Some simple tools to enhance digital text

• Appearance:  a serif type font, adjusted    spacing, and contrast. 
• Interactivity:  highlight, bold, underline, color-coding passages based on content, dictionary tools 
• Organization: re-order text, augment with guiding questions, give access to summaries as pre-reading activities 
• Text on iPod!:  Who knew? Split large text items into manageable notes to read on iPod. Kind of like chapters on a CD, the info stays linked.  
• Text to Speech: Free tools abound for converting text to sound files.

I like how these tools are listed in order from simplest to more complex. Any teacher can quickly and easily enhance digital text (and teach students to do the same) with the appearance tips. For those ready to move ahead, with technology, options for text-to-iPod and text-to-speech take it up just a tiny little notch.