EDLD 5363 Multimedia & Video Technology Reflection

EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology has allowed me to grow professionally through creative collaboration.  Our group began working collaboratively prior to this course by email communication.  The four members of our group are always thinking ahead and planning for unforeseen obstacles, so we agreed to work with one another before someone was stuck without a group during the actual course.  At the beginning of this course, we created a group wiki and Google site to organize our course work and group project.

In the pre-production of our group Public Service Announcement (PSA) project, we discussed possible topics and roles that each person would be assigned for the actual production.  Joyce came up with the topic of “Staying in School” and we all agreed that it would be a great topic that we could use in our current professions.  After Joyce suggested that we come up with a rap for our narration, I immediately wrote a rap for our script.  With a few revisions and the assistance of my colleague Robert, we created an inspirational rap that discussed the effects of dropping out of high school.  Robert assisted me with putting the music and rapping the script that we had created for our PSA.  Overall, I was responsible for the script and editing of our video.  I also assisted our group with creating our collaborative sites and I helped keep us organized during the project.

Our group PSA, “The Misery of Dropping Out”, can be found on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5VIs6qGySY&feature=youtu.be.  This video was created as a Public Service Announcement to encourage students to stay in school.  It was created to encourage students to think about the effects of dropping out and the possible misery that it could bring to their lives.  It also shows how their choices will affect their children's lives.

The PSA group assignment allowed all of us to learn more about Creative Commons licenses, pre-production, production, post-production, and video editing.  Even though we all had assigned roles, our group all pitched in on every aspect of this project.  If I had an opportunity to change anything about this project, I would extend the PSA to include more lyrics.  I would not go over 2 minutes.  With Robert’s assistance, I have already written a second verse that includes more effects of dropping out and Robert has already created a beat and rapped the new song.  Eventually, I think I will create another video that includes live shots.  It will be more like a music video with a powerful PSA embedded within it.

EDLD 5363 Week 2 Web Conference Reflection

EDLD 5363 Week 2 Web Conference

The web conference experience throughout this course has been very beneficial in gaining insight to modifications of assignments.  The web conferences have also provided me an opportunity to learn about the diverse group of people that are participating in this course.  I have found it useful to listen to other participants and to see their comments regarding the multimedia products that we are using in this course.  It seems that many people in this course have not previously used Audacity, LAME, and other open-source software.  I have used Audacity and LAME for read-alouds.  I often read stories a loud and add sound effects to the stories.  My colleagues and I use these stories in class with our students.

During the web conferences, many people had questions on whether the podcast had to be audio only or could it be video.  It was discussed that it only had to be audio in the chat sessions and video was an option.  I chose to create a video podcast since the rubric states, “Successfully exported to a free video hosting Web site, such as TeacherTube.com (2 Points)”.  Here is a link to my Week 2 Podcast:

http://youtu.be/WEvELzwEseQ

EDLD 5363_Week 2 Assignment Reflection

Once reviewing multiple “free” video editing software, I have determined that Windows Movie Maker would be the best choice for this week’s assignment. I have used Windows Movie Maker in the past, but I found it very limiting to the green screening features and overall video quality that I was looking for in my current job assignment. When I use Windows Movie Maker, I usually save the files in a .wmv or .avi file format. This allows me to easily use it for instant playback on any computer at my school or it allows for easy uploading to video hosting websites. Windows Movie Maker also has an easy to use interface and for the more skilled computer users it allows for some advance video modifications. “Of course, most free software does not include the same level or quality of support that you would expect to find with software that you purchase commercially” (Desk-Video-Guide, 2009). If you are into higher quality products with ease of use and advance video editing features, you will not find that in any “freeware” or “open-source” video editing program that I have evaluated.

I have learned from this assignment that it is hard to go back to free video editing products when you have already purchased video editing products that create higher quality videos in less time that it takes to use “freeware” or “open-source” products. As an educator, I think it is important to continue life-long learning on all the “free” products out there. With budget constraints, it is virtually impossible to purchase district or campus licenses for high quality video editing products. As educators, we need to stay up on current “freeware” that will most realistically provide opportunities for our students to learn and apply their knowledge without being out a lot of money. If you wait for your district or campus to purchase the “good” products then students will miss opportunities to learn, because those products will probably never be purchased. Why would the district spend money on something that is not tested on the STAAR or EOC?

Desktop-Video-Guide.(n.d.). Top 5 free video editing software programs. Retrieved on November 24, 2011, from http://www.desktop-video-guide.com/top-5-free-video-editing-software-review.html

EDLD 5363 Week 1 Assignment Reflection

                In EDLD 5363 Multimedia & Video Technology, we learned how to create a personal digital story.  The readings this week allowed me to learn more about creating a script prior to piecing together the video.  I create many videos for my school and for personal memories, but rarely do I write out a “voice over” script for any of them.  This was an interesting experience, because normally my ideas are kept in my head as I produce the videos.

                This week my team and I worked on a group wiki to help facilitate our collaboration throughout this course.  Prior to writing our scripts, our team began an interview wiki page that allowed us to all ask and answer questions.  This Q & A Interview activity assisted us with developing our personal video assignment for Week 1.  We also uploaded our scripts to our EDLD 5363 wiki and gave feedback to each other.  This collaborative effort was very beneficial in guiding me to create a video that focused on my family and me.  It also allowed me to feel confident that in my understanding the assignment requirements, because we were able to give each other clarification.

                There were numerous opportunities for gaining new knowledge through this week’s reading assignments, but I wanted to share a quote that really stuck with me.  Torres stated, “Working in this program has completely changed the students’ outlooks, their lives” (Edutopia, 2002).  This quote stuck with me, because I feel this Masters program has changed my outlook and my life.  As an educator, I strive to find lessons or activities that will make real-world connections with my students.  I want students to work on projects that will change their “outlook” on life and their outlook on education.  I see so many students bored in elementary classrooms, because the majority of their school day is spent sitting in rows and being lectured to.  I want to empower my students and my colleagues to work with programs that will completely change their “outlooks, their lives”.

Edutopia.  (2002).  Multimedia serves youths’ desire to express themselves.  Retrieved on November 14, 2011, from http://www.edutopia.org/print/980.

EDLD 5397 Week 3 Conference Reflection

After reviewing the web conference discussions, I was surprised by how many people could not easily locate their district’s IRB policy.  I also had trouble finding the information and some of my colleagues had never heard of it.  Several people seemed concerned that they had already started their Action Research with “Human Participants”, but they were unaware they should have been following their local IRB.  I knew you had to get permission from parents, but I was unaware of the process in which you had to get approval from the district.  I was very grateful that my Action Research did not involve student participants.  The focus on PLCs at my campus will benefit the students, but I did not directly involve any students in my research.

EDLD 5364_Teaching w/ Technology_Reflection_Week 5

Our EDLD 5364 Week 5 Readings and videos discussed student effort, achievement, and motivation.  I also learned about different gaming environments that teach students what they need to learn.  This week seemed to focus on a "Say, Goodbye to Textbooks" theme.
“By relying on a stereotype, these students ignore the effort other students put into doing well” (Pitler, 2007, p.156).  I have seen students and staff members ignore the effort others put into doing well.  I had a student tell me that no one in his family could read and they were all in Special Ed, so he would never be able to read either.  I told him that he could not have a defeatist attitude and it was all about the effort someone put into improving his/her reading ability.  Pitler stated, “When a student makes a connection between academic successes with factors outside of his or her control—things like heredity, gender, or race—it’s easy to develop a defeatist attitude” (Pitler, 2007, p.156).  My student decided to put forth extra effort and began to read to me during my Planning period 3 times a week.  Within a few months, his confidence and reading ability increased.  By the end of the year, he passed the 5th Grade Reading TAKS Accommodated test.  It was a special moment in my teaching career when he told me, “Mrs. Z, thanks for the effort.  It took you showing me “effort” for me to succeed.”  I was a bit shocked to hear him sound so grown-up.
People often expect my children to "attribute success to different sources" instead of attributing it "to their own innate abilities" (Pitler, 2007, p. 155).  I grew up putting forth a lot of effort in my athletic and academic capabilities, but many people pressure my children to be as successful as I was due to inherited "athletic and academic" traits.  I also sometimes feel pressured to force them to be as athletically and academically successful as me.  "The research tells us that not all students realize the importance of effort. Many attribute their success or failure to external factors.” (Pitler, 2007, p.156).  I think not all adults "realize the importance of effort".  I stress the importance of effort and hard work to my children, because without it they will not be successful.  I actually told my six year old, "Jack, if you want as many trophies as mommy then you will have to do your best, work-hard, and put forth more effort than your opponents."  He then asked me, "Are the opponents the ones I want to beat?"  I said, "Yes, and sometimes you are your own opponent.
In the Big Thinkers video, Paul Gee spoke about how video gaming gives instantaneous problem solving capabilities with immediate feedback (Edutopia.org, n.d.).  I believe my own children are more motivated to learn when I use technology to teach them.  I think Project-Based learning gives students the opportunity to experience the "gaming environment" mentioned in this week's video selections.  Our campus is going to try some Project-Based learning next year, because staff members are seeing the vital role technology plays in student effort and achievement.

         

"Edutopia.org (n.d.). Big thinkers: James Paul Gee on grading with games. Retrieved on March 22, 2009 from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-james-gee-video.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007).  Using technology with classroom instruction that works.  Alexandria, VA:  Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 155-164.