Somewhere Between the Jetsons and the Flinstones: multimedia as a learning object

I remember the days when Saturday morning meant waking up early to eat cereal out of the box, lounge around in my PJ's, and watch my favorite Hanna-Barbera cartoons: The Flinstones and the Jetsons, with a side helping of Yogi and Huckleberry Hound.

If you were like me, you expected that by the time you were a grown up, all the cool gadgets on the Jetsons would be around, and you too, could have your very own hover-car inside your suitcase, a robot to do your dishes, and one to help with your homework if you needed it.

Unfortunately, we're still lagging behind the fantastical imaginings of Hanna-Barbera, and are a bit closer to the stone-age Flinstones with their tried and true traditional methods. However, that doesn't mean that progress isn't being made, especially in the classroom.

Technology is being integrated into learning at an astoundingly fast rate. Some of the biggest learning contributers in the classroom are multimedia, which can range from videos, to simulations, and interactive games. They're useful tools which can target most learning modalities, often encompassing the audio and the visual, and in some cases, the kinesthetic as well. They provide ways to explore different worlds, from taking a field trip inside the human body to trekking through a malaysian jungle, and allow students to experience different things than they normally would, or apply learning in different ways, like watching Tin-tin in french, in order to apply french knowledge to comprehend the dialogue, with the help of the animation.

Of course, that isn't to say that it's all silver linings and full pic-a-nic baskets (to quote a not-so-average bear); there are some problems that are still being addressed and dealt with. Issues in classroom, especially, is on how much emphasis is being placed on multimedia, and if the teacher is using it as a crutch, not as enrichment, or a tool. There is also the problem of malefunctions that can occur, and the loss of classroom management when the teacher becomes frustrated or confused with the technology, taking their focus, and precious minutes of classroom time to fix it, allowing the potential for disruption to occur.

However, the name in the education game is progress. We might not quite be at the level of Holograms and suit-case hover cars yet, but we're gaining a handle on technology in the classroom, and how to use it in a beneficial way.

Name of Multimedia Learning Object: Video

Subject Area: art

Grade Level: 5

Source - URL: http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/~TriciaFuglestad/VisualArt/page14/page3/files/page3-1003-pop.html

Description of Multimedia Learning Object: This is a music video in the style of 'School House Rock', which looks at taking care of art equipment in the classroom. It is from the perspective of a bunch of art room brushes, doing an expose on the tragic life of a misused brush. It is a video made by a grade 5 class, and details the importance of well kept brushes and materials.

The site also contains many videos and songs related to art techniques such as depth, shading, patterns, monochrome colors, and much more, which are fun, catchy and informative: great stuff to use in an elementary art class to illustrate a point visually and auditorialy.

Description of Integration Idea (how you intend to use it in the classroom): I would use this video to show the consequences of not taking care of classroom art equipment, like brushes. Once I had gone over the Art Room rules, I would ask them to pay special attention to what caused 'Young Sloppy Brush' to be sloppy (ie: what did the student do to ruin the brush), and then we could have a discussion abou why the art room rules are important, and which rules were broken to make 'Young Sloppy Brush's' life turn into a tragedy.

Planning and Preparation: I would have to outline the Art Room rules, watch the video to make sure its suitable for the students, and develop questions about the video that could guide them to learning about craftsmanship and economy in using art materials. I would also have to test the technology in the classroom I would use to make sure it works.

I would have to go over the rules with the class, check the technology before class starts, and give them an anticipatory set to watch out for.

Subject Outcome: craftsmanship, component 9, level 3: students will perfect images through economical use of material and efficiency of effort.

ICT Outcome:
C.6 - Students will use technology to investigate and/or solve problems.
Specific Outcomes
2.1
select and use technology to assist in problem solving
2.2
use data gathered from a variety of electronic sources to address identified problems
2.3
use graphic organizers, such as mind mapping/webbing, flow charting and outlining, to present connections between ideas and information in a problem-solving environment
2.4
solve problems, using numerical operations and such tools as calculators and spreadsheets
2.5
solve problems requiring the sorting, organizing, classifying and extending of data, using such tools as calculators, spreadsheets, databases or hypertext technology
2.6
solve issue-related problems, using such communication tools as a word processor or email to involve others in the process
2.7
generate alternative solutions to problems by using technology to facilitate the process

C.7 - Students will use electronic research techniques to construct personal knowledge and meaning.
Specific Outcomes
2.1
use a variety of technologies to organize and synthesize researched information
2.2
use selected presentation tools to demonstrate connections among various pieces of information

F.4 - Students will become discerning consumers of mass media and electronic information.
Specific Outcomes
2.1
recognize that graphics, video and sound enhance communication
2.2
describe how the use of various texts and graphics can alter perception
2.3
discuss how technology can be used to create special effects and/or to manipulate intent through the use of images and sound

Link to Art Videos:http://www.ahsd25.k12.il.us/~TriciaFuglestad/VisualArt/page14/page14.html

A Different Kind of Consumer: Internet Safety

We've all heard the horror stories. The news headlines about children on chat sites who've been targetted by predators, the problems with online bullying, and sites like myspace,nexopia, and facebook.

Like many people, I'd like to brush it off as simply paranoia, but it's a pervasive danger that is a constant threat, especially to children, and that I can't ignore. I think it's a teacher's duty to educate their students on safe practices when using the internet. I am an advocate of class discussions, making students aware of the dangers, and discussing with them techniques to minimize such risks, like sticking to assigned sites when on the computer, staying away from social networking sites, keeping personal information private, and being respectful of others when online. I think its important to teach students to be critical consumers of information. The internet is like a supermarket, and it's important to know if the things you're buying are healthy - or at least, not harmful.

I also think reminding students of safe practices before allowing them on the internet, or supplying them with a checklist is an important part of keeping them safe, because it refreshes their memory.

Through all this, I think the teacher should be actively monitoring student activity, and be aware of things like instant messaging software, which can lead to online bullying.



My Webquest

"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum...": Online discussion boards and the classroom

Even in the Classical age, Forums were a cross-roads place; an intersect of ideas, concepts, and opinions. These were discussed and debated among the people. Forums have come a long way since then, and the form in which they exist now is much different. They are a virtual place, not something built of words and stone. Luckily, we don't have to don a toga or assassinate an emperor to experience a Forum. The main points are still the same though: they are still a common ground for people to express their ideas and opinions, to have intelligent debates and discussions.

So how does this antiquated idea fit into the modern classroom? Online message boards and forums provide more than just discussions. It's a virtual twist on a 'back to basics' model. Having a space set aside for open discussion and debates can be community building, creating engaging interaction on a more intellectual level, due to the student's ability to edit a thought before posting. Preformance Anxiety when it comes to class debates? this is one way to lessen that. It's a place for collaborative learning, because everyone's opinion is heard, not shouted over, and it's all in print for students to read, review, and read again. It develops written communication skills, and writing fluency, while encouraging out-of-the-box thinking. One way in which this updated back-to-basics trumps it's older competition? Flexibility - it's accessible from any computer, so nothing 'funny' can happen on the way to the forum. No virtual dog can eat a student's virtual thread reply.

However, that isn't to say it doesn't carry risks. Assassination attempts on emperors aside, in this virtual world, there are all sorts of virtual ways for things to go wrong, and assassinations aren't just carried out with knives, and don't always end in murder. Online bullying is something every teacher should be on the watch for. Even on the web, this is a difficult issue, and educators should be aware that the best way to prevent it is to keep a carefully moderated board, and discuss in class behaviours that are acceptable. It's important to keep tabs on which students are using which usernames. Flaming, or responding insultingly and negatively to a post, can be the onset, or a product of online bullying, or it may just be arguments and debates growing increasingly heated. In this case, the same thing is required of the teacher, keep a close eye on your boards, and moderate strictly and accordingly. When a teacher doesn't, it can do the exact opposite of what it should. It can pull a community apart by polarizing it on an issue, it can deaden creative thinking for fear of getting flamed or bullied, squelch intelligent conversation, and so forth. There is also the question of availability of computers for students. Some do not have access to computers from their homes, and may find it difficult to participate. Scheduling class time to access message boards is important.

The following is a list of ways one might use message boards to enrich student learning:

• Write a story together online: everyone creates a character and posts with others to create a story. (this can be used to enhance written fluency, increase creativity, and teach story components - use a typical play-by-post moderated RPG format)
• Online debate: the class is broken off into teams which debate a certain position (this can be used to enhance written fluency, reduce preformance anxiety, increase research skills, and positional writing skills)
• Novel Study: Students discuss parts of the novel that interest them (this can create lively debates, intellectual discussions, and increase peer learning)
• Class Project: Students and teacher could use boards to discuss the project, what to do, and how to accomplish it (especially useful if class project extends outside the classroom, like donating to a charity, increasing environmental awareness, etc)
• Peer-tutoring/mentoring: Students go to other students for help in school related issues, ie: class tutorial (increases sense of community, promotes interaction and peer learning, while improving student learning through utilizing different instructional methods)

Concept Maps in the Language Arts Classroom

As alot of articles mention, Concept maps are very useful tools in Language Arts. They can help students in the pre-writing process by allowing them to connect ideas, plot points, and characters in a visual way, which can make it easier to organize in their minds, and allow for consistency in writing. However, Pre-writing is not the only reason to use a concept map.

Concept maps can be used to visually represent writing conventions, relationships between characters, movement within a novel, contextualizing poetry, and outlining a story or novel read in class. They can be great study materials, and in my experience, prove invaluable.

This particular concept map, which I have created to outline the children's book "Micawber" By Jon Lithgow, can be used to teach students within grades 1-3 how to organize ideas, visually represent, and express themselves in meaningful ways. This concept map could be created as a class, in small groups, or individually.

It covers the following points in the ICT curriculum for Division one:

C.4 - Students will use organizational processes and tools to manage inquiry.
Specific Outcomes
1.1
follow a plan to complete an inquiry
1.2
formulate new questions as research progresses

C.7 - Students will use electronic research techniques to construct personal knowledge and meaning.
Specific Outcomes
1.1
develop questions that reflect a personal information need
1.2
summarize data by picking key words from gathered information and by using jottings, point form or retelling
1.3
draw conclusions from organized information
1.4
make predictions based on organized information

P.2 - Students will organize and manipulate data.
Specific Outcomes
1.1
read information from a prepared database

P.3 - Students will communicate through multimedia.
Specific Outcomes
1.1
access images, such as clip art, to support communication
1.2
create visual images by using such tools as paint and draw programs for particular audiences and purposes
1.3
access sound clips or recorded voice to support communication

All Stories are Anansi's: Folktales around the world and the 'Web' that connects them

Anansi Stories

Grades: 6

General and Specific Learner Outcomes:

General Outcome 1: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences. (1.1.1., 1.1.2)

General Outcome 2: Comprehend literature and other texts and respond personally, critically, and creatively(2.1.1, 2.1.2,2.1.3,2.1.4)

General Outcome 3: Manage ideas and Information (3.1.1,3.1.2,3.2.1)

General Outcome 4: Enhance clarity and artistry of communication (4.2.1, 4.2.2)

General Outcome 5: Respect, support and collaborate with others (5.2.1)

Activity

• Students listen and view an Anansi story being told by a story-teller (teacher), and discuss the history.


• Students discuss parts of the story that interest them, and brain-storm patterns in the Anansi stories that they’ve recognized in other traditionally oral tales (fairy-tales, legends, etc).


• In small groups, students use the internet to research the history, typical characters and setting of other traditionally oral tales, or stories told from traditional oral cultures, such as Anansi Stories from the Caribbean, African Folktales, Reynard the fox stories from France, Asian Folktales, Scandinavian Fairy-tales, German fairy-tales and Sufi Folktales from the middle east.


• In their respective groups, they will then use the information they’ve gathered to create a folk or fairy-tale based on the culture, characters, and setting they’ve chosen together, using the patterns (conventions) they’ve brainstormed in class that go across all cultural boundaries.


• They will then tell their stories to the class in creative ways relevant to their chosen culture.


• They will give to the teacher a reflection about which conventions they used and why, why they chose the culture’s folk-tales, and why they wrote the story they did, as well as detailing the process, and citing all their internet sources properly.
  

Reference Sites

Ashliman, D. (1998-2003). Folktales From Japan. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/japan.html

Beckwith, M. W. (1924). Jamaica Anansi Stories. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.sacred-texts.com/afr/jas/index.htm

CLN Organization. (n.d.). Stories,Folklore and Fairytale Theme Page. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.cln.org/themes/fairytales.html

FolkArt. (1995-1997). Mayan Folktales. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.folkart.com/folktale/

Haines, P. B. (2001-2007). Mythology, Folktale and Fairy tale resources. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.chlive.org/pbeck/eastlibrary/MYTHOLOGY.htm#MIDDLE%20EASTERN%20FOLKTALES

Kinnes, T. (1997-2007). Norwegian Folktales. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://oaks.nvg.org/norwegian-folktales.html

National Geographic. (1996-2007). Grimm's Fairy Tales. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/

Pitara. (n.d.). Tale-Spin. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.pitara.com/talespin/folktales/listing.asp

Robinson O'neil. (n.d.). Anansi Folk-tales. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.robinsononeil.com/anansi_folk_tales.htm

Thompson, R. (n.d.). Anansi. Retrieved October 1st, 2007, from http://www.drawandtell.com/cjm/anansi/anansistories.html


ICT Outcomes

C.1 - Students will access, use and communicate information from a variety of technologies.
Specific Outcomes
2.1
access and retrieve appropriate information from the Internet by using a specific search path or from given uniform resource locations (URLs)
2.2
organize information gathered from the Internet, or an electronic source, by selecting and recording the data in logical files or categories; and by communicating effectively, through appropriate forms, such as speeches, reports and multimedia presentations, applying information technologies that serve particular audiences and purposes

C.4 - Students will use organizational processes and tools to manage inquiry.
Specific Outcomes
2.3
reflect on and describe the processes involved in completing a project

C.5 - Students will use technology to aid collaboration during inquiry.
Specific Outcomes
2.1
retrieve data from available storage devices, such as a shared folder, to which a group has contributed
2.2
record group brainstorming, planning and sharing of ideas by using technology
2.3
extend the scope of a project beyond classroom collaboration by using communication technologies, such as the telephone and email

F.3 - Students will demonstrate a moral and ethical approach to the use of technology.
Specific Outcomes
2.1
comply with the acceptable use policy of the school and school authority for Internet and networked services, including software licensing agreements
2.2
work collaboratively to share limited resources
2.3
use appropriate communication language and etiquette
2.4
document sources obtained electronically, such as web site addresses
2.5
respect the privacy and products of others
2.6
use electronic networks in an ethical manner
2.7
comply with copyright legislation

Rational for Integration

When attempting to broaden students’ world-view through literature such as culturally specific folk-tales, it’s important to take into account that as a teacher, you’re trying to instill in them a sense of Global Citizenship, of a responsibility to take the entire world into account and celebrate diversity, while still being a critical consumer of information. The internet provides an arena for practice of global citizenship, because it connects the world. It gives students an exciting, hands on way to not only research diverse cultures through story, but allows them to become information-conscious individuals, by being aware of what they’re looking for, and who is displaying the information. They become discerning, critical thinkers. It is also a way for students to access things such as video clips, or sound-clips which enrich their learning, and may provide different insights into the lesson.

Annoying Cliches and Automatic Toilets: Touchstones for Technology Integration in the Classroom

Perhaps you, like me, are sick of the constant cliche being bandied around, the sudden, phenomenal discovery of "this changing world we live in,", as if it just appeared, and hasn't been a subtle growing thing in the past few decades. Technology has sneaked up on us, worming its way into every aspect of our lives, affecting everything we do, from how we travel to how we pee. There are automatic toilets, doors, taps, lights and navigating systems. These are things we barely notice now - they've been integrated so well, and with the sole specific purpose of making our lives easier.

I think, as educators, this is the context we need to think about when it comes to integrating technology into our classrooms. What is our purpose in doing so? Is it to make learning easier? Or are we veering off the mark, so enchanted by all the bells and whistles that we forget the real purpose?

Good technology integration was explored in the article:Linking Technology, Learning, and School Change Feldman, A., Coulter, B., & Konold, C. (Dec-Jan 2001). Linking technology, learning, and school change. Learning & Leading with Technology, 28 (4), 42-47. In the article William was able to integrate technology in a way that supported the learning of ecology using the idea that technology should help students learn, not hinder them. As a future teacher, it’s important for me to remember. For example, if one of my aims was to bring cultural awareness to my students, I could not only begin a novel study with a book based in a different country, I could set up an E-pal program (Pen-pals over Email) with another class in a that same country, which would enable personal connections not only to the literature, but to the culture itself.

Problems with integration seem to occur when Teachers lose sight of that initial aim: making learning easier. It’s like watching a great commercial - everything is bright, catchy and captivating. Soon enough, you're calling the 1.800 number and shelling out the first of two easy installments of $19.99 for a glorified mop. You haven't stopped to question if what you're buying into is something you need, something that will help you, or just clutter up your closet.

When people forget that touchstone aim for using technology in the classroom, to make learning easier, assignments, lessons, and everyday teaching gets cluttered like your broom closet, filled with things you don't need. The article's teacher, William, used technology to enhance students' understanding of ecology, by showing them the broader patterns that influenced their area. He brought the academic home, and made it real. If he had been caught up in the 'razzle-dazzle', he might have instead gotten his students to watch videos on how the weather patterns of monsoons in Australia affect the glacial system in Tibet. It's still dealing with patterns of ecology in the wider world, but what it isn't doing is bringing it back down to an approachable level.

While our touchstone thought for integration might be simple, there is often complex problems surrounding integration. School districts might lack money, or not understand the vision. However, that on-rushing cliche, "this changing world we live in,", will keep pushing educators to surmount the challenges they face, to change with the changing world, and produce a system where students can learn easier, adapt easier, and suceed.

A Drop in The Pond

Introductions are terrible things. One tries so desperately to make them provacative, or epic, or at least funny, and most of the time, all One succeeds in producing is a few wilted, awkward sentences, more evocative of past-its-due-date cabbage than anything else.

So, I've decided to keep this short and simple, so you can spend more time on the important stuff, and less time fumbling through rotten vegetables.

I'm a 20 year old student in Education who aspires to be both a teacher and a writer, with a penchant for the written word and British Television (because I find it witty.). My major, which I think you've probably guess by now, is English Language Arts. I'm an active environmentalist, and an advocate of social justice. I also love movies and Yoga. Never being much of a journaller, it may be considered odd that I have been an active blogger for a while, with blogs dedicated to a variety of things, Yoga, Enviromentalism, reviewing movies and books, and even blogs showcasing some of my own pieces of writing.

I thing Blogs are great teaching and learning tools, especially in the English classroom, where creativity and imagination are so highly esteemed. Blogs, when discussed and outlined properly in class, provide for students with a healthy source of anonymity, which tends to breed less inhibitions when writing. It can also foster the production of higher-quality work, since One has the ability to showcase pieces to the entire population of the World-Wide Web. On the same vein, it opens up the possibility for class-wide critique, which can be a great sounding board, but which, when used negatively, or when not properly regulated, can be as much a disadvantage as an advantage.

Blogs can also be used in the english classroom for students as a means of communicating the reflective and subjective aspects of the class, subject, or material itself. It can be a non-threatening way to raise questions and broach certain topics that One is uncomfortable speaking about in class, as well as documenting One's personal journey through a text or class itself. Blogs can be a useful tool for enabling both teacher and student understanding.

Integration itself, I think is the key to making blogs a successful technological tool. Like Yoga, it can be tiring, hard, or incomprehensible at the start, but the more you use it, the simpler it gets. The farther you stretch it, the more flexible it becomes, and the more helpful, until it's just another tool in One's teaching repetoire.

"Never regard study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to
know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own
personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work
belongs." -Albert Einstein