Blog Post Four

Hello readers! So once again I’m making another blog post and this time I am going to focus on the use of multimedia in the classroom – more specifically videos.

Now, I believe that videos are a great tool for breaking the ice in a classroom. Or maybe there’s a funny video that relates to the topic being taught that day.

Like this video here, it makes you laugh, it makes you think (but in an easy “I’m not thinking way” …if that makes sense). So, you know if you need to de-stress a little, go ahead click on the video.

Anyways, now that you have (or if you’re a sour lemon and didn’t watch it…but it will be discussed later) watched the video let’s move on.

I have made a few videos in my time. But if you have read my previous post will know that technology and I don’t really go that well together. But what I used was Movie Maker, it was free and came with the computer I had at that time. Anyways, the computer I have now doesn’t have movie maker so I’m trying out VSDC Video Editor suggested in the Moodle site.

Ok so I’ve had a play with it and the result is…it’s horrible. I spent a good hour on that and the video I had kept glitching when I tried to play it (not pretty). As well as the text wasn’t showing up, and showing many others things were going wrong. It would probably work ok for someone but it wasn’t the program for me (plus it is now refusing to close…I had this problem yesterday with it as well). But there are many out there and if you have the time, try some and comment any good programs that worked well.

Onto the educational sides of things…back in my day (not that it was so very long ago), we used videos in our classes. Sometimes it was an educational documentary styled video (these were common in my Modern History class…although when you have to watch three different versions of Ned Kelly it gets too much…I really hate the Mick Jagger version, it’s terrible, don’t waste your precious life to watch it). But basically, videos in schools were a part of my life.

Now again one of the questions I am meant to answer is how could I use videos in my teaching. I kind of mention some ideas why previously but I’m going to re-state it again for anyone who missed it. Basically, it’s a tool which is engaging and has an ability to connect with younger generations.
What I found particularly interesting when reading through the course material was that videos can produce and enhance “communication, observation and analysis, [as well as] reflection” (Baskin, 2017).  I think it’s pretty cool that videos have the power to do that.

The SAMR model (substitution, augmentation, modification, redefinition - for those of you who don’t remember) is used to incorporate “technology/digital devices” for teachers into their student’s learning. But it could also be flipped the other way where the learners teach and the teachers learn. Videos give teachers the opportunity to show off what they have learned throughout the term through their creations, which (in some cases) summarises the content better than for example a worksheet.

But going back to the SAMR model, for example it could be used to find an easier way for students to understand the works of Shakespeare.

Whenever we had a book that was a bit old fashioned the teacher showed us a video from YouTube called “Thug Notes” (see I told you I would discuss it later) and whatever title of the book it was. It introduced us into the topic easily and made the world of Shakespeare less scary (but not for me, me and Shakespeare are cool).

But another cool thing about technology is staying safe. Whilst it's awesome to view or upload videos online it is important to remember that anyone can see them. Whilst the school may have viewing restrictions it could be possible for something to slip under the radar. If something doesn't look right, or you're unsure about anything ask a teacher or parent.

Well, that's all folks! See you next week!

References

Baskin, C. (2017c). Week 4: Digital Technologies 2: Digital Media. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDSE12024 Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools,  https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/my/ 

 YouTube references

Wisecrack. (2014, Jan 7). Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare) – thug notes summary and analysis [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-qgVmsV3hM

Blog Post Three

Where can I begin to talk about blogs, more specifically my blog, even more specifically how I felt learning about blogs. Firstly, technology hates me. There is always something going wrong; whether it be the internet disconnecting, web page freezing/not responding, there is always something up. So, I did the most natural thing any eighteen-year-old student could do in this situation, I had a nap. After my nap (it was great by the way thanks for asking), I prayed to God that everything will work out. And it did. I’m pretty impressed so far at the marvellousness of my ‘technological all-knowing self’, I thought my blog looks pretty ok. That is with the help of some YouTube videos to ease my pain (see here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VXbJdbhClk – on how to make the page text bigger and see here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVF2-hxhAek – on how to make tabs, brilliant stuff).

I did have a blog beforehand but I don’t really want to go there. So thankfully, it wasn’t a completely ‘all-new’ thing for me (I don’t know what I would have done if it was). But going into what my blog can do it allows me to choose different themes, upload photos or videos, change colour and font settings, the list is quite endless. As there were many suggestions into what could go into the sidebar of the blog (which is something I don’t really need) I was able to delete this and instead replace it with things that I thought I needed. After designing all of this I created my first blog post and viewed it. Noticing the actual blog part  looked small I was then able to enlarge it to ensure it is in the spotlight for people to read.

So, now we’re here and I can marvel at technology and its power to create topics of thought and learning. I have a friend who has an ‘ah-mazing’ blog (http://victoriasoceans.blogspot.com.au/) who uses it to review things like books and movies and discusses her thoughts with people. It is then responded by others with the same or different views and thus creates this opportunity for a sharing of ideas and thoughts. Which leads me to wonder what would happen if this was used in a school situation?

On an educational platform, the use of a blog can be extremely effective and is regard as a “central tool for learning” (Baskin, 2017c). This being it allows teachers and students alike to record their thoughts and through commenting create an interactive learning approach. ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) has been shown to develop and support knowledge (Baskin, 2017b); therefore, in collaboration with Robyn Collins' (2014) suggestion to promote a higher form of thinking through analysis and evaluation, students gain the opportunity to make sense of and use what they’ve learned.

Personally, if I was to use Blogger one of the first and foremost things I would do is to ensure that my students (and myself) create rules and to also understand the professional legal, safety and ethical protocols, as it is a social media website. This means, understanding copyright procedures (referencing etc.), choosing the appropriate setting (public, private), as well as behaviour on the site. As they (my students) would be minors it would be a rule to have the settings on a private choose your readers setting. This would create a safe classroom environment as it is only possible for students in my class and myself to access and read the blogs. Strict monitoring of the use of language (or any other form of disrespect) on a student’s own blog and their comments on others will also need to be monitored as it could (in a worst-case scenario) led to severe consequences.

Despite all of this I believe that Blogger would be a great learning platform for my students as it means I can develop a deeper understanding into how the students regard certain activities. Whether they like it and how they like it, or whether it is something they don’t understand, it will mean I can make positive changes into the way I am teaching the content.

Key attributes of a good teacher is the ability to think from the perspective of his/her students.

(Baskin, 2017a)

As an English teacher, I would be able to create a fun colourful way of learning by asking students to review/critique a certain book or movie for example. By using technology as a way of connecting students and myself it seems to be a pretty good deal. I guess I will just have to wait until I can try it out.

References

Baskin, C. (2017a). Week 1: The Contemporary Learner. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDSE12024 Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools, https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/my/ 

Baskin, C. (2017b). Week 2: The Nature of Digital Pedagogy. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDSE12024 Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools,  https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/my/ 

Baskin, C. (2017c). Week 3: Digital Technologies 1: Web Spaces. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDSE12024 Digital Pedagogies in Secondary Schools,  https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/my/ 

Collins, R. (2014). Skills for the 21^st Century: teaching higher-order thinking. Curriculum and Leadership Journal, 12(14). Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/leader/teaching_higher_order_thinking,37431.html?issueID=12910

YouTube and Blog references

eHowTech. (2013, Aug 28). How to increase the font size on Blogger posts: web development tips [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VXbJdbhClk

Howtodostuffs. (2015, Jul 23). How to add tabs/pages for Blogger.com New Interface 2015 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVF2-hxhAek

Jackson, V. (2017). The endless oceans of my mind [Web log post]. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from http://victoriasoceans.blogspot.com.au/