Group Two Digital Technologies

Group Two technologies are about using images, pod casting and digital movie making. These tools provide a way for students (or others) to express themselves, communicate and interact with the learning and challenge themselves to master the technology and produce quality authentic work. They are perfect to use within communication spaces already established like the wiki, web page or blog. These technologies really allow for the creators to fully express themselves and topics to provide a rounded and interesting journey for the viewer/commentator/assessor of the space. Mastering these digital technologies is time consuming for the beginner but relatively easy. There are several free programmes that are accessible and simple to use. PhotoPeach for example is very easy to use, free and quick and would be very suitable for primary students. Quizzes and music can be added easily and the show can be edited and uploaded to a site or downloaded onto your computer. My brief and quick photopeach - shack girls- can be found on my blog.

Utilizing images for student work is enormous fun and of great benefit. Give children a camera and they will take some amazing shots uninhibited by what they `should' take or what might make a good photo. Images can be manipulated to create art and can be used in posters, for science, for newsletters and class forums. My daughter (8years) took these photos whilst waiting for her brother to finish training. I put them into a presentation to highlight the interesting pictures children take (see My daughters Random Photos in my blog). Images are a record of the `going's on within a school'. Often there are issues with releasing student photos from school (custody issues, student identification issues) and this can inhibit the sharing of photos on public spaces.

Thinking routines can support the use of digital imaging especially the `See, Think, Wonder' routine where the following questions are asked.

1. What do you see?
2. What do you think about that?
3. What does it make you wonder?

Personally I love these questions; mainly because it makes me revert to a more child like frame of reference requiring me to stop and assess what is it that I do see. What do I think about that? And wondering went out a long time ago! When asking children these questions their answers are so revealing and refreshing and sometimes surprising.

Pod casting was a challenge. I managed to create two that were okay to be posted - one of a voice recording and one with a photos collage set to music. They can be viewed on my web page http://mezzaslearning.weebly.com/ . Podcast have a myriad of uses within all settings, entertainment (listening to Hamish and Andy), educational to listen to speakers, lecturers etc, to share information, to communicate language, music, or singing, recite poetry to just name a few. Please refer to this blog posting for a SWOT analysis of pod casts. Although podcasting was initially tricky and requires more equipment, I think it is an invaluable learning tool for primary school education. Podcasts can be used by both the students to present their work and by teachers to deliver lessons or instructions. They can be played on various media and repeated, stopped and shared to enhance learning. They are also a creative forum where photos or videos can be included to enhance the audio content.

Digital video
Making a movie is more than just point and shoot, even if the movie is just for our own enjoyment. Movie making in education is about planning, writing, researching, creating, decision making, editing, using equipment, casting, communicating, summarising and evaulating. It can also be about team work, collaboration, conversations, understanding, acting and story telling. Not for the faint hearted! Kearney & Shuck (2006) suggest that using digital video in education is engaging and gives the students autonomy, allowing for the student to have a voice and ownership of the learning produced. Added to this it can be fun and not seem like `work' at all; it may provide for students to succeed in an area that is not noramally avaialble to them, another outlet for students but which still encompasses major learning if structered and supported.

Digital video can be used by teachers to monitor their own teaching style, it is amazing what we don't know about ourselves and how we present; it can highlight our strengths and weaknesses as well as any curious habits we may have. This can be a little threatening at times but a lot can be learnt by observing ourselves perform. Of course little children have no trouble performing for the camera but as they grow older they develop inhibitions and insecurities that can dampen there creative fire (Robinson 2006).

Video imaging is a powerful medium with which much can be achieved as long as there are clear learning goal/objectives in place. Sharing creations with others and wider school community has benefits in linking student to family and school to community.

I like the simplicity of this diagram to explain the relationships between the student activities that they can be engaged in when using digital imaging.





This diagram was adapted from REFERENCE

Engaging  - brings people to the learning situation and keeps them there
Doing      -  construction : combines attitude with skill and practice - evidence based students can see if they are improving
Saying     - declarative knowledge; what they already know; what they need to know
Seeing     - what is already there; what will the outcome `look like'


The down side to Digital imaging comes in three forms:

1. lack of resources, from equipment to teachers to environment condusive to engaging in the medium
2. being used as an add on; the learning not scaffolded to guide the students through the process of discovery to construct, produce and create.
3. the learning not valued by the teacher, school or parents as `proper' school work.

Voice Thread

Voice thread is fun to use and easy; I could easily use it in a classroom, evaluating works of art, sharing information with family, group project, maybe sahring with other schools. I produced a very quick voice thread using a photo of my mother's family. It could be readily adapted to course mork, utilising voice or written type to comment and share.


Reference List

Ferdig and Trammell (2004) Content Delivery in the `Blogosphere' Transforming  education through Technology Retrieved 10th April from http://thejournal.com/articles/2004/02/01/content-delivery-in-the-blogosphere.aspx

Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2011). The 2011 Horizon Report. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved 10th April 2011 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/HR2011.pdf

 Kearney, M. and Schuck, S. (2006). Spotlight on authentic learning: Student developed digital video projects. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 22(2), 189-208. http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet22/kearney1.html

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon. MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001

Robinson, K (2006). Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity. Ted talks. Retrieved 1st April 2011 from http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html