Innovative Learning Blog
Creating digital videos inspires me. I love learning new programs such as Animoto and Powtoons. I like that those programs provide background and music to help create a video that is entertaining and professional. I also appreciate that it's easy to access and available for free. I've been able to use Animoto with my students, however, I haven't tried to use Powtoons with them. I've had a lot of connections with the what I have been learning and how it applies to my practice and action research. For example, Baggio stated that when presenting information "Less is More". In regards to my practice, when teaching my students how to create digital videos using a program like Animoto I must be cognizant that the content must be delivered with the least amount of text as possible. That doesn't mean to strip away academic language or content. As Baggio wrote, "The more facts you cram onto a screen, the less likely it is that those facts will be remembered". Baggio illustrated that graphic excellence is "That which gives the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time, with the least ink, in the smallest space." In regards to my action research, there is misbelief (according to Baggio) that a final project should be filled to the brim with text. I have already decided to deliver my action research project with a succinct design. An observation that I have made is that people are interested in how second grade students create digital videos and how much time does it take to create them? When teaching procedures, whether teaching second graders how to create digital videos or teaching adults how they do it, both what I have learned from Baggio and Clark apply to my practice and my action research. Baggio explained that we learn reading from left to right (and top to bottom). He went on to say that content should be placed on the left and visuals on the right. Of course, he failed to highlight that in certain cultures (Ex: Hebrew) they learn right to left and that solving addition and subtraction problems in our own culture is done from right. However, I agree with his generalized statement that we learn from left to right. That is good to know because when I present my website and poster as well as present information to my students I will make sure to be intentional about where I place content and visuals. I saw a connection between Baggio and Clark in regards to putting content on the left and graphics on the right. Clark wrote that "when (an audience) is learning procedures (they) need a clear display of the steps that make up the procedure, with illustrations as appropriate". This is important to know if regards to constructing manuals/instructions for my students as well as manuals/instructions used to present information from my action research project. The steps of the procedure should be written on the left and the illustrations on the right. From Baggio, I also learned about mirroring content and graphics to grab the audience's attention. When I partnered with Kelley she practiced with mirroring graphics. At one point, when analyzing our graphics, I questioned why one graphic (created by Kelley) kept grabbing my attention as if I needed to fix it. The reason why it grabbed my attention was because it was a mirrored graphic in comparison to the previous one and I thought that it was bothering me but in reality it was just grabbing my attention. I thought dang," I just got mirrored by my own presentation!" (Good job Kelley!). What is innovative that I will be doing this semester is learning how to create digital videos from scratch using WeVideo. Using WeVideo will enable me to use whatever background song I want and it will easily allow me to incorporate video. These are significant limitations from previously used programs such as Animoto and Powtoons. Whereas Animoto and Powtoons offers pre-packaged aesthetics, WeVideo allows the user to create a more organic product. As we know, ORGANIC is BETTER! Well, not always, but that's for another blog! Dilemmaa for me is time. I want to eat more slices of new technology than my life schedule allows me to consume. I know what carts I want to create, it's just that I don't have many horses lined up waiting to drive the creation. In time, the horses will arrive and so will the creation of the carts. I take solace in that when the horses arrive I will have a good base of how to design the carts effectively and efficiently.
2 Comments
Kelley S. Miller
3/19/2017 03:40:03 pm
Wow, Joe- interesting to learn that you want to dabble in the world of WeVideo! I attended a WeVideo training last year but never really got around to trying it in my classroom. On the one hand, it is pretty robust as far as video editing capabilities. On the other hand, the trainer in my session showed a "documentary" that her fourth grade son had created with his classmates. She also told us that she and her son enjoy using WeVideo together at home. I just began a project in my classroom, where students will be using GoAnimate. But a few of my students expressed interest in shooting live video instead; I do know that WeVideo is a platform those students might use. I am interested to see which camp of my students- the live videographers or the animators- will have a better experience. Likewise, I look forward to learning how it goes with your exploration.
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Diane
3/20/2017 07:59:25 pm
I like your enthusiasm in using digital tools to present your research project. When we use these tools it makes it so much more engaging for the audience whether it be teachers or students. I am excited to see how We Video words. I haven't heard of it yet. I can only mentally handle learning one or two digital tools at a time. I also feel the most comfortable with the most user friendly ones. It can take so much time to figure out and time is important for the content of the research and work that needs to be presented. I enjoyed your thoughts.
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AuthorMy name is Joe Hall. I am an elementary bilingual teacher in Napa, CA. Archives
July 2017
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