Category: YouTube

Categories
Moodle

Dafna’s music video class project

1. Based on the resources available, how might Dafna organize this activity?

Considering that there are limited equipment (5 guitars and 4 iMac computers) Dafna may want to ask students if they could bring their own musical instruments, and electronic equipment (i.e. laptops, camcorders, cameras, smartphones, etc) to work on their music videos during alloted class time and also encouraged to work on their projects on their own time as homework. As well, students could still be given the option to borrow the existing equipment but they would need to arrange a schedule so that the resources would be used in a fair and equitable manner. Dafna’s students could choose to work in groups and they could decide amongst themselves the different roles they would play a part of (i.e. film director, guitarist, camera person, etc). Perhaps, Dafna may need to let the students know about the different types of roles that students’ could contribute and tie this into her lesson plan. The lessons Dafna’s organized so far including camera basics, shooting video, editing video, and post-production can be taught at the same time while students work on their projects so that it helps them complete their music videos. Depending on students’ varying levels of expertise, they could also scaffold their mutual learning.

2. How might she disseminate the music videos, once created?

Dafna could use YouTube to distribute and share the music videos. Students could have the option of changing their privacy settings so that the videos are not publicly available, and they can alter their comments settings. If she has a course site like Moodle or WebCT Vista or even a class website, students could have the option of uploading their videos as an assignment and/or sharing their music videos on the discussion forums as a link and/or file attachment. Dafna’s students could also be provided the option of using tools like Animoto to create and share their music videos. One of the important considerations for disseminating the music videos would to obtain proper permissions (from students, parents, school administration) to ensure that all parties involved provide their informed consent. Additionally, Dafna may want to consider adding extra lessons into her music video activity which covers the terms of service agreements for different social media sites that they may be considering using to create and disseminate their music videos so that her students have a solid understanding of the implications of sharing digital media online. Related lessons could cover privacy concerns, intellectual property rights and copyright issues. Students would also need to consider their target audience (presumably the class) and the medium that they wish to share their music videos in.

Categories
SECTIONS

Raj’s ambitious website venture

1. What might be three (3) important questions Raj could ask himself when deciding which multimedia to include?

i) What is the scope of his project in relation to his technological competencies?
ii) What is the estimated timeframe in which he plans to implement his module/website?
iii) Has the multimedia he has been considering been evaluated using the Bates and Poole’s (2003) SECTIONS framework?

2. Do you think Raj can deliver this in a month? Explain your answer and either:

Depending on the scope and his overall vision for his project (the self-directed learning module) I think it is possible that Raj could deliver this in a month. Also, I think this deliverable timeframe is dependant on his previous skills and abilities developing websites. If Raj has a steep learning curve to overcome then it may take longer than a month. However, if he is a quick learner or already has previous experience then it will make it easier to meet this deadline. Raj may want to consider obtaining assistance from his colleagues who may have more experience developing online modules and working with websites. They could help scaffold his learning as he works to complete his project. He should also consider the time constraints that he faces as his workload (i.e. prep and marking obligations mean he will be working on this on his own time during evenings and weekends). Raj needs to set a realistic timeframe (with an added buffer time just in case of unexpected emergencies) to achieve his goal to develop a website in a month.

o Suggest how Raj approach developing his website?

For developing his website, he may want to draft an outline (site map) of what he is envisioning. Using the Bates and Poole’s (2003) sections framework, Raj should evaluate each multimedia software that he is considering using. Testing the functionality of his website components (i.e. ensuring links work, learning modules has no typos/errors, easy to navigate, etc) will be an important consideration for Raj. Time permitting, it would be in his best interest to pilot-test his website prior to fully implementing it (the “go-live” date) to ensure that there are no major bugs and that he gets a chance to correct any errors prior to its launch. He should also consult or work together with his school’s IT department to ensure that his site will not be blocked, and to obtain advice about any software downloads related to his project. The IT staff may be able to offset the costs associated with developing a website by offering software at a discounted rate or recommend the best software to use for his site. Also, Raj may need to get the proper administrative approvals prior to starting on his project.

o Offer an alternative to the website, one that will use some of Multimedia already collected.

An alternative to the website could be a WordPress blog that could be converted into a course site. YouTube videos can be embedded into this site, and other resources (images, links, text) can all be effectively utilized. Raj could also develop a video using a free Web 2.0 storytelling resource from the CogDogRoo site or consider filming a DVD which he can then share with his students and colleagues via YouTube.

Categories
communication tools

Trinh’s available options for managing communication in an online course

Were this a F2F course, she would set up office hours – but that’s not an option in an online course, is it? Post your ideas in the what could Trinh do discussion forum.

After much consideration, I think some of the options available for Trinh includes the following:

– Make the case for getting a teaching assistant (or more for each course section) to help her out with managing 150+ students (addressing their course inquiries, providing formative and summative assessments, etc).
– Distinguish what questions can be addressed to the TA and/or instructor to students enrolled in her course.
– Use one designated email for all course communications and let students know to send course-related messages just to this email address (rather than multiple email addresses).
– Clearly let students know when you’re available/not available (for example let students know when she’ll be away for a period of time via announcements, emails, and/or discussion postings so they understand why you may not be able to reply back to them right away).
– Create different types of help sections in the discussion forums so that students can obtain assistance and support from their peers to address their inquiries.
– Use filter/labelling email management strategies to help organize the content of her emails (i.e. if she’s using Gmail’s mail forwarding service then she can also filter out the messages being sent to her designated course email address and put it into a labelled folder to address all course-related inquiries).
– Offer scheduled online chats and/or videoconferencing sessions essentially setting up “virtual” office hours to address students’ questions.
– Build presence by offering YouTube video presentations (that may also address students’ questions and clearly communicate your expectations of them).
– As Anderson (2008) suggests on p.356, the virtual teacher has to set and adhere to appropriate timelines to help student have realistic expectations and relieves the teachers of the unrealistic expectation of providing instantaneous 24/7 feedback.
– Time management is key for Trinh- rather than checking online activities or email constantly.
– Develop and implement an explicit assessment framework for students so they understand what is expected of them throughout the course (i.e. assignments, participation, etc).
– Make assessments a reflective exercise by assigning students the task of using their discussion postings in their blogs to show evidence of their understanding. As Anderson (2008) states, this moves the responsibility from the teacher to the student and can save the teacher time.
– Use student moderators to help lead class discussions and act as peer support (leading to less emails from students for Trinh to manage).
– Provide an archive of the live streaming presentations so students in different time zones that may have missed these sessions can catch up.
– Clearly communicate course expectations, assignment deadlines, weekly readings, etc. from the onset via the course syllabus. Perhaps this information is not clear for students or it’s located in several different sections so she may want to consider amalgamating into one area and letting students know that it’s their responsibility to diarize this information (i.e. assignment deadlines, live presentations, etc).

Reference
Anderson, T. (2008). Teaching in an online learning context. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and practice of online learning, (pp. 343-365). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/14_Anderson_2008_Anderson-DeliveryQualitySupport.pdf

Spam prevention powered by Akismet