Tag: Technology

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DVD Authoring

This week, we had an interesting discussion about using DVDs in teaching. My experience with DVD usually relate to backing up my laptop information or burning photos for my friends. If I was making a DVD for school, it would be uploading files of previous lesson plans or video clips for colleagues to use in the classrooms. My most recent DVD for school was the Orientation movie that I created for new students and their parents interested in studying at our school. The DVD was then kept by the administrative staff for whenever they needed it. I have never really thought about burning a DVD for my classroom.

I guess the reasons I never made a DVD for my classroom was because I had the convenience of plugging in my laptop into the main computer in the classroom. I could show students the presentations, video clips, and lectures prepared through my laptop – saving the time needed to create a DVD. It was also more cost efficient. When students needed to present, they also had the option of plugging in their laptops as well. The other times when I would use a DVD was to show a movie to the class. And of course, I would use the original DVD rather than a copied version.

Overall, with the right technology in the classroom, I would prefer to bypass the process of creating my own DVD for the class. On a side note, I have recently seen iDVD used to create a photo/video DVD for my friend’s wedding and I loved the features of the professional looking layouts available. So, for personal purposes, I would definitely create DVDs . However, for academic purposes, I am up for exploring options of creating DVDs in the classroom for future use … perhaps videotaping student performances or skits in the classroom or performances in school-wide presentations or assemblies? If I create a DVD for my classroom, I would like the DVD to incorporate activities that will allow students to actively participate while watching.

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LMS – Learning Management Systems

Experience with Blackboard, Vista, and WebCT:
My first experience with WebCT was through Distance Education at Simon Fraser University. I don’t remember much about the experience except that assignments were dropped off into the Assignment Box when it was due. There were usually 2 to 4 assignments per course. Perhaps there were some discussions online, but they are now a blur.

However, the online learning experience with MET is quite different. The modules are interactive and engaging. Conversations and group work have made it easier to meet and get to know peers. Although face-to-face time is limited, the atmosphere is a lot warmer than previous distance education courses. This is probably due to the newer technologies that involve audio and video interactions (synchronous and asynchronous), in addition to text based discussions. The courses I enjoyed the most are the ones that utilizes most of the functions in Blackboard: Discussion Board, Chat, Mail, Announcements, Learning Modules, Assignments, etc. When courses are well designed with specific instructions for students to follow, learning online can be effective and enjoyable.

Downfall with LMS:
In some courses, the challenge with using LMS such as Vista to deliver the course is that it has limitations. To compensate for these limitations, professors and colleagues will provide links to articles and websites found outside the LMS and bring them into the discussions. This is not much of a problem. However, the need to monitor discussions (due to group presentations or experimentation with new media) on other sites can bring much confusion and frustration. It is hard enough to keep up with Vista and the never-ending posts-to-be-read, but to also keep updated on a second site…. this calls for good time management skills!

Experience with Moodle:
Moodle offers many functions that are easy to use. It could be set up to deliver an entire course with its many functions. Previous experience with Moodle was a group project in another course. It was overwhelming to learn to use Moodle in a short period of time. Our group decided to put together a Grade 6/7 class – with each member responsible for creating a unit for different subjects. It was a lot of fun pooling together ideas. I especially liked the webquests, virtual museums, games, and other activities that we included in our “classroom”. I am looking forward in trying out more functions and possibly a warmer layout of my “classroom” this time in ETEC 565. Stay tuned!

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SECTIONS

This week, we explored ways of evaluating technology through Bates & Poole’s framework: SECTIONS.

The breakdown for SECTIONS is as follows:
S – Students
E – Ease of Use
C – Cost
T – Teaching and Learning
I – Interactivity
O – Organization
N – Novelty
S – Speed

In general, this is a good initial evaluation to assess the need for the new technology. It will work well for all grades, but I feel that it is more useful for the secondary level students to post-secondary students. Teachers and administrators can both use this framework as it covers multiple perspectives in choosing the right technology.

Thinking about my school, I agree that students should be a priority when choosing the technology. It is important that the technology is specifically chosen according to the needs of our students to support their learning and not using technology for the sake of using technology. For our school, we have an ongoing battle with the students in trying to eliminate technology in the classroom. However, I feel it is time to embrace some technology and put them to good academic use. It is inevitable that each student will have their mobile phone or their ipod with them. It is also inevitable that they will have some sort of electronic translator, in addition to their paper dictionary. As well, most students have some basic knowledge of how computers and laptops work. Therefore, I think it is time to figure out how to BEST incorporate these media tools in classroom projects, making them more effective rather than disruptive in the classroom.

In saying this, I am not encouraging cellphone usage or text messaging in the classroom. I want my students to be aware that it is inappropriate to use these functions during lessons and lectures. However, rather than confiscating these devices (which will cause students to be upset the entire class), my goal is to prepare a lesson where they would be more engaged with the material at hand and not with their devices. This may also include using these devices in some way. More thoughts on this later.

Overall, I think SECTIONS is a good way to assess the necessity of certain technology in the classroom. Now I need to find an assessment tool to measure the effectiveness of using the technology in the classroom. Is the effort to incorporate technology into the lesson to replace the traditional method worth it?

Bates, A. W. and Poole, G. (2003) Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. New York: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated.

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