Tech Chance

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/jV3xf4zk

I loved doing this assignment. I liked trying to find tools that was most suitable to the story I had to tell. I feel that the tool I eventually selected was not necessarily the most appropriate in terms of its suitability to pedagogical considerations. However, I know where to find the tools and with a more organized approach to the story, I will do just fine. My students will be at an advantage this semester as I will be making sure their presentations are at best exciting.

I liked photo-show because it is easy to use. I found it accessible in that I am able to add my pictures and I think my students would be able to use it with ease as some of my students are still new to this area. The features which allowed me to add animations, to engage the senses of my visual and auditory learners were also important to me. It is also accessible to my students and is made available to them as soon as I was finished creating the story. The feature which allowed me to playback, check, edit (over and over again) was also useful, especially for some who may be new to photo-stories.   I told the story based on the features of this tool. I would have told it in a different way if I were using different tools. I found the music useful  in creating a frame of mind and a way of getting to the affective domain. My intent for this story is not only to showcase the beauty of my homeland but to educate about endangered species of birds and trees.  This is an interesting way of getting students interested in even the most uninteresting of topics.   Ripping and remixing allows for productions that can be powerful and engaging. The veiwers are engaged as the mix of audio and video along with still images and possibly even one’s own voice produces dramatic and refreshing learning experiences.  I would use this tool to produce material for students that will generate discussions. I like the feature that allows for comments so r I could have focus questions that allows for the generation of ideas from the story/show. I could also use this tool to reinforce writing skills and generate self expression. Some students may have difficulty expressing themselves and so a channel such as this one will assist in their expression. It could build an appreciation  for the power of personal expression. It will also address different learning style.
Since some of the tools are free, students would be able to access them.   I believe in the end, students’ writing skills will be reinforced and improved. Their own style of expression will be acknowledged. I was motivated as my ‘hardwork ‘ looked good after a few tries and I saw myself getting better and better at it. This type of feedback motivate students and invites them to stretch their own thinking and creative skills.

• Is the story viewable either as an embedded file or a link? (5)
• Why was this the right tool for you to use to tell your story? Explain how you purposefully selected your tool. (5)
• Describe how a story-telling approach would work within a course that you teach (or would like to teach) using sound pedagogical arguments. (10)

I think this was quite a useful tool selected to tell the story. It has some features that helped to inspire my creativity, limited as it is. Photoshow had features that allowed me to add audio and still image. I am not so sure I purposefully selected this tool. I do know though that it inspired me to enter into the affective domain. The use of music, for example was a deliberate choice as I had the option of not using music. I think using music will provide a higher level of engagement with the information being delivered. As far as selecting the tool went, I tried to find one that suited the knowledge level and skills of my students (S) who, if they were to be engaged in using it, they would be able to follow simple 1-2-3 steps and achieve success at the end (E). The fact that many of the features were free was also an attractive aspect (C). Even though the products that were rated premium would make the presentation more attractive and exciting, I was still able to get a pretty good product with what may be considered the basic. In this way my search took me to identify those tools that provided immediate feedback. Because I was able to follow the instructions outlined, I realized that very little in the way of instructions would be needed from me (T). This I liked as it would make teaching creating ways of expression so much easier as there were real live examples at hand. Of course, the level of interactivity was also very good since the features  allowed you to use audio, still image and add one’s own taste in music and setting (I). There are no changes that would be considered except that administrators consider paying for some of those premium features to enhance the product (O). I think that even though using digital stories may be new, the Photoshow will not become redundant too soon as all the features I discovered were not “faddish” as they can be useful for many purposes and for any teaching style and learning style (N). The immediacy of this tool was a strong buying point for me. I liked the fact that I could introduce the finished product  as soon as I was done with it and could share it with as many as I wanted to right away (S).

I would like to use story telling in my classes. I am thinking of a course for new students that require them to understand how people learn. The course addresses the development of the learner and helps new teachers to have an appreciation for the forces and factors that shape the learners as they come to the classroom. Using stories that engages students in the various developmental stages of the learner may be interesting. Using this as a means of getting students to talk about their own development and to compare with the developmental stages as suggested by the theorists may be worth exploring. This may be a non-threatening way to have students participate in classwork. We know that students learn and express themselves as individuals, so using storytelling can provide an avenue for those learners, especially those who are inclined to prefer this medium of expression
This approach to learning can also be considered constructivist as students are able to make their own judgments and learn from the creative process. I found that the activity enabled me to use a higher level of application, synthesis and evaluation. These are important considerations in the learning process. Using stories to teach my course would be an advantage as the students would be actively engaged at the higher level of the taxonomy. When students are involved in story telling as part of the teaching learning activity, they become active, participatory learners. Students’ writing skills are more strongly developed as they become critical of their skills that will become more public as they are quite likely to be shared by others.

This is my link to the eporfolio:

Digital Story: On my way home from work

(A.W. Bates and G. Poole, 2003, pp. 79 – 80)

Bates, A.W., and Poole, G. (2003). Effective teaching with technology in higher education: Foundations for success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 79 – 80.

http://www.panos.org.uk/?lid=23126 Digital stories: the benefits and tensions
Here is the link to my story. Please feel free to leave your comments.

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/jV3xf4zk

Michele