The Rosetta Stone

My favorite item I studied this week was the Rosetta stone. Yes this is an actual object which is something I just learned. In education I hear this word a lot and it refers to a software program. After learning about the stone I found it to be a great name for the software program. The Rosetta stone was rock with carvings on it from three different languages. The decoder finally realized that the writings were in different languages but had the same meanings. From this they were able to understand languages they were not able to before. The three different languages have contrasting text designs which make them look distinct. The different writings were also the same relative size to each other. The alignment and the proximity of the text was what were so important with this stone. Without these elements of design the stone would probably still be a mystery today.

EDLD 5363 - Course Reflection

This course was one I have been looking forward to. I envisioned the course to be full of technical projects that involved video and the web. I was not disappointed. The course laid out the different kinds of multimedia projects and explained why they were important. I thought the digital story telling was a way to impress a point with very little media. The projects I saw were only a few photos long but in most cases were very informative. I liked the project because they were close to what I have to do at my current job. Though I do not usually create the content I do usually help in the editing and troubleshooting aspects of the programs. I thought I knew most of what was going to be taught in this course but I still was able to pick up a few new items. I believe I achieved all of the outcomes I was hoping for. I still do not like working in groups but I was able to find one that did an exceptional job. I did find that during the web chats I could move things along by clearing what was said and what we as a group were going to do. I think people just kind of wait for someone else to get things going in a web chat. In the end I think this was another positive experience with Lamar.

EDLD 5363 - PSA

In the course EDLD 5363 myself and my group created a PSA to urge parents to talk with their teen drivers about the dangers of text messaging while driving. We all agreed in our initial meeting that this would be a good topic for our PSA. As our meeting progressed we came up with a basic framework of how we wanted to illustrate our vision for the PSA. After we had the basic idea down on a web document we agreed on individual tasks. I was quite pleased that everyone was willing to do whatever they could to get the PSA done. I ended up with the task of doing the voice narration for the PSA. My team decided I was a good fit for this because I sound calm and I am from Michigan so I do not have the Texas accent. I completed my part of the task and gave the files to the editor who was able to piece everything together. The final product was a pleasant surprise. The PSA was not exactly how I had pictured it in my head but it was a good looking video in the end. We met and discussed the final product and everyone was pleased. The PSA was complete and my group had successfully completed what they had set out to do.

EDLD 5363 - Video Editing Software

Analysis:

I like the fact that all the video editors were free. When I spend a lot of money on a camera to capture video I do not want to blow more on software. Windows Movie Maker is very familiar and I work a lot with it at work but I still do not choose to use it personally. I think the reason is that I have so many errors or problems with it at work. I was surprised that Avidmux had so much to offer. The ease of use was very good and I was able to clip video within a couple of minutes of opening the program for the first time. The features and simple output to most portable devices was great. I often have to convert video to appropriate formats, including screen size for files to work on my video iPod and having this built in was very convenient. I may use this as my default from now on. I really did not like Wax 2.0. The interface reminded me of using visual C++ to write code. Not an appealing memory to me. This also made it hard to find the controls I was looking for. The whole program seemed to be focused more as a plug-in for other video editing programs such as Adobe Premiere. Over all I would have to pick Avidmux as the champion today, but I was surprised my how many programs are available and will most likely evaluate more.

EDLD 5301 - Travelogue (Week 3 Assignment)

I will make a travelogue as described in the reading to track the progress for myself and for others. In this case I will make a blog. The initial posting will be the description of the project and why I am doing it. I will then post the tools and procedures I will use to allow others to understand how I acquired my findings. I will be continuing to post the data I collect and the goals I see achieved as the project progresses. At the conclusion of the project I will post the results and my conclusions to the blog for others to share my findings and perhaps add or continue the study from there.

EDLD 5368 - Week 5 Assignment

I see educators extending their classrooms to students in their own homes. The tools available today are helping connect students and teacher in new ways. These new ways of communicating seem to engage students in activities suited toward their preferred methods of communicating and learning. Students today seem to be highly involved with online activities outside of school. These new resources have never been available any previous generation. I don’t think the outcomes of these new resources are really understood yet, but they are a great way to engage students with the media that they prefer. I think these new methods really help students who would otherwise not have done as well in school. Using online tools also allows student a more customized learning experience. Lessons can have resources targeting different learning types of media such as audio or video, and these resources can be made available to students at all hours of the day.

I do not have a teaching role at the moment so using the course is not applicable for typical students however my district does use a similar system to extend training to staff. If I was in a leadership role, I think this might be a way to save money if the online system can be utilized the same way. In my school district students have access to some resources 24/7 but the courses are still thought in the typical fashion, face to face. I do see an online course as a huge asset to homebound students. A home bound student presets a difficult situation in some cases, and an online class seems to fit the needs very well. I definitely see a lot of potential in this area. The previous school district I worked for was exploring a similar system called “Moodle”. The system was not being utilized to its full potential because support was hard to find as it was a self support system. Schoology present a solution to this problem with a lot of the same benefits. I will mention this alternative with them.

As a teacher I would use the online tools to capture the student’s interest and extend choices to my learners. I really think students learn differently and using online tools presents ways to personalize activities toward different leaning preferences. Audio and video can be accessed anytime and can help answer questions the students may have when the teacher is not available. The social component to these online tools is also substantial. Students seem to be much more engaged in a subject when all their friends are talking and sharing information online about the lessons. Student seem to be so engaged with these tools they seem to forget that they are learning and information is simply absorbed without the usual fight to make them retain it. Even though using the online tools in my class is a great addition it only helps to strengthen face to face contact and learning. You may be able to see what students are having trouble understanding in an online group discussion and have a refresher lesson waiting the next morning to clear up any misunderstandings or to reinforce your points.

The big question I have about online learning is with the results of this type of learning. I have heard a lot of great things about online learning but have seen very few actual, real-life, verifiable examples of people who have used this type of learning. In fact I may be the answer to my own question as I am the only person I know who is pursuing this type of learning. I have had online courses before but these were in addition to regular face to face classes. My previous experiences were not as fulfilling. In that case the online course was a do it yourself class. You read the book and turned in papers and took tests. Teaching and support were hard to access. Even with my previous experiences, I am still optimistic with this form of learning. I do see numerous benefits and advantages but the entire process is still ironing itself out and not the smooth process I envision for future learners.
The online course I created has been a great experience which I plan on sharing with others in my own organization and friends outside my organization. Schoology presents a great alternative to some previous systems I have used such as “Moodle”. I do not think I have thought of all the application for Schoology, but the ones I have thought of present ways to save money, take the burden of supporting another system off of the technology department, and offers to engage students in a way that promises to capture their best efforts. As a school leader I plan to have teachers use this as an example of online learning. They can learn from the course make improvements to their own, and inspire new ways of engaging students with media applicable to their learning styles. The course will show them that online learning has a place in any class and any situation and that they must adapt to enable the students of the future