Exploring group 3 digital technologies has been quite delightful. If the group 2 analysis found video production as frustrating as it was rewarding, then the group 3 analysis finds these technologies as versatile for teaching as they are brilliantly simple. Powerpoint is one that I will not dwell upon as I have been exposed to this software in the past (mainly as a student in classes) and to be honest I have discovered most people only know how use it to its full potential, and usually such equipment gets used as a glorified (digital) overhead projector. But then again I am sure that the full potential of such a toll for teaching has not truly been fully explored by me nor anyone I have observed using them.Yet there are powerful quality examples of Powerpoints available on the net, and this example is linked directly to blogspot as sponsors like this Christian teaching resources site called 'Share Faith' . The powerpoints at this site have incredibly powerful and professional grade digitally rendered photographs that are great tools to enable teachers to use the software to stimulate religious or theological discourse. (I am not planning to teach RE, but who knows what I will be required to relief teach should I ever teach at a private religious school. However, I mainly included this as an real-world example because the publishing there is actually an excellent Powerpoint exemplar)
I thought of a way I could possibly also use Powerpoint for quizzes or other exams, e.g. a series of blank _______ in sentences about a particular picture or for an exam question/s, then the blanks get filled in with subsequent answers as each Powerpoint page is activated by the student or pupil. Students/teacher could also write elaborate story boards and pose group discussion prompts/questions in text.
The other program, Glogster, is a surprisingly useful tool for teachers which actually encourages not only creativity in students making online posters, but also highly collaborative projects. The use of Glogster is actually a kinesthetic experience in itself. But the interface is typical of many user friendly windows apps. The students who use this online poster program can be organized into groups or individuals, but passwords provide security so hacking into others works is prevented. But the teacher remains in control of the learning experience in terms of acceptable ethical behaviour and appropriate posts. In many ways this can substitute much of the manual ways of creating posters (ie. glue, scissors, paper etc) with far less mess!
My Prezi
Well this happens to be one of my favorite programs ever. Not kidding. I think the movement of the text and the zoom tool is a powerful device which could potentially engage a entire demographic of visual learners as well as many which might otherwise be lost through the cracks. By this I mean any learners with developmental impairment such as dyslexia or other learning deficiencies.
I believe that this tool could actually transform the way some of us read. Whilst I fear for oral fluency in classical reading of English should Prezi takeover as the next facebook or sms technology, yet what also seriously impressed me is that Prezi is absolutely diverse in its range of possible designs. The ability to embed video or pics is another strength which can blend other visual strategies in the lesson. I see this as having great potential with a number of language literacy genres like storytelling (narrative), reviews, histories, biographies, summaries. Geographical literacies could very well be explored and broken down into interesting prezis e.g. A human geographical profile of the peoples of Rwandan genocide or would make a powerful investigative prezi presentation for a Senior geography class.
More opportunities abound also to use prezis in music teaching for: delivering theory lessons creatively and in engaging ways, creating practice exercise for ensemble, demonstrate scales and arpeggios, explore music histories, etc. Prezis can be used for its unique ways (zooming and dragging page, pathways etc) to deliver lesson content. My Prezi, compared to the posted examples, at a hunch makes me not so sure I have mastered Prezi at this but it is very engaging nonetheless. The dynamics of the movement to text and PDF images is quite enthralling and the relationships between the language and visual literacies is very powerful.
Edward De Bono Hats on Prezi
Prezi’s simple user interface is readily accessible for almost any age
Simple design defy impairments, goes beyond disability
Is a new digital media which draws upon both text and visual literacies
Is a tool marketed for use in education, domestic & commercial real-world contexts
Software applications broadened by links to other software (e.g. Paint, Picture Viewer, PDFCreator, Adobe, Publisher, Corell Draw, Photostudioetc)
Black Hat - Negative (caution/judgement)
Prezi tutorial trains only to basic level of Prezi skill
Prezi is a design tool
Prezi needs to be complimented by pedagogical content
Scaffolding is required with use of Prezi and where assessment tasks may link using Prezi to other programs (e.g. Paint, etc)
Can cause dizziness or nausea
A ‘knack’ must be acquired to get best out of Prezi presentation design
Yellow Hat - Positive (optimistic)
Has promise of overcoming many challenging disabilities in order to integrate impaired learners and others in challenging social contexts (such as poverty and abuse).
Expressive and creative tool, taking text and picture design for learning to a new level
Great dynamics of movement engaging to visual learners
Offers global perspective learning opportunities and encourages memory imprints which relate topical concepts in student activities
Offers a chance for students to review and edit works
Green Hat - New ideas (creativity)
Given time to explore, students may be able to make dynamic presentations
Theme Wizards provide an array of colours & themes
Can personalize Prezis with photos
Prezi doubles as an artistic design tool and topic presentation platform, usable by teachers or students
Edit Prezis online or offline
Red Hat - Feelings (emotions)
Exciting to see a new and accessible digital media as I have seen this kind of presentation on internet before, but none so easy to use
Frustrating at times whilst getting the ‘knack’
Pleasing once a Prezi is posted online and you are satisfied with product
Reminiscent of scrapbooking and poster making
Confident in that this tool can be used with kids regardless of age or diversity
No comments:
Post a Comment