EDTECH513: Reflection

• What challenges did you face in this course?

One specific challenge that I faced during this course was my unfortunate habit to overthink assignments! During each assignment, I was trying to create something unique and use a program or tool that I have not used before.  This became problematic because I would spend hours trying to find different software, that was free of course, and end up not using it because it didn’t allow me to do everything that I wanted. In addition to the program overthinking, I also had difficulties coming up with topics for each assignment. I have a problem trying to create different things which ends up taking more time than it should!

• What strategies or other creative resources did you use to address these challenges?

When I was struggling trying to think of a concept to use, I would think of my classroom and what would be beneficial for it. When I used that mentality, I was able to simplify my ideas and make them practical.

• Which artifact do you feel was your best and why?

I felt my Animoto introduction was my best, because it meant the most to me. I had never used Animoto before, and I really enjoyed putting pictures together to help people learn a little bit about me. I sent the link to my parents because I was proud of what I created and it was a good representation of who I am! They obviously liked it, I think they had to!

• What is one thing you plan to do in your school or business as a result of this course?

There are some awesome programs that I used during this course that I want to use in my classroom. Obviously I was a big fan of Animoto, but I also enjoyed Camtasia and Clarify-it. I will incorporate worked examples and screen shots to help my students understand the directions of assignments and content better.

EDTECH 513: Worked Example Screencast

As much as the students dislike it, middle school physics involves math problems. One way to make the calculations easier is to use a formula triangle. The formula triangle helps to isolate variables and help students solve problems. For this worked example, I show how to use the formula triangle to solve physics problems. In creating the worked example, I used Camtasia and paint. Camtasia allowed me to record the screen and audio, while paint gave me the ability to write and add text. In following the principles of worked examples, I created video segments that each represent a different aspect of the formula triangle. I also include a video that has all three videos and a link to the narration for reference.

Narrated Text

EDTECH 513: Digital Story

The assignment for this week was to create a digital story.  The possibilities were endless, but I went with a format I am familiar with. I use iMovie and Sony Vegas during the school year to create a variety of introductory videos for my students. As you can see in this one, I like to incorporate humor into my class.  This digital story meets a variety of principles learned throughout this course including the Coherence and Personalization principle.  The Coherence principle is demonstrated by eliminating unnecessary information. This is a background story, not a multimedia lecture. All information is necessary to the story and setting up the project.  The Personalization principle is demonstrated by using conversation style instead of formal. There are many times in which the word “you” was used referring to the students and making them feel the video was personally talking to them.  I had fun making this, as I do with every movie I make! My students eventually accept and appreciate my weirdness!

Enjoy!

Narration Text

EDTECH513: Coherence Analysis

CoherenceAnalysis-Google Doc