Multimedia Tools in Education - Reflection

 Reflection:

Multimedia Tools in Education

Fall 2020

    I feel that I've grown more as an educator from this course in a number of ways. First, I definitely enjoyed being able to experiment with different technology tools I have never tried before, such as Smore, Vyond, and Google Drawings. I always find it gratifying when I leave a course with a few take-aways I know I could use in my classroom, and this is how I feel now as the class is winding down. I also believe the weekly topics were well-catered to the current remote setting most schools are in right now, so I felt connected to every project and discussion. I also liked how the weekly assignments of this course felt like they belonged in the category of "less is more." They were open-ended enough to give us the freedom to mirror them to our curriculum, and they were not overly-complex.  I felt like my final products were successful because they accomplished the task without an overkill amount of technology integration or research. 

    A final highlight of this course for me was focus on communication with students and parents. There was one week where I created a newsletter that had to be a revamped version of what a typical classroom newsletter would entail, and I enjoyed having to think about how I would send out communication to parents. Apart from emails, I realized I don't often utilize other platforms to reach my students' parents, and this course made me think about innovative ways to do so. I also enjoyed the week where we were able to share with others in the class cohort how we use social media to keep families informed. I was able to share with quite a few peers that I use a teacher Instagram account, which has been a success since I started it in 2019. Having meaningful discussion can be difficult sometimes in an online class, but this course allowed for a variety of ways to communicate with each other, which I found very unique.

Multimedia Tools in Education - Artifacts

 Artifact #1:

Tell Me in a Graphic Assignment

    I enjoyed creating this assignment because I was able to produce a visual idea I have had since the beginning of remote learning. Working with my students via Zoom has presented challenges I could have never anticipated before this school year, and this assignment was both useful, timely, and forced me slightly outside my comfort zone. I have never used Google Drawings before, and this project allowed me to experiment with the program and realize how many creative options it allows for--and it comes with G-Suite, which I already use daily for lessons. I was pretty proud of the final outcome because I felt like I gained experience with a new tech tool and every shape, color, and bit of text was created by me.

 Artifact #2:

Video Book Trailer

    For this assignment, we were to create a book trailer and/or introduction to a unit that we wanted our kids pumped for, and I chose The Outsiders because my own class was starting the novel around this time. It worked out perfectly. I tried a new video-production website, Vyond (GoAnimate), and the site was very user-friendly and worked well to portray some basic details about the book that I wanted my students to have before we began reading. This assignment allowed for some creative expression and reminded me of how engaging a video can be to jumpstart any unit or lesson. I also enjoyed this assignment because this video is one I plan to use for years to come when I teach The Outsiders.

Link to Video

Multimedia Tools in Education - Module 5

 

Module 5 Discussion

Graphic Design

    I think there are many benefits and opportunities to incorporate graphic design in the classroom. Teachers constantly create visuals to help students remember concepts, such as anchor charts, and high quality graphic design is crucial here. If an anchor chart is not engaging to look at, students won't use them and their purpose is no longer relevant. Another tangible way teachers use graphic design is in other types of classroom posters, such as to display classroom expectations, school procedures, schedules, or even inspirational signage. I think many teachers take a lot of pride in how they display their rooms and express who they are and their subject, which provides many graphic design opportunities.

    Additionally, we are in such a digital age, graphic design naturally makes it way into the ways teachers present information and instruction. For example, I create daily Google Slides presentations to help guide my lessons, and every time I design these slides I am always thinking about graphic design and how my slides appear to 12-year-olds. Is the text readable, is the font large enough, are the colors easy on the eyes, what types of images can I incorporate, etc. I really do feel graphic design works its way into many areas of teaching.

    Thinking about how students absorb information, we have to be aware of who they are as learners. I have a large population of EL students, so I am constantly thinking about ways to present information with visuals, videos, and gestures as much as possible. We also know that children these days have rather short attention spans, so this makes it even more necessary to keep lessons engaging and visually appealing. I also think being able to manipulate things like emojis and memes into lessons resonates with kids as well because it connects with visuals they enjoy and are used to seeing/using.

    We have a unit on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens coming in the next couple weeks in my curriculum, and I am already brainstorming ways to revamp lessons from years past. How can I hook in my students from day 1 using graphic design, engaging visuals, videos, audio, etc. I think videos like movie trailers are very effective with junior high students before diving into any story, so my initial thought is to create something like this. I'm also thinking about what ways I can illustrate Scrooge's character so that the kids can make personal connections and be interested in him as a dynamic character.