Reflections Of...

I'm probably dating myself, but there's that song "Reflections" by The Supremes, and in the hook of the song Diana Ross belts out, "Reflections of/The way life used to be..." When I think of my "teaching life" before these classes, the way I used to be, I was completely insecure about technology with a modicum of confidence. I wasn't a complete disaster, but I lacked a lot of 21st-century know how. Now, I have three of these technology classes under my belt and the way life used to be is just a distant memory...

When I reflect on all of the modules we have done in this course, I think I am most appreciative of the introduction to audio applications in the classroom, mostly because that's what I knew the least about, especially podcasting. The coursework articles I liked the best were the ones about typography and graphic design. I really appreciated "Why No One Reads Your Classroom Newsletter" by Jennifer Gonzalez and "Why Teachers Should Care About Typography." Both of those articles contained the nuts-and-bolts type of information that I can see myself wanting to reference from time to time. I also really appreciated the Google Drawings assignment. I have dabbled in the application before, but this assignment really gave me a deeper understanding of the functionalities within the program. Without a doubt, I had the most fun with the video book trailer assignment and I was completely inspired by the screencast assignment. I felt like that assignment was a catalyst of never-ending instructional possibilities.

I feel like my next step is to continue incorporating what I'm learning in my practice. It's so easy to get complacent and fall into familiar (yet luxuriously comforting) patterns. If I'm going to continue to stretch myself, I have to keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone and try something new. The next area I went to delve into is virtual reality through Google Expeditions and possibly use Skype to connect with another classroom or "mystery guest."

So here I am...reflecting on the way my technology life used to be, which was just okay. But who wants just okay when amazing is right around the corner?

Artifact #1: Book Trailer (EEND677)

In this course, I am most proud of the video book trailer from Module 4. Although I have used iMovie to create videos for the classroom, I have never used its trailer feature. In all honesty, I didn’t even know this feature existed until I started looking into various applications in order to complete the assignment. When I learned that iTunes had existing movie-trailer templates, I thought it would be fun to give it a try. When you create a new trailer project in iMovie, you get to choose between ten or so templates from various genres. I chose the “narrative” template as the music and overall tone seemed to best support the theme of my book. Once the template is selected, putting the trailer together is really easy. The hardest part is finding the video and images that sell a book the way the right film clips sell a movie. My biggest challenge was the time element. According to assignment parameters, the trailer had to be a minimum of two minutes, but most of the trailer templates are 1-1:30 minutes. To extend the length of the trailer, I had to change the duration of some of the clips, but to do that I had to convert the trailer to a movie. Once converted to a movie, the content is editable but I couldn’t go back to my original trailer. I know. Complicated, right? Really, it was not as bad as it sounds. My biggest challenge was editing the music provided within the template so it extended the duration of my new trailer. If you listen closely, you will notice a spot where there is a slight jump in the music. That’s where I couldn’t get a copied and inserted piece of the music to line up exactly right. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely passable.

Overall, I am thrilled with the finished product, but I do wish I would have had the foresight to give attribution to some of the sites I used like archive.org for the video clips. For those of you who don’t know, archive.org offers video that is in the public domain, so no worries about copyright violation. At the end of an iMovie trailer, there are credits and iMovie allows you to fill in the fields that make up the credits. This is where I wish I would have thought to put in archive.org or sites where I grabbed pictures. I didn’t really have to attribute the music because that is already built into the trailer template, and iMovie gives itself full attribution within the ending credits.

What I like so much about these classes is that I'm able to create materials I will use in the classroom, and my book trailer is no exception. I can't wait to "tease" students by playing the trailer prior to reading the book.

Artifact #2: SMORE Screencast (EEND677)

What I love about this course is that it keeps surprising me. I never thought I would successfully create a screencast, yet here it is. Voila! I decided to include the screencast not only because I am super proud of how it turned out, but I’m also really impressed with how I was able to take this screencast and turn it into a usable assignment that I can’t wait to unleash on my students.

Even though creating the screencast wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be, it definitely had its challenges. Arguably, at 15 minutes, my screencast might have been a bit too long. When I reviewed it critically, I could see where there may have been a lull, like when I was entering text. If I would have done another take, I could have tightened that up. I also wished I would have created a “screencast introduction” page on my computer that was on my screen rather than the Screencast-O-Matic website page. If I would have watched one of my earlier takes instead of immediately recording over them, I would have caught that. As a perfectionist, I also hate that it ends so abruptly. I had a perky, cute ending, but it got cut off. I’m not sure if I pressed stop too early or I ran out of the allotted recording time. So, yes, my good screencast could have been a great screencast with some tweaks, but there are still some things I did really well. For example, I thought that anyone could watch my screencast and know exactly how to use the SMORE program to complete the assignment, and I took viewers through the assignment from conception to submission. I was incredibly meticulous with my pre-planning outline, so I thought pacing and content were well done. I really took care to include overarching concepts like digital citizenship that I wanted my students to consider. All in all, not a bad effort for my first go around with this technology.

Until this assignment, I never considered all of the ways teachers could use screencasts in the classroom. From introducing new concepts in step-by-step clarity to flipped classrooms to student assessment opportunities, there really is a variety of creative uses for screencasts in the classroom.