This week's focus is
looking at different forms of multimedia. This blog post will specifically look
at the pedagogical purposes and outcomes of using a number of multimedia tools
for my own, and my students' use and creation. The three tools I will be
reflecting on are images, audio and video and how they are used for teaching
and as learning tools.
Firstly looking at the use
of multimodal tools, there has been a massive increase in the use of this avenue
of teaching and learning at present when compared to the past. Personally
growing up I was more accustomed to learning the 'traditional' way, through one
form of mode or way, which was basically the only way of teaching back then. As
well at home my family were not big on technology, with us only having one
computer and television within our household. This left most of my time being
spent reading books, playing board games or mainly playing outside or at the
beach with my sisters or friends. We were never allowed a playstation or gaming
console, and were only really allowed to watch tv for no longer than an hour a
day. Although these rules were quite different to my friends and at times I
would of loved to be watching a tv program that they all were allowed to watch,
I am thankful now to my parents for choosing to be so strict, as I am able to
look back and realise my childhood was a lot more memorable than of today's
kids who are so technology driven.
However this being said I
am also very driven by technology these days, and I do find myself to be quite
tech-savy. When it come to teaching and learning, the use of multimodal tools
is the way to go. As mentioned by Stansbury (2008) "multimodal learning–using many modes and
strategies that cater to individual learners’ needs and capacities–is more
effective than traditional, unimodal learning, which uses a single mode or
strategy".
Students of today are
learning and developing skills through interacting and multi-tasking with
technology and many forms of digital media. The environment they live in is
accustomed to a range of texts, print, video, images and audio, that is way
beyond I was available to at that age. This calls for pedagogy to as well to
shift to meet the needs of today's learners and this digital culture. It's
important to highlight though that schools cannot be expected to replicate the
multimedia experiences that students engage in outside school. However as
educators we do need to examine how new modes of communication can be integral to
classroom communication (Walsh, 2010).
Multimodal learning, is
extremely important for today's learners as it prepares students for the future
they will work, live and succeed in. Looking specifically at images, audio and
video. These tools when used and applied appropriately can have significant
gains in basic or higher-order learning (Walsh, 2010). With further research
explaining that "Students using a well-designed combination of visuals and
text learn more than students who use only text" (Stansbury, 2008).
Integrating images, audio
and videos into an educational context can provide for endless opportunities.
With personal reference from my teaching practice the use of an image can be as
simple as using one as a stimulus for students to tell a story, as a starting
point for introducing a new topic to the whole class, or as a group task or
individual reflection. Audio can be in the form of students recording their
answers to a task or activity, or an explanation of a story into a microphone or
iPad. Voki's have also been a popular tool I have used and got the students to
make, which has audio embedded. Video can be a way to record students findings
or point of view, as a learning journey or project, or even just used to
entertain or for engagement purposes. All in all in my experiences with these
tools have been positive, and when used correctly and appropriately they have
been a way to stimulate and engage learners, create opportunities for further
development in the use of ICTs, and most importantly in an educational sense as
explained by the SAMR model, can open doors to learning that promotes higher
order thinking and problem solving.
Images
Plus
Can assist as an aid for
visual learners and for students with learning disabilities.
Be used as a stimulus for
a writing task or group activity.
An image can be a focal
point for a unit of work or to introduce or hook learners into a topic.
Can be created by students
for numerous tasks. Such as a book cover or for other creative purposes.
Images can evoke feelings
or tell a story.
Images can be used to
support critical thinking. Such as a comparison of two images from different
periods of time.
Can be used as a way to
document a learning journey or as a piece of evidence of work
Can be used as an English
activity. Such as warm up activity: identifying the beginning sound of these
images.
Minus
Images can sometimes be a
distraction for some learners rather than an assisting tool for learning.
An image is not as
engaging when compared to a video.
A lot of issues can be
raised around copyrighting. Students and educators need to be aware of
copyrighting laws, as well as issues around privacy and safety.
Interesting
Images themselves can be
used for endless tasks, or as a tool to assist learning or a display. There is
are numerous apps, software, and online sites that can provide for fun imaging
tasks or as editing or creating tools.
SAMR model: Examples of
how images can be used in the classroom for each level of the model.
|
Redefinition
|
Students engage in a new task, such as creating their own book or
story through a learning journey of pictures and collages. A tool they may
use is Photo story or PowerPoint- image sequence
|
|
Modification
|
Students have to create a new image by redesigning one using Tux
paint, ArtRage or some online tool, and then sharing online in a group
created.
|
|
Augmentation
|
For a creative writing task students are given a image as a stimulus,
along with a title or sentence to evoke thinking or an idea.
|
|
Substitution
|
Students can show an image of what they are feeling today rather than
writing or verbally sharing how they are.
|
Audio:
Plus
Podcasts and digital audio
tools can be simple but engaging way for students to listen and learn.
Can be accessed easily and
conveniently via computers, tablets, laptops, phones and other devices.
Students can also create,
produce or share their own podcasts or make it into interesting activities such
as storytelling, recounts, diary entries or a radio program.
Can be an ideal way for
students to share their learning orally rather than written.
Students can easily speak
into a microphone or tablet and record. They may find sharing their ideas aloud
easier than writing.
For teachers audio
recordings can be used as a diagnostic, formative or summative tool.
Students are able to
gather audio tools from outside and bring it into the classroom to share, such
as interviews, podcasts they enjoy, or songs or jingles they may hear or have
recorded to help with learning.
Suits auditory learners.
Allows students to listen
and work at their own pace.
Minus
Students may find podcast
or audio devices boring or not as stimulating as other multimedia tools.
Does not target basic
reading and writing skills that other tools or activities may do.
Issues may arise of
recording, such as students may feel uncomfortable recording or speaking aloud.
Audio tend to have
technical issues when played on some devices that they are not produced on.
Such as the sound may not be loud enough, or loading issues may arise buffering
the podcast or audio track.
Interesting
Podcasts and digital audio
tools, when used correctly can be of great value to any activity or new task.
As well they can be ideal for activities outside of class time, such as used as
a way to share homework or tasks that students can access on their own, at
their own time and pace. There are countless audio tools available on a number
of devices, some are free, however some may have to be purchased or downloaded
or used on particular devices.
SAMR model: Examples of
how audio can be used in the classroom for each level of the model.
|
Redefinition
|
Students get to record, edit and share a poem or story via an audio
tool such as Audacity or Garage Band. They get to share it for feedback from
other students, teachers, other schools or professionals in that area.
|
|
Modification
|
Students get to record their stories they have created via audio.
Such as via a easy speak microphone.
|
|
Augmentation
|
Students have to access podcasts apart of their weekly homework
tasks.
|
|
Substitution
|
Instead of students having a tasks instructions given straight from
the teachers mouth, the audio or task description could be embedded via a
Voki.
|
Video:
Plus
Videos are the all-rounder
tool. Incorporates both audio and imaging.
Can be a very engaging and
stimulating tool for learning and teaching and gaining students interest.
Can be accessed easily via
websites and online devices such as computers, laptops, tablets, or other
devices.
Can be easily created via
simple apps, tools and software. Such as on the iPads.
Useful and professional
videos are easily accessible via YouTube or other free websites.
Highly interactive and
flexible. In that it has many options of watching and creating. Can be stopped,
paused, rewound or fast forward depending on personal use.
Can be a way for students
to produce work for formative and summative tasks, that is enjoyable and interesting
to create and share online.
They are developing useful
ICT skills while they create using videos.
Videos promote authentic
learning opportunities, higher order thinking and problem solving.
Minus
Can again be the issue of
privacy and safety when working online and with videoing. Students need to be
taught properly the ethical, safety and privacy issues surrounding videoing.
Issues may arise in
regards to accessing YouTube or some videos via the internet. Maybe blocked or
banned.
Also some videos you
access may have spam or advertising that is inappropriate or can create viruses
when opened. This needs to be checked that protection is up to date.
Video's can also take up a
lot of time when creating. Also looking for relevant videos can be very time
consuming as well.
Be sure that videos do not
go for too long, and are clear and succinct, as students may lose interest and
disengaged if they are too long or not straight to the point.
Interesting
Today's learners are
wanting to be creators rather than consumers (Walsh, 2010). Especially in the
classroom, using multimedia and ICT devices allows for students to learn and
develop skills while they create, yet meet the curriculum standards and
objectives intended. With creating video's, students are not only developing
ICT skills, they are developing problem solving skills and promoting the use of
higher order thinking as they work independently and collaboratively to create, edit and publish their own work.
SAMR model: Examples of
how video can be used in the classroom for each level of the model.
|
Redefinition
|
Students create, edit and publish their video at a high quality
level, to submit as a final part of their assignment. They have to also
upload their video to share with others for feedback online.
|
|
Modification
|
Students create a short video of the animal they are investigating
for their project using an iPad app.
|
|
Augmentation
|
Students have to find a video on YouTube that explains some
information about an animal they are investigating for a project.
|
|
Substitution
|
A video is shown as well as a demonstration of how to work out a
maths fraction.
|
Here are some examples and sources of exploring these
3 tools:
Images:
My Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/134535809@N07
Audio:
The link to my Voki I
created
http://emmaroles.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/my-voki.html
Video:
This is a link to a
YouTube video I have created of my favourite place
https://youtu.be/Hy-xxlKh8t8
References
Stansbury, M. (2008).
Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning- New research sheds light on
students' ability to process multiple modes of learning. eSchool News.
Retrieved from
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/03/26/analysis-how-multimedia-can-improve-learning/
Walsh, M.
(2010). Multimodal literacy: What does it mean for classroom practice? Australian Journal Of Language
& Literacy, 33(3), 211-239
No comments:
Post a Comment