Professional Development Blog

Reflecting on past training experiences is to evaluate the content through comparative measures. The learning experience is used to make decisions and plan future action or strategy. The situation of training serves a broader purpose, to analyze the situation and exercise influence with responsible experience, and intelligent independence. After an event happens, there is a recollection phase, which includes the memory of the teacher, textual documents, audio and video recordings, and other measurements that captured the event (Richards, n.d., pp. 1-2).

The physical data that is capable of being examined is Glogster, GoAnimato, and Animoto. Glogster is an online poster that allows videos, text, sound, graphics, and animations. The poster is versatile, allowing hyperlinks to be integrated with the objects in the poster. For example, an animation of a flipping astronaut can be linked to the NASA website. Also, cartoon bubbles allow a bunch of text to be displayed on the poster, due to a scroll bar and text area that controls room.

Dotson, Adam

Multimedia Rhetoric (2015). Screen shot.

The reflective process in a Glog is not simple, because there are several elements that need to be examined. For instance, the Glog might not be functional if the animations, links, and pictures are not carefully placed in the document, according to code and procedure. Secondly, the Glog’s composition is hard to master, because there are glitches in the program that require slow, meticulous movements. Integrating sound into the poster is not an easy task either, because the podcast seems to be the easiest audio to input. A sound clip might take up too much domain space, so directly linking an audio clip to the poster is the best solution. Another pitfall to hyperlinks is that some websites are moved, so the content should be regularly checked and updated. The Glog is easy to edit once a strong skeleton has been created.

I would like to observe students interact with the poster that I created. I think that once the Glog is created than learning is rapid and maneuverability is easy. The learning experiences will have multimedia that is organized, motivating, and educational. Furthermore, the poster can be created for differentiated learning, so text, audio, and motion pictures are used to explain a concept. I think that textbooks limit students to text and pictures, but a Glog allows more mediums to be used.

GoAnimate

Select A Theme (2015). Screen Shot.

GoAnimate is a complex program that allows for people to puppeteer on the computer, build scenarios, and use electronic voices to create a motion picture. The program requires several hours to create a short 5-minute video, but as the teacher gets more experience with the program, then longer videos can be created in a short amount of time. The students will respect this type of learning tool, because they will see different cues, text, and sounds that go with an orated message. Similarly, Animoto allows graphics, music, and short film clips to explain a concept. I think a program like Animoto should be used for short grammar drills and vocabulary.

Besides the cost of buying these programs and the training learning them, the multimedia programs are going to be easy to integrate into the classroom. I think that a lesson can be designed that uses Animoto, GoAnimate, or Glogster, as an instructional tool that takes up only a portion of the course design. According to Swan et al. (2002), the biggest obstacle for integrating technology is the lack of funding (p. 5). Yet these programs are cheap enough to overcome that obstacle. The best solution is to design several layouts for these online featured programs, and rent these tools for a short period, so several multimedia instructional tools can be created.

References

Dotson, A. (2015). Multimedia rhetoric [JPEG file]. Retrieved from http://adamdotson.edu.glogster.com/multimedia-rhetoric/
GoAnimate. (2015). Select a theme [JPEG file]. Retrieved from http://goanimate.com/videomaker
High Incidence Accessible Technology. (2010). Technology quick guides: Glogster [PDF document]. Retrieved from http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/hiat/tech_quick_guides/glogster.pdf
Richards, J. (n.d.). Towards reflective teaching [PDF document]. Retrieved from http://www.tttjournal.co.uk/uploads/File/back_articles/Towards_Reflective_Teaching.pdf
Swan, K. et al. (2002). Situated professional development and technology integration: The CATIE mentoring program. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 10 (2), 169-190.

Technology and Classroom Instruction

The classroom will eventually become codependent on technology, due to the processes that create accurate and fast results. The teacher could focus on delivering valid information and processing speedy feedback, while students can concentrate on studying, and adjusting the technology to their learning styles (p. 3). Technology allows students to acquire more knowledge, due to the clarity of informative structures, which allow for quick comprehension, like an audio-video file (p. 5). Through the use of technology, a teacher will be able to use instructional strategies that apply to the different genres of classroom software. The instructional strategies will be able to handle upgrades and the invention of new technology. Also, understanding the functions of different classroom technologies will help the designed lessons endure through time. Software functions are as follows: “word processing applications, organizing and brainstorming software, multimedia, data collection tools, spreadsheet software, communication software, and Web resources” (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 11). The use of instructional strategies that apply to a variety of software will help keep lessons organized, capsulated in time, create a consistent work environment, and advance learning, while insulating the classroom from small advancements in technology. 

Advanced PowerPoint Effects #1:

References

Pitler, H. et al. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Sutanto, S. (2009, October 06). Advanced PowerPoint effects #1 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxLkEfP3syg

Interactive Software and Instructional Strategies

Accordingly, and to Jacob (2010), beyond the control of institutions is the unstructured relationships of social networking; there are knowledge artifacts in social networks that are not bound together by literary specialists, “literate-grounded experiences of linearity,” or systematic structures of theories (p. 81). On the internet, there is a countermovement against the laymen culture involving collective information from a collaboration of experts to create “rich information about people, places, and culture” through systems like Google Earth, which provide satellite imagery, videos, three-dimensional models, geophysical records, and easily accessible information about geography (Jacob, 2010, p. 83). The object of using technology in the classroom is to “use [the] software productively, as quickly as possible,” to increase the flow of information, or complete work assignments (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, pp. 292-293). Online learning uses the collaboration of software tools and management systems to organize information, and immerse the student into a technologically advanced learning environment. The teacher uses instructional strategies that motivate the students into investigative inquiry through problem solving (Hung & Jeng, 2013, p. 255). Investigative learning starts through the use of essential questions that help learning; subsequently, the questions need to span concepts and disciplines, they are the theoretical framework for exploration.

How To Use Google Earth For Beginners: 

          

References

Castellini, R. (2013, Feburary 12). How to use Google Earth for beginners [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgjMSBXsFZQ

Hung, W. & Jeng, I. (2013). Factors influencing future educational technologists’ intentions to participate in online teaching. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44 (2), 255-272.

Jacobs, H. (2010). Curriculum 21: Essential education for a changing world. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2^nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

INTRODUCTION

     The experience that has been gathered from using educational technology does not involve the following: Glogster, Animoto, Pixton, Xtranormal, Zunal, and Prezi. Although, the programs listed are going to be exciting to learn throughout the educational course. The types of media, software, and search engines that have been utilized are as follows: bloggers, website builders, YouTube, Facebook, EBSCO, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Photoshop, video editors, and audio editors. Exemplified in Duffy & McDonald (2011), the library has become more of an impractical facility in the past 20 years due to the online databases that contain customizable search engines and the latest research. The students have access to millions of media files that are formatted into audio files, video files, pictures files, and text files on the internet (pp. 5, 16-17).

EBSCO:

EBSCO Search Engine

According to Knezek (2000), the future of instructional strategy involves incorporating technology. The students should be studying digital media by using readily available technological devices, like computers, laptops, iPads, and cell phones. Furthermore, the students should use technology in collaboration with peer learning, so group projects, collaborative ideas, and scaffold creative input are possible. The creative thinking from study groups will make problem solving more effective, due to the knowledge and talents that are integrated into an academic product (p. 7).

References

Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2011). Teaching and learning with technology (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. 

Flagler College. (n.d.). How to use EBSCO databases [Picture file]. Retrieved from www.flagler.edu/library/guides/ebscohost2.html

Knezek, D. (2000). Nets for teachers (2nd ed.). Arlington, VA: ISTE.