PSA Post-Production Reflection

Wow! What can I say? I began the PSA production with great trepidation.  I did not know what would happen.  My experience with group work hasn’t always been the greatest.

This assignment began with a fabulous group coming together.  We quickly started our pre-production assignment.  Everyone in the group was willing to help in all areas.  During this process we learned how to use Anymeeting.com for our web conferences, Dropbox for a storage area, and Google docs to collaborate on scripts and narration. 

In week 5, production really took off.  We had completed all of our pre-production tasks including videotaping, writing scripts, storyboards, and narration.  Everyone in the group worked diligently to get our PSA completed.  We learned to use Anymeeting.com to videoconference four times during the production process.  It was a great tool to use to see everyone face to face and discuss changes that needed to be done to make the PSA better.  We were able to record the meetings in case we needed to review what we had decided.   It was exciting to see everything come together and have changes made to the PSA almost instantaneously.

I have learned so much in EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology about making movies and using different kinds of software to make the movies.  Making the digital story, podcast, and PSA has really expanded my knowledge of digital media.  Not only did I expand my knowledge but I was able to work with four fabulous ladies and I gained four friendships.  They were truly encouraging and motivating during the process. Thanks to Dana Boozer, Germayne Yanez, Gina Castillo, and Shelbi Blackmon for all of the hard work.  All of you have taught me so much during the production.

Check out our video at Dangers of Texting While Driving.

December 10th Web Conference Reflection

The web conference on December 10^th was great.  In this conference Pamela Comer joined us.  Pamela works with TK20.  Dr. Abernathy said there were three things we would need to upload to TK20 – collaboration document, pre-production document updated in Week 5, and the team video.  Pamela suggested we go to the Artifacts tab first when we go into TK20.  She said we needed to create and upload the artifacts first, then go to the Course Binder and attach the artifacts there.

There was also clarification given regarding the documents we will submit. The pre-production document is the one we completed in Week 3 and submitted.  That document will be updated for Week 5.

Final grades will not be done until January according to Dr. Abernathy.  She said EPIC would be closed after this weekend and grades will not be posted until January. 

After attending this conference I felt a little more at ease regarding what we were supposed to submit in Week 5. 

December 3 Web Conference Reflection

The web conference on December 3rd was full of information for the upcoming week.  In the third week we will begin our pre-production for our PSA.  The groups should already be formed at this point. If someone was not in a group it was suggested they post a message in the discussion board asking to be part of a group.

The amount of information discussed in this conference was overwhelming. Dr. Abernathy said everyone in the group would need to submit the same form.  There was clarification given regarding the Shot List.  For instance, if there was a person sitting in the car then we would need to list that person as the talent and the car as the setting.  Also we will need to shot more movie clips and photographs than we will need to allow us enough footage to edit. 

In addition to discussing various aspects of the pre-production week, Dr. Abernathy discussed the problem with grading for the Week 2 assignment.  She said the grade would not be included in our average because of a problem in EPIC. 

Web Conference Experience

I found attending the web conferences helps me to put a face with the names of the other students in my class.  It is also a good way to receive information on upcoming assignments. 

The web conference is a valuable way to get clarification on assignments.  Attending the web conference allows you the opportunity to ask questions about methods of completing the assignment.  In a recent web conference one of the attendees mentioned they had problems uploading to YouTube in a certain format. Students gave their experience with uploading files. This collaboration is a great help to everyone who attends the web conference.

Sometimes students on the web conferences are further along in the assignment and they are asking questions you may come across later in the assignment. The web conferences are a great way to get and give information.

Movie Editing Software Evaluation

Before this course, I did not need to look at video editing software.  Last week I learned about Photo Story 3.  The Digital Personal Story peaked my interest in doing other stories with my family photographs. This week I looked at Windows Live Movie Maker and VideoPad Video Editor.

I chose to review VideoPad Video Editor from NCH Software.  I found this software to be a little more sophisticated than Windows Live Movie Maker.  Windows Live Movie Maker required you to record the narration into a sound file and then add it to the story.  In VideoPad Video Editor you can narrate the story while you are watching the video clip.  It was also easy to edit the narration when you finished recording. The software was user friendly when editing sound tracks, effects, and transitions.

VideoPad Video Editor makes it easier to work with the various options for your movie clip than Windows Live Movie Maker.  Some of the options include clipping, importing other clips, capturing video, adding subtitles, and splitting.  When the movie is saved you may choose .qvi, .wmv, .asf, .mpg, .3gp, .mp4, .mov, .flv .swf, or .rm as the file extension.

In the future, I would like to make tutorial movies for the students in my class who are having a hard time with various concepts.  It would also be a great way for the parents to access the information from home and learn what we are doing in our class.

EDLD 5363 Digital Story Reflection

This week we made a Personal Digital Story in EDLD 5363. I thought it was going to be easy to do. No, it wasn’t as easy as I thought. First I had to decide what to use for the storyline. It was a tossup between our summer adventure and the trips shared with my sisters. I decided to use the story about Craig’s and my adventure this past summer. The time spent together was priceless.

Then I had to decide what program to use to make the digital story. I chose to use Photo Story 3. It was relatively easy to use, but it was time consuming.

After deciding what to use for the story, I had to decide what part of the trip I wanted to focus on in the story. I decided to focus on the historical parts of the trip. As I sat down to actually write the story I found myself writing and rewriting the story. Finally, I uploaded the story for my partner to read. Then I had to decide which pictures to use. That was the easy part of the assignment.

The hard part of the assignment was trying to make the voice over work with each picture. It took a lot longer than I anticipated putting everything together. After getting the talking and pictures together I had to decide which music I wanted in the background. I listened to a lot of different types of music before I could decide. Finally I decided on Latin (Brazil) music.

The movie turned out much better than I thought it would. I am very pleased with it. The next story I write should go much quicker since I know how to make the movies now.

I hope you enjoy my digital story.  Craig and Ruth's Summer Adventure

Web Conference Week 5 (August 9, 2011)

The web conference this week was great. Professor Borel reviewed information we needed to know about completing the class. She provided detailed information about what will be expected during the program. For instance Appendix F of the handbook is what we use to submit our monthly reports to our wiki and when we complete an activity we complete Appendix G and upload it to our wiki.

Professor Borel went over the assignments due this week. On the Reflection paper she said we needed to write 150 words for each question. We needed to complete the Internship Plan (and get it signed) and the Principal Competencies Chart. Opportunity was given for us to ask specific questions and receive examples we could use on the Internship Plan and Principal Competencies.

The web conferences have been very informational. I hope we will use this technology in the rest of our classes because it provides a way for students to interact with each other and the professor.

EDLD 5306 Course Reflections

When I first started the class I thought it was going to be a class about how technology was defined and how it could be integrated in the classroom. I really did not know what to expect, but hoped it would allow me to integrate more technology in lessons for my students. As I was participating in the discussion groups I found myself reading every article to see if I had the same perspective that my classmates had of the quotes they used. In reading the articles I learned a lot about technology integration and web tools that are available.

It was amazing how much information was covered in this class and how much we learned during the five weeks. In thinking back over the class I found that I had been exposed to numerous web 2.0 tools – some of which I had heard of but never used and others I had never heard of. I was amazed by the amount of technology I learned in such a short time.

The outcomes of the course are definitely relevant to my work at school. The web 2.0 tools I learned can easily be integrated into the lessons for the students. I have already thought of ways to utilize them.

I can use blogs and wikis to improve collaboration between teachers on my grade level and parents. When we learned how to use ‘Wordle’ I immediately came up with a lesson plan where the students could be assessed using ‘Wordle’.

The web conferences were great. Not only did I learn about another tool to use (AdobeConnect) but the conferences were very informational. Professor Borel had a Powerpoint and went over information pertinent to the assignments we were doing at that time as well as ones we were going to do during the class. The chat feature was great.

While I learned a lot about making a video, wiki and blog, I feel I need to learn more about the intricacies of making them. There was not enough time to actually investigate all the features of blogs and wikis. Time was precious during this course.

I would like to further investigate RSS feeds and podcasts and study some ways to include them in my lessons. While I have been exposed to RSS feeds and podcasts through my husband I had never considered it as something I could use for my classroom. However, after reading the various articles and researching things on my own I think I can use them in my classroom.

After completing the class I feel I was successful in carrying out the course assignments. It was rather overwhelming the first two weeks. It has been a few years since I had to study, so I had to get back in the mode for studying. At first I intended to over think what was wanted for the assignments.

The APA style of writing was not familiar to me and I was not comfortable doing the citations. It seemed to take a lot of time to do the writing because I had to learn the new format and I would continually question whether it was correct. Hopefully as time goes on I will become more comfortable with the APA style.

I learned I am persistent and everything needs to be perfect. If I feel something is not perfect, I hold off submitting it until the last minute. When working on uploading the Powerpoint presentation I spent many hours to ensure it looked perfect. Finally I had to admit that I had done the best job I could and leave it as it was. I tended to over think what was expected from the assignments.

Improving my technology knowledge and skills is one area I would like to improve. Even though I am exposed to technology daily with my family, there are so many skills that I still need to learn. I found myself reading more information about technology in education where before I did not take the time to read it. This course was a great start to learning technology. While I still need to learn more about RSS feeds, podcasts, wikis, and blogs I feel I now have the knowledge to start integrating more technology.

Overall my experience in this class has opened my eyes to what technology is available. I am looking forward to the other classes in this program and learning more about the technology we touched on in this class.

Web Conference - 8/4/11 Reflection

The web conference on August 4th was awesome. Professor Borel explained how to complete the Internship Plan draft and the Principal Competencies Chart. It was overwhelming to think of writing the internship plan this week. However, after Professor Borel explained about ISTE and the Principal Competencies Chart, I feel better about getting started. I am still unsure what I will put in every area of the plan, but at least I have an idea of how to complete it. I asked a question about where a specific activity would be put and was able to get an answer immediately. This is a great way to talk with others and get feedback from others.

In addition to reminding us about the deadline to upload the internship application and Assignment 1, Part 1 to TK20, Professor Borel went over what is expected next week. I look forward to the web conference on Tuesday when we can ask questions about our internship plan draft.

Web Conference Reflection - July 28, 2011

The web conference this week was very good. Professor Borel went over some information about the TK20 requirement, Internship handbook, and the class website.

I think the web conference is a great way for us to clarify the instructions on upcoming assignments and get answers to our questions. It is also good to be able to chat with others from the class. While reading the comments in the chat area, I realized I was not the only one feeling overwhelmed by the assignments. Earlier in the week I had asked myself if I could keep up with the assignments once school started. I had talked with Professor Borel about my concerns on Tuesday. After attending the web conference this week and talking with Professor Borel I believe I can complete the program.

I am looking forward to the web conference next week when Professor Borel said we would go over the Principals Competency Chart.

Campus Technology Plan Presentation

Blog 3 - National Educational Technology Plan

According to the National Educational Technology Plan, “technology based learning and assessment systems will be pivotal in improving student learning and generating data that can be used continuously to improve the education system at all levels.” (U.S. Department of Education)

The National Educational Technology Plan lists five essential areas - learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. Each area has one goal listed with recommendations on how to achieve the goal. According to the plan the goals are:

1. All learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and out of school that prepare them to be active, creative, and knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society.
2. Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.
3. Professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable and inspire more effective teaching for all learners.
4. All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.
5. Our education system at all levels will redesign processes and structures to take advantage of the power of technology to improve learning outcomes while making more efficient use of time, money, and staff.

After reading the plan, I found it was well constructed. I liked the fact it addressed the “underserved”.  For Professional Development the Plan suggests 24/7 access to online collaboration, learning communities, and interaction with parents and community members, but I wonder how this would work.  As teachers we spend a lot of time preparing for our lessons now, so when would we be able to participate in the online communities and still have time for our families?

Resources:

U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). National Educational Technology Plan 2010. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010.

Blog 2 - District Technology Plan

I think Mexia ISD’s technology plan is great.  They have encompassed all four areas of the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology in setting up their plan.

Our district technology plan has four goals:

• Increase student learning and achievement through the seamless integration of technology into instruction in learning and teaching across the curriculum.
• Provide district-wide staff development programs to ensure effective use of emerging technologies with emphasis on instructional programs.
• Support the district-wide technology implementation and use through campus level planning, adequate staff and appropriate budgeting.
• Support instructional and administrative goals by providing and maintaining an adequate communication infrastructure, network connectivity, hardware, and software.

Strategies include maintaining subscriptions to software used by teachers, staff, and students; teachers incorporating more technology into their instruction; and students using technology to complete assignments.  Other strategies include setting up a sub-committee of the Technology Committee to help with campus coordination and setting up an Adult continuing education program (GED) access to the lab as well as upgrading, replacing, or purchasing equipment to upgrade the infrastructure.

Professional development opportunities will include teachers completing the PD 21 courses, training teachers to create and use websites, and workshops. 

The evaluation process will include the STaR Chart results to assess progress and a subcommittee of the Technology Committee evaluating the Plan four times a year. Some of the evaluation methods include monitoring of district web pages, staff members taking part in technology staff development, and yearly formal survey needs assessment of the staff regarding the technology in their classrooms.

Resources:

Mexia Independent School District. (2010). Mexia ISD Technology Plan for E-Rate Year 14.

Blog 1 - Technology Assessments

I think it is important to assess educators and students knowledge and skills of technology.  The assessments give us information needed to plan for ongoing instruction and staff development.  Assessing the students will help the teacher know what is needed and will help teachers to plan for the integration of technology in their lessons.  The assessment will also aid the teacher in grouping students; i.e., placing students who know Microsoft Word with other students who may not know it. 

I believe assessing educators’ technology leadership knowledge and skills is essential to improving the use of technology in our education system.  This assessment would aid the administration in scheduling professional development workshops.  Of course, the downside of this might mean the teacher finding out he/she doesn’t know as much as the student.  In some cases finding this out will inspire teachers to seek out workshops to improve their knowledge.  Whereas, in other cases I feel some teachers would not seek out the workshops because they might be intimidated by technology.  If professional development is held and the teachers become familiar with the programs, then I think they will include these programs in their instruction. 

When working on my internship I was in a third grade classroom where the teacher instructed the students how to make slides using Powerpoint for their vocabulary lists.  During small group time she assigned one word to two or three students.  Each student would either type the word, the definition, or choose the picture that best represented that word.  When they completed their slide the students saved the file and when the groups were finished, she had a Powerpoint for their vocabulary which could be used to review it.  I thought this was an awesome way to study vocabulary.

Web Conference 2

I attended the web conference on July 20^th.  During the web conference I met other students in the class.  I liked the fact we could ask questions and get answers just as if it were in a regular classroom, but with the benefit of doing it from home.  The chat window was great.  It allowed us to type information to others while listening to Professor Borel.

Professor Borel gave us information on the TK20, the new GRE requirements, and information regarding our degree program.  She also reviewed the requirements for the internship and the comprehensive exam final report.   In addition she gave us an idea of what we will be doing for the next three weeks. 

I am glad we have the opportunity to participate in the web conferences each week.  It helps me to hear the answers to our questions and I benefit from the questions others ask.