Journal 9

Journal Post #9

Chapter 9

“Today’s students want to learn differently than in the past. They want ways of learning that are meaningful to them…and ways that make good use of the technology they know is their birthright.”

-Marc Prensky

 

Learning Outcome

                Describe ways of how and why teachers can use video in the classroom.

Videos, including those from video sharing sites as YouTube, are widely used teaching tools that when well made convey important academic information in visually engaging ways. Viewing videos can be a passive experience unless teachers create opportunities for students to interact with and respond to onscreen materials.

                Strategies for interactive video viewing include using the pause and rewind buttons t view and converse about what students see. Asking students to write a response to what they see will inspire conversation.

 

Digital Dialog

                What factors make interesting PowerPoint presentations? What makes them uninteresting?

According to Edelman and Harring, some conclusions from the research at Muhlenberg are that students learn more when:

·         material is presented in short phrases rather than full paragraphs.

·         the professor talks about the information on the slide rather than having students read it on their own.

·         relevant pictures are used. Irrelevant pictures decrease learning compared to PowerPoint slides with no picture

·         they take notes (if the professor is not talking). But if the professor is lecturing, note-taking and listening decreased learning.

·         they are given the PowerPoint slides before the class.

 

Characteristics students like about professors’ PowerPoint slides

·         Graphs increase understanding of content

·         Bulleted lists help them organize ideas

·         PowerPoint can help to structure lectures

·         Verbal explanations of pictures/graphs help more than written clarifications

 

 

Characteristics students don’t like about professors’ PowerPoint slides

·         Too many words on a slide

·         Clip art

·         Movement (slide transitions or word animations)

·         Templates with too many colors

 

 

Summary

                Multimedia learning happens when multiple media are used to communicate information; Schools have largely emphasized single media, noninteractive form of information presentation, but multimedia technology offer ways to incorporate dynamic learning experiences into classroom teachings.

                PowerPoint, one of the most widely used computer application in the world, is a way for teachers and students to present information in visually engaging ways. PowerPoint has been criticized for oversimplifying complex materials and creating uninteresting presentations. Two information presentation design principles are: active participation rather than passive viewing and recognizing who the audience is and what they should leave knowing.

 

 

Resources

Center for Teaching. (n.d.). CFT RSS. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/wikis/

JOURNAL 8

Journal Post #8

Chapter 8

 

Learning Outcomes

Examine wikis as a collaborative learning strategy for students and teachers.

                Wikis are WebPages that are created and maintained by multiple computer users. Wikis become collaborative learning environments where teachers and students work together to investigate topics and share information.

                In many classrooms, the instructor provides most of the course content. With wikis, students have an opportunity to create – together – much of the course content.  Wikis shift your students from ‘consumer of knowledge’ to ‘creators of knowledge,’ which is a great way to encourage your students to develop critical thinking skills, to learn from one another, and to improve their ability to work in groups. There are many benefits of using wikis and you can probably think of other reasons your students would benefit from using this collaboration tool.

Wikis are ideal for group projects that emphasize collaboration and editing. Some common uses include:

·         Mini research projects in which the wiki serves as documentation of student work

·         Collaborative annotated bibliographies where students add summaries and critiques about course-related readings

·         Compiling a manual or glossary of useful terms or concepts related to the course, or even a guide to a major course concept

·         Maintaining a collection of links where the instructor and students can post, comment, group or classify links relevant to the course

·         Building an online repository of course documents where instructors and students can post relevant documents

·         Creating e-portfolios of student work

 

 

Digital Dialog

What factors do you think make texting such a popular communication activity among young people?

               

                Younger teenagers use both their computers and their mobile phones to surf the Internet and to send email, but post-16s primarily use their personal computers rather than their mobiles for both Internet and email.Mobile phones provide a sense of security: 87% of females, and 68% of males agree that ‘having my mobile phone makes me feel safer and more secure’. Nearly four out of fi ve females, and 64% of males, agree that their parents worry less if they have their mobiles.

 Texting is the preferred mode of communication for nearly all social and communication activities. These include getting information, arranging meetings, sending thanks, and also relationship activities such as chatting up or fl irting, and arranging a fi rst date. Text is preferred even for ending a relationship. There are few sex differences. Females have a greater preference than males have, for chatting up by text, and for arranging the fi rst date by text. Males would prefer, more than females, to end a relationship by text.

 

Summary

                Communicating and social networking technologies provide ways for teachers to connect with students promote meaningful learning, and extend academic learning beyond the confines of regular school days. Ways teachers use digital communication is: teaching, information sharing, and community building, publishing students work, and energizing students writing.

 

 

 

 

Resources:

Center for Teaching. (n.d.). CFT RSS. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/wikis/

Maloy, R. W. (2014). Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson.

http://www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Archive/Polls/nestlesrp3.pdf