As a I reflect on my approach as a teacher, I am pleased to say that I have changed and grown. I can’t help but acknowledge that it is clearly due to the concepts and resources that I have been exposed to throughout this master’s program. Just as my driving question has evolved over time, so too have my thoughts on teaching and what I can do to better serve my students. Currently I am increasingly focused on the role of technology in my classroom as better means to better ends. My students, like most, are more than fond of technology. They use it outside of school regularly so it makes sense that they would want to use it in school as well. I keep observing students collaborating and communicating via technology without being required or in some instances, even advised to. When I am not thinking about how easy my students make digital collaboration look, I am busy thinking about the unlimited potential of what my students can produce. Already my students have made podcasts, informative videos and original movies. There seems to be no end to what modern students can learn and create provided their teachers are willing to stay curious and informed. You know, that whole "Life Long Learner" deal. We have to walk the walk. So that's where I am currently, attempting to serve my students by exploring new resources and finding engaging ways for students to create with.
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Video:
I recently finished the final cut of my Capstone Video. I decided to stick with Adobe Spark as my video making resource. It was an easy decision to make as I already started my rough draft using that tool. Improving from my rough draft video was a simple matter of making a few revisions. First, I needed to replace two placeholder images of the digital resources which I am promoting:
The last change I made to my video was a recommendation made by a fellow cohort member. They recommended that I make a direct mention to Touro University and Napa Learns. This was good advice and I determined to include an the logos of these two organizations. After having watched the final cut of my video there is only one change that I would have really liked to make and that is to have used my own students likeness in the video. While my students have signed waivers at ACMS to use their images and likeness, they are covered under Touro waivers, and I did not want to deal with issues of waivers and additional paper work. Poster: Creating the Poster design was not necessarily a difficult task. It seemed a sole matter of deciding where to place my information. One issue I did encounter with the assignment was the fact that the research data itself was from my first semester over a year ago. Which means the focus of the research is different from my current driving question. I suppose I see the purpose of proving my ability to conduct actual research and deliver data. I just wish I could have focused on newer data from my more recent action research. My presentation at Mare Island will address students who I have not seen since last year and I fear my familiarity and memory of the figures will not be as fresh as I would like for such an important presentation. Progress:
In working on my capstone film, I have had a lot of successes. I think this is due to the fact that the project I am teaching my students right now involves writing scripts and making films of their own. This has been truly fortunate timing. I have shown my students Adobe Spark in the past and recently we have covered story-boarding. Having this level of transparency with my students has ultimately benefited my work. It has given mutual authenticity to their work as well as my own. Overall, I am confident in the message and tone of my video. I think it will do a sufficient job of conveying the purpose of my capstone without being too cluttered. Struggles: While I have had some success with my work, that is not to say I have not had an equal share of struggles. Stock images are very frustrating. There seem to be countless stock images and yet, so few of what I envision. I have had to resort to taking footage of my own students working, which is not an issue except for the additional consent forms required. Another issue I have is with timing. Initially my script was longer than 90 seconds. Then, after some rewriting It fell under a minute, which I feared may be too short. My main goal is to provide solid content in a brief and simple way. Next Steps: My next steps will involve replacing my placeholder stock images with more authentic images of my students. Ideally I would work in live footage however that will eat up more of my limited time. Currently I have no voice over and need to rectify that issue. After that, I should have a decent advert for my capstone. At my site, ACMS, we value collaboration. I am fortunate to have specific time set aside to interact with my colleagues in order to improve my pedagogy. One such way is a process we call “Friendly Feedback”.
Friendly Feedback is a process we use to present ideas and provide meaningful feedback. There is a specific protocol we follow to ensure that identify the strengths and potential of an idea. For instance, I might present an upcoming project to a group of teachers, each from different content areas. As I present, they listen, and look through any resources that I provide. Then, my peers have the opportunity to address my proposed idea in three categories.
When I think about what makes a good critical friend, I consider our Friendly Feedback protocol. Helpful and constructive feedback must be rooted in honesty, while also be supportive. I would hope that any peer offering feedback would consider our simple three steps. Find something that you like about the idea, then identify possible issues and ultimately help build on the idea. That is what I hope to encounter when sharing my own capstone work. Tell me what I’ve done well, what I needs fixing and how to ultimately expand the idea. Video Production Journey
Creating a real representation to communicate what is in your mind is rarely an easy task. Before I could begin storyboarding my video, I had to first decide what my goal actually was. My goal for this video is that I will help fellow teachers realize that there is both a need and an opportunity to enhance the way we leverage technology in our classrooms. I want to help teachers recognize the value in collaboration as it applies to critical thinking and problem solving. Once I had decided on my goal, I had to decide how I could visually communicate this idea. Firstly, I need to consider my audience. As my audience will primarily consist of fellow teachers, I must ask myself, what kind of video would I myself be interested in watching? What would make it stand out from the countless videos that we as teachers are all too familiar with? Personally, I find that I am more interested in the students. When considering a pedagogical shift, I always consider my students first. How will this affect how my students learn? How will it help and is it right for them? With that in mind, I need my video to emphasize students. Therefore, I plan to use footage of my personal students in our authentic classroom environment. I will likely need to procure permission to use said footage but I feel the authenticity will enhance the video. I know that teachers tend to be critical thinkers by nature, therefore I will present my audience of teachers with two things: A problem and a solution. Problem: I will likely open with a shot of a student working on an assignment alone. The video will show and imply the struggles that many students face when attempting to solve a problem independently. Solution: Then, I will address how well students have adapted to technology both in and out of the classroom. I will show how humans are pack animals and by nature are designed to collaborate with their peers. This will lead into the role that technology can play in education. Specifically, by enhancing collaboration and critical thinking skills. I will conclude the video by inviting teachers to learn more about how they can leverage specific technology to improve learning experiences for their own students. For this video, I will most likely utilize Adobe Spark. I am a big fan of the resource and have used it successfully in the past. The most challenging aspect of this project is the time constraint. I have a lot to say and share with my audience. I hope I will be able to do a sufficient job in 90 seconds. Being concise is the name of the game. I will need to use images to communicate large amounts of information in a short amount of time. |
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December 2017
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