Reflection Task 2: Digital Media
Welcome to Week Four!
I found this week’s content on digital media extremely
valuable. Not only did I learn how I
could utilise such tools in my teaching but there were many links to some great
websites/tools that I will be using in my future teaching.
Digital media that can be used within the classroom is
extremely diverse and can range from pictures, audio files, and videos through
to 3D images and panoramas. The use of
digital media within the classroom has been linked to increased engagement,
assisting students in understanding difficult topics with multiple resources
and helps to demonstrate and break down difficult topics
Pedagogical Affordances – Pictures
This week I focused a lot on pictures as given my extremely
limited skill level, I wanted to focus on the aspect of digital media that I
would test run first. I explored how I
could utilise a range of pictures to support my class. I see a range of possible uses of pictures
created by me and my students within the classroom. Firstly, pictures created by myself can be
used to support student learning, demonstrating content in a variety of visual means
which will assist student understanding.
Pictures created by the students will assist in the creation of higher
level understanding, where the students can used knowledge obtained in the
classroom and build on this in the development of items such as photo slide
shows, concept maps, and infographics.
Uses of Digital Media By Students
As I mentioned above, there are a wide range of digital
media available for use by teachers and students. Personally I am going to start by utilising
pictures within my classroom and gradually advance through audio files, videos
and finally, if I can learn the techniques, 3D images.
The creation tools of digital media allow users to compose
and personalise their media type. For
example, the picture handling tool Befunky available on www.Befunky.com allows users to edit photos
and create collages. Below is a collage
of a selection of the photo editing tools available from Befunky. Note: You were nearly greeted by a photo
edited of myself however (thankfully) the tools were only available for use in
the upgraded version :-P
There are also apps/websites available where teachers and
students can make concept maps such as Popplet (example I created from Popplet
provided below) and also accessible using this link.
There are a range of tools available to students and teachers which allow for the customisation of their creations. For example, Popplets can be structured and coloured to suit the author.
Similarly, Befunky editing tools allow authors to modify pictures how
they wish, whether it be through the removal of blemishes, application of make-up,
change in the picture style (e.g. cartoon style) or addition of picture
embellishments, similar to some of the social media platforms. They therefore offer a great degree of
customisation that can be used to meet the needs of teachers and students.
Overall, whether
students/teachers are creating pictures, audio files, videos, infographics etc.
it ultimately allows the development and embedding of obtained knowledge and
also provides an opportunity to share this knowledge with others.
Students and teachers are able
to share links to their creations or share the creation itself. Whether this be through the sharing of a Popplet
link (similar to what I did above), or saving and sharing (email, file transfer
etc) of a video, Youtube video or audio clip.
Ease of Use
This week, I must admit that I
struggled to use some of the tools. Whilst
I found BeFunky relatively simple to use, I feel that to use the picture editing
functions well, I needed to spend a lot of time editing each aspect of the
image. I struggled to use Popplet especially
with the following aspects:
- Inserting a box between two existing boxes – I still didn’t work out how to do this.
- Resizing boxes without resizing the whole mind map – I realised I had to click on the corner triangle.
- Moving boxes without moving the whole mind map – I realised I had to click on the bottom line of the box.
- Undoing changes I had made – Not sure if this functionality is available.
- Being able to size the boxes appropriately so that text and images were visible – As you can see from the example Popplet I provided above, I still didn’t figure out how to do this whilst showing all the boxes.
Legal Safe and Ethical Protocols
When handling images within the classroom (or most other
uses also) it is important to review all for copyright. It is vital that appropriate referencing is
made to all images now created by the teacher/student and that only images that
are ‘labelled for non-commercial use’ are used.
What it means when an image is ‘labelled for non-commercial use’ is that
the image can be used in a non-commercial way without any modifications being
made to it
As mentioned in my previous blog, the legal, ethical and
safety protocols as outlined by ACARA must also be adhered to
Using Digital Media in the Classroom – Example using SAMR Model
Substitution – Open image of cell sent via email as an
attachment.
Augmentation - Use Google Images to locate an image of a
cell.
Modification – Obtaining an image of a cell from Google
Images, place this in picture editing software to label each component.
Redefinition – Use 3D modelling software to create a
labelled 3D image of a cell.
References
ACARA. (n.d.). Learning
Continuum of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
(Version 8.4). Retrieved from
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/information-and-communication-technology-ict-capability/learning-continuum/?isFirstPageLoad=false&element=Applying+social+and+ethical+protocols+and+practices+when+using+ICT&level
National Academies
of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). How People Learn II:
Learners, Contexts, and Cultures. Washington DC: The National Academies
Press.
Stefanski, R.
(2022, March 9). What does labeled for non-commercial reuse mean?
Retrieved from
https://onehourprofessor.com/what-does-labeled-for-non-commercial-reuse-mean/#:~:text=2)%20A%20simpler%20explanation%3A%20When,t%20represent%20a%20commercial%20entity.
Hi Amanda, thank you for the opportunity to read your blog post. I think you have provided a solid overview and excellent links to resources that will be useful in the classroom. In the SAMR model, what would be the functional improvement at the augmentation level compared to the substitution level? You might consider adding in what the original task would have been before the substitution step to add extra context on how the original task (i.e., look at printout of cell drawing) has been enhanced and transformed. The ideas you have provided on how digital media could modify and redefine the task are excellent. Perhaps you could expand on them by providing a sentence on how the transformation will benefit student learning.
ReplyDeleteHi Megan,
ReplyDeleteThank-you so much for the feedback. I have updated my blog to list the original task for SAMR. I am not very confident in using the SAMR model within the classroom but am slowly getting my head around it :)
Thanks again,
Amanda