Syllabus for 521

Syllabus

I Do Not Like to Write (Reflection via Web 2.0)

I think one of the biggest things I've taken away from this class is that literacy can easily be integrated with technology.  Not only can it easily be integrated, but it can also make learning and assessing fun!  I know it sounds too good to be true, but realistically, any time you give kids the opportunity to do their work in a way that they consider out-of-the-ordinary, they are more interested and engaged, both of which lead to increased motivation.

I started to integrate my EDU 584 reflection with Go Animate, a program that gives voice to text and allows for freedom of creativity.  The only problem was, there's a limit to how many speech exchanges you can have, and I quickly ran out of room!  The point is, I learned A LOT.  I plan on using most of what I learned frequently, and I plan on keeping up with my RSS feed because every day new technology is added and gives me new ideas on what I could do with my class.


I Do Not Like to Write by Elena Thibodeau on GoAnimate

Animation Software - Powered by GoAnimate.

Google Tries to Get Game (Reflection 2.0)

I have to give Google credit for trying something new, but even after using this product, I'm not sure how I feel about it.

What product am I talking about?  Google Story Builder. At first, it seemed like it was being advertised as a digital storytelling product but when I opened it to see what it was like, it was actually nothing like PhotoStory or Animoto and any other product like that.  There are no graphics.  You don't get to import your own music.  It's just text set to preloaded, Google-provided music.  

They (Google) call it collaboration.  I'm not sure I see the collaborative part.  They call it a story builder.  I'm not sure I see that.  Maybe I'm just not understanding their intention.  Even Educational Technology and Mobile Learning seems to talk about the product as more than what I've found (that's where I found the link to this particular program).  They claim that the product "allows you to create mini-movies or video stories with the feel of Google Docs. You can also personalize the videos you create using the characters, story, and even music of your choosing and when you  finish you can share your final product with others".  Mini-movies?  Video stories?  If you figure out what they mean by that, can you please let me know?  Because quite frankly, I'm confused.  

Here's a video of Google's idea of what their program can be used for:

Here's a version of my class reflection using Google Story Builder (to the best of my understanding):  Class Reflection

iMovie Makes iMagic

I don't have any experience using iMovie but I found a link that might be useful to people who do.  Educational Technology and Mobile Learning posted about "6 Ways to Enhance Students' Learning Using iMovie".

Among the uses we are most familiar with was digital storytelling.  The post also mentions using iMovie to create visual reports, book reports/trailers, and use it to provide students with out-of-class trips (like an in-class field trip).

While I mentioned previously that I didn't use iMovie, I'm sure I could use PhotoStory to do any of the above-mentioned activities too.

Just some food for thought.

Below is a video narrated by a student explaining how to use iMovie.