Week 8: The Sound of... Podcasting

This week our topic of discussion was Podcasting. Podcasting is the production of sound based files, whether it be radio shows or music over the web. The word "podcasting" comes from the combination of the words Ipod and Broadcasting. Garage Band is a Mac program that enables the production of podcasts. You can create sound files or play around with the different musical instruments and create a song. Websites such as imeem allow you to upload these sound files you have created on Garage Band and share them with the world.
I will use Podcasting in my classroom as a way of reaching out to my students if I am away from classroom. Since so many students have access to computers these days I will be able to reach them through podcasting if I have to miss class or even if they have to miss class through instructions of classwork over my own podcast.
I chose to include the following video from Vimeo (I think we've looked at a video from this site before in class) because it really does explain how podcasting works in "plain English". I was very unfamiliar with the term podcasting before this class and still a little bit afterwards, but after looking for some further explanation, and stumbling across this site I have a better grip on this whole podcasting business.

Podcasting in Plain English from leelefever on Vimeo.

Week 7: Digital Storytelling

This week in class we talked about Digital Storytelling. We focused on different resources in which we could make such productions which include: iMovie, Animoto, and PowerPoint. Digital Storytelling is basically a 21st century way of telling stories without having a hard copy of something to read. They usually involve images and music and allow the viewer to process and think about what is going on before them.
I will definitely use Digital Storytelling in my classroom because I think it's a really fun way to present new information! It's also really fun putting it together. My mom is the Media Specialist at her elementary school and deals a lot with iMovie. She puts together an end of the year video each year, which combines video and pictures from the school year. I once helped her create an instructional video on the proper cafeteria behaviors. I plan to do the same for my classroom. It's a more personalized way to get rules across, or teach a subject that all students can enjoy.
I decided to include a video from YouTube that captures the point of Digital Storytelling. This video includes both words, images, voice-overs, and music to effectively tell the story of homeless children in America. This production was probably created using iMovie.

Week 6: Visual Literacy

This week we talked about the widely popular program, Photoshop. Photoshop allows anyone to edit their own photos. No longer are our only options to crop and reduce red eye, Photoshop allows users to decrease body fat, lighten or darken skin tones, and reduce wrinkles their uploaded photos. I feel like it would take me a whole year to really grasp all the capabilities of Photoshop and I would love to take a class for an entire semester just learning about the tricks involved with Photoshop, I'm sure the possibilites are endless!
I will use Photoshop in my classroom as a way to edit photos to my liking. I can imagine showing students pictures of different places around the world and editing and cropping them to get my point across. Also, I think it's a fun program and the students can get use out of learning how to morph and change around their own pictures. Talking about Photoshop in my classroom would also be beneficial because it will teach students about body image and help them understand that what they see in magazines has been completely edited and is not the "real deal".
The following video from Youtube shows photoshop at it's best. Photoshop has the power of transforming Jennifer Aniston into a much older and less glamorous version of herself. I chose this video to share because it shows the power of Photoshop. Most pictures we see are manipulated to make the person look better, this is the exact opposite... poor Jen!

Week 5: Media and Information Literacy

This week we talked about designing instructional media. I never really thought about how much time goes into designing things such as powerpoint slides and presentations for large crowds. There are so many ways to get information out there to people from personal webpages to emails to online articles. Yet how you construct such resources is important as well, because it's important to get your point across in the simplest manner possible.
One day I will be designing Powerpoints for my classroom and it's important to know what works and what doesn't when it comes to design. Obviously when constructing a powerpoint it's crucial to find the right background and text colors. You want the font to be the right size for all eyes to read and you want to keep distracting symbols and pictures to a minimum.
This video I found on Youtube put together by UCLA students, explains how we get our information from various sources these days. There is so much information available to us. There was one quote that really got me thinking... "If you're not using a computer you're obsolete". It is apparent we rely heavily on computers this day for our information and communication, and it's very important you check the validity of these sites before believing them to be true, because almost anyone can put anything on the web.

Copyright and Fair Use

Federal Law enables us to take portions of copyrighted material for educational, news reporting, or for critcal review under the term "fair use". Here is "fair use" at it's finest, portrayed by Disney characters...

Week 4: Copyright Law, Plagiarism, and Ethical Issues

In class this week we covered the laws that govern technology and media. Unfortunately not everything can be simply copy and pasted. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act gives the owner of the material the authority to do and give others the use of their own work. Copyright protects original works of authorship which can include, among others, literary works, architectural works, and sound recordings. The safest way to keep out of trouble when it comes to copyright, is to get permission from the authors themselves.

As a future educator, I can see how learning about these legal issues relates to the education field. Teachers base their entire lessons on an assortment of ideas from various sources and they need to know how much of these sources they can use. Are teachers allowed to show entire videos in their classrooms? Can they make copies from pages in a book for their students? Can they print out lectures from other teachers and use them for their own lesson? Teachers benefit greatly (and keep themselves out of trouble) if they know the proper copyright laws, rules about plagiarism, and ethical issues that go along with technology and media.

This Copyright Chart gives examples of what is okay for teachers to use in their classrooms. I thought it was a good tool for teachers to use when they have questions about material they may want to use in their classrooms. For example if they want to show a video in class, they'll learn that under Section 110 of the Copyright Act they are unable to use the video for entertainment or as a reward. The video must also come from a non-profit educational institution (no wonder sometimes the most boring videos are shown in schools)... I think that all teachers should have a copy of this chart in their classrooms as a quick reference.