High « explore. create. share.

27Dec

Investigating new technologies

Abstract: In small groups, students develop a report on one of several Web 2.0 applications, their uses, and their potential for education. As individuals, they reflect and report on the application’s potential use they perceive personally for their teaching/work/professional website.

Description: This activity is designed to be done in two parts over a two-week period: the first with a small group during the first week, and the second part working individually during the second week. As will become clear, you could begin thinking of the individual part as you are involved in the group work.

In a different activity (“subverting presentation tools”), we explored how a pretty common software program (PowerPoint) could be used creatively. With this assignment we shall try to look at some emerging technologies. Each group will be assigned a particular technology (see below). Each of these technologies is part of the Web 2.0 phenomenon. Web 2.0 technologies refer to “a supposed second-generation of Internet-based services — such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies — that let people collaborate and share information online in previously unavailable ways” (source: Web 2.0 article on Wikipedia). Here’s a presentation specifically aimed at Web2.0 for Education.

Research and report on the technology we assign to your group by due date (…)
-Cloud Computing (Writeboard, Google Apps, Zoho etc.): Group 1
-Social Bookmarking (such as del.icio.us, Furl, or StumbleUpon): Group 2
-Social Software (such as FaceBook & MySpace) : Group 3
-Social Libraries (such as LibraryThing & citeyoulike.org): Group 4
-Social media (such as the photo annotation tools on Flickr, Video annotation on Voice Thread etc.): Group 5

-other technologies (___________________): Group 6
First: Introduction to a specific Web 2.0 technology.
Your group should do some research to find out about the assigned Web 2.0 technology. Share and discuss as much useful and reliable info as you can, and then, as a group, develop a written report about it. This report should focus on the following:

1. What is the technology? i.e. what is it about? what does it do?

2. What is it being used for? i.e. what are the most common uses? what are some of the more creative and interesting uses? what are people saying about it?

3. Provide some concrete examples of this technology in use (links to sites, examples etc.), particularly in the area of education

Remember this is the web, so don’t feel like you have to create everything from scratch. Feel free to use quotes (with appropriate citations, of course), and links in an intelligent manner.

After you’ve put together this report, post a copy of it on your website. As you are doing only one report as a group, this can be posted on any or all of your group member’s web spaces, as you choose. A draft of this should be completed by the following due date (…).
Second (if applicable): How would you use this technology in your final project (here, the big Kahuna)?

The next step in this assignment is to consider the Web2.0 technology assigned to your group and think about how you could use it in your own teaching/work/website. How would you do it? Would it even work? Then write up your plan, format it as a webpage and post it to your work-space.

Note: Just in case the technology assigned to your group does not make any sense from the point of view of your topic please feel free to choose any one from the other groups. [You do have to stick to one of those we have listed.] Of course, you can get a quick refresher course in the other technologies by visiting the websites and draft reports created by the other groups.

Final versions of the group report and the individual reports should be posted to your websites by (…).

Examples of student work:

History of the assignment:

Suggestions for grading etc.:

22Dec

Socially Sourced Feedback: The Experiment

Abstract: In this exercise, students are connected to experts in their field for feedback coming from another “expert” beyond the instructor. Using a combination of Jing + Screecast applications, the external reviewers comment on students’ online products (in the original case, modules for an online class).

Description: Ongoing thoughtful instructor feedback without question plays a large role in student learning. However, students tend to appreciate getting feedback from additional people in the field. If available, instructors can tap into their diverse Personal Learning Network (PLN) to match up students with a broader set of reviewers of their work. For example, in teaching “CEP 820: Teaching K12 Students Online” with the culminating project of creating a complete online course module, instructor Leigh Wolf was “lucky to have a large and diverse Personal Learning Network” consisting of “professors, MAET alumni, PhD students, practicing teachers, online learning experts,” and so on. By asking friends and colleagues to access a student course and use Jing + Screencast.com (both free tools) to record their reactions, feedback and suggestions for improvement, an instructor can provide students with an “extra set of eyes” on their work that might be somewhat different from his or her views and preferences. Ideally, one would specifically target people in one’s PLN who would match well with the students’ background or project at hand.

In the case of the student-created online-course modules of CEP 820,online modules were sent to reviewers who’s professional experience and interest matched the content at hand (see examples of such matches below).

Challenges regarding this exercise:

There is a risk in relying too heavily on one’s PLN to provide students with reviewers. At the end of the semester, something like this is the icing on the stress cake. It helps to time the submission of the final project 4 weeks before the official end of the semester to try and alleviate some of this stress.
The process is tedious to manage. Until someone develops a way of making the revier/reviewee process a little more automatic, it has to be done manually. This requires minute attention to detail, making sure the right hyperlinks were going to the right people and making sure no one fell through the cracks. With everyone using different course management systems, keeping track of all the access points can be a bit of a challenge.
Not everyone may turn their assignment in on time. Even understanding instructors who realize that things happen, especially with courses such as CEP 820 where students are working adults, many carrying 2 or more courses plus a full time job will realize that it is not fair to the external reviewers to send them late reviews (as they too have full plates.) In those cases, teaching assistants or gracious volunteers and the instructor may have to fill in for the late submission reviews.
It is unlikely to be able to match everyone up with the “perfect” person — in all likelihood one will have to stretch things a bit when it comes to content experts. This is fine as long as some other relevant expertise can be provided, as in CEP 820 where all reviewers were experts in online/hybrid course creation and pedagogy.

The upsides regarding this exercise:

Students may potentially get connected to AMAZING people they would not otherwise “meet.”
The PLN reviewers are able to experience an alternative form of assessment (using Jing & Screencasts) in a “low-risk” setting, i.e., with students in a course such as CEP 820. In the past, external reviewers expressed appreciation in learning how to use screencasting as a form of assessment/evaluation.

Additional considerations/lessons learned:

It may pay off to be relatively explicit with reviewers regarding the technical side of the reviewing task and to give them some tips on microphone and recording techniques.
Only ask external reviewers to perform one review
Adjust the final project due date even earlier – 5 weeks before the end of the semester? - to avoid the end of semester crunch.

Examples of student work:

Troy’s review of Erin’s “6 Traits of Writing” on Weebly Unit
Jessica’s review of Emily’s “American History” Moodle Unit
Sean’s review of Marc’s “Jared Diamond unit for World History” in Blackboard

History of the assignment: 16 brave souls were willing to participate in the experiment of socially sourcing feedback for students in CEP 820 and graciously offered their precious time to assist in this experiment:

06Nov

The TPACK Project

Abstract:In this capstone project, students apply the TPACK framework to an actual problem they have encountered in their practice and create a website that explains the TPACK-based solution to the problem they have chosen to pursue to fellow teachers.

Description: The assignment was established to have you identify a problem of practice, use the TPACK framework to address the problem, and create a web-based experience that presents the problem and solution to your peers as well as explain the thinking process that led you to this particular solution as opposed to others. Hence, there are two goals of the project: (a) have students tackle a specific, authentic problem and practice and consider a plan for a solution, and (b) share their problem, plan, and the thinking that went it to with a larger audience (i.e., represent it on the Web).

Within the Web-based experience, you will need to address the content (i.e., what do you want students to learn and be able to do? What are the problems different students might have learning this content?), the context (i.e., what is the specific context? What are the affordances and constraints of this context?), the technology (i.e., what technology seems best suited for the problem? What this is the best as opposed to other options?), the pedagogy (i.e., what pedagogies will work best given the choice of content and technologies? Why this choice over others?), and interrelatedness (i.e., how are the areas – technology, pedagogy – affected by changes in one another?).

Examples of Student Work: Past students have come up with very divergent authentic problems of practice and very creative projects both in terms of applying the TPACK model to their problem of practice and their Web-based ways of representing their problems and “solutions”. For example, John* sought to address how he could help students engage in higher order thinking in an English class when students’ educational conditioning focused on memorization and the idea that an answer is either right or wrong. In applying the TPACK model, John initially began with searching for how technology could be a solution to this problem. However, John realized that because of this exposure to a Year 1 of a Masters of Educational Technology he already integrated a great deal of technology into his teaching. Hence, he concluded he needed to change his pedagogy to work within his context, with this curriculum, and with the technology he was already implementing (see screen shots below).

Another student – Dave* – faced a problem of practice of teaching photographic techniques but without the availability of a dark room. Hence, considering the context, curriculum, pedagogy, Dave concluded appropriate technology would address the challenges, such as utilizing Adobe Photoshop and digital photo printers (see screen shots below).

In the final student example, Liz* also arrived at technology as a solution to her problem of practice – teaching social studies in a why that makes it come alive and challenges just what is written in textbooks. Specifically, she chose to focus on Christopher Columbus for her TPACK project. Using an inquiry-based approach, Liz felt her technology options were limited, but eventually found an appropriate WebQuest which aligned with her pedagogy and curriculum (see screen shots below).

01Nov

Seeing Differently (Veja Du with Video)

Abstract: This is another exercise in looking at the world differently – of making the familiar strange and the strange familiar. This assignment is the moving-pictures version of the “Véjà du” assignment also listed on this page.

Description: There are many ways of creating a Véjà du-Video that makes the familiar strange and the strange familiar. For example, by taking a picture of an object at extended intervals (e.g. hourly, daily, weekly, depending on the rate of change in the depicted object) and editing these images together using[H1] …….., the object or scene can be brought to life in unexpected ways. For an illustration, see the “breathing apple” linked below. Conversely, slowing a scene down can bring out qualities that are usually outside of our awareness (the slow-motion view of a rain drop hitting the surface of a glass of puddle of water is an example). Other ways to go about this assignment are capturing the organic features of non-living things, such as the unfolding packaging materials in the “Packaging Life” video below, or drawing out stable patterns from moving scenes (as when a busy traffic intersection at night turns into a stream of bright lines when shown in quick motion).

Examples of Student Work: See these very interesting video examples of this on the site LikeCOOL. This site has everything from after-office neckties, to inflatable boxing gloves… but in between these crazy things are some cool videos. Here are three (in increasing order of coolness[H2] ):

Specific software?

Insert video links

Slow Moscow (ART) from Andrey Stvolinsky on Vimeo.

Ecological apple (experimental short) from Andreas Soderberg on Vimeo.

“Packaging’s Life” from Silvio Giordano on Vimeo.

29Oct

Digital Footprints

Abstract: In a two-pronged submission (visual product and written commentary), students reflect on their personal and/or professional use of different technologies over a period of time to illustrate the evolution of different touch points with technology in their lives.

Description:

Visualize your use of technology over a period of time. You may choose to focus from birth – present. You may choose to focus on only your use of technology in a professional setting (classroom, work, etc.) You may choose a 5-year chunk of time (say 2005-present)

This assignment has two purposes:
The first is to have you take a step back and reflect upon how your life intersects with technology, personally and professionally. The second is to give you an opportunity to explore your creative side and to give you a chance to explore new technologies.

Inspiration and Examples

Here are a few blog posts to get you started thinking:
http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/2008-toolssitesextensions-i-use-list/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/01/2008-web-20-companies-i-couldnt-live-without/

When you are making your personal timelines, don’t forget about the detritus – the stuff that “fell off” your list or that you ended up not using – those things are important to think about too.

Here are a few sites that will really stretch your imagination:

Fernanda Viégas has done some amazing work in the field of technology use visualization

Mountain:
http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~fviegas/projects/mountain/index.htm

Post History:
http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~fviegas/posthistory/index.html
Edward Tufte is the king of visualization!
http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_vdqi’

Information Aesthetics is a great site for data visualization

How just how do I expect you to this?

This is the part where you let your imagination and desire run wild. The beautiful thing about this is that you are being graded on an individual basis – it is not a competition among peers. If you are new to this – run up to the corner store and buy a new box of crayons – draw out your visualization on paper and scan in your creation. If video is your medium, make a video. If Excel is your thing, make charts and graphs. It is an opportunity to explore new technologies (Camtasia, videocasting, podcasting) or to push the boundaries of technologies you already know (digital cameras, PowerPoint, Word.)

Grading and Expectations

This assignment is worth 30 points and 20% of your overall grade in the course.

You will be graded on three areas which are fully articulated in the Rubric [H1]

Commentary (10 points)
This is the written part of the assignment where you articulate exactly what you have done AND what you learned about your personal history. Justify the time period that you chose and the methodology you used to create your visualization. Explain any new technologies or techniques that you learned to produce the product. If you felt limited by your skills, explain what additional skills you would need to do exactly what you wanted to do. Go beyond the surface and talk about how this reflection process made you see yourself in new ways or confirmed prior suspicions. (The commentary should be between 500-1000 words.)

Design and Aesthetics (10 points)
Don’t let this category scare you. It is included so that you pay attention to how form and style impact your message.

Originally and Content (10 points)
Don’t let this category scare you either! Emulating or copying the STYLE of others is completely acceptable – taking something and just inserting your content, is not.

Word of Caution

You have about 2 weeks to complete this project. Thus, keep your plans manageable. I am not expecting a 20-minute podcast or documentary film. Try to bundle things in a sensible sized package. Alternatively, don’t wait until the last minute! It will take a reasonable amount of thought and work to produce a solid product.

How to submit

Submit your commentary (.doc file) and product to the drop box below. Your product must be in a digital format (picture, video, audio, etc.)

Examples of Student Work:

[H1]Rubric would have to be made available via fresh link

29Oct

Remix – Reuse – Recycle

Abstract: Drawing on a set of Creative Commons video clips and music, students create remixes that represent a Learning Theory they have been randomly assigned.

Description: In this activity, you will each be given a common set of Creative Commons video clips and music and will be asked to remix these clips.

Remix culture is a term employed by Lawrence Lessig to describe a society which allows and encourages derivative works. Such a culture would be, by default, permissive of efforts to improve upon, change, integrate, or otherwise remix the work of copyright holders. Lessig presents this as a desirable ideal and argues, among other things, that the health, progress, and wealth creation of a culture is fundamentally tied to this participatory remix process (via wikipedia). A remix may also refer to a non-linear re-interpretation of a given work or media, such as a hybridizing process combining fragments of various works. The process of combining and re-contextualizing will often produce unique results independent of the intentions and vision of the original designer/artist. Thus, the concept of a remix can be applied to visual or video arts, and even things farther afield. (via wikipedia).

In the spirit of creativity and learning on the fly – you will randomly be assigned a Learning Theory from the TIP database (http://tip.psychology.org/concepts.html) Do your best to keep your theme secret!!

Constraints:

Completed video may not exceed 30 seconds.
You may include your own text into the mix, but no additional video clips.

Video Clips – (taken from http://www.archive.org/details/prelinger)

the Librarian – http://www.archive.org/details/Libraria1947
film research and learning – http://www.archive.org/details/FilmRese1956
choosing and educational film – http://www.archive.org/details/Choosing1963
basic typing – http://www.archive.org/details/basic_typing_1
facts about projection – http://www.archive.org/details/FactsAbo1975
education for excellence – http://www.archive.org/details/education_for_excellence_2
sharp calculator – http://www.archive.org/details/sharp_calculator_2
it happens every noon – http://www.archive.org/details/it_happens_every_noon

Audio Clips

you may use any other CREATIVE COMMONS music (but you must show proof that is is a creative commons clip!)

- Associated[H1] Helpful Readings –
free culture – lessig – http://free-culture.cc
Exploring the Right to Share, Mix and Burn – new york times – http://tinyurl.com/2hpff2
remix planet – wired – http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.07/gorillaz.html

ADDITIONAL CONSTRAINTS/TIPS:

iMovie/MovieMaker -The videos should be STANDARD (4:3)
Premiere – sequence preset DV-NTSC, Standard 48kHz

For exporting:

iMovie – Share > Large
Premiere – File > Export > Media
Format = H.264
Preset Youtube SD

STEP 1: 30 minutes of planning (timed)
STEP 2: write out your editing workflow (timed)
STEP 3: STOP

STEP 4: Begin the editing process

Examples of Student Work:

[H1] create link for the more technical details/resources

29Oct

Jing – Off

Abstract: In only 10 minutes, student teams of two record a screencast on an educational technology topic of their choice.

Description: It’s time for the annual MAET Jing-Off!

Here’s the challenge – as a group we’re going to create 10 screencasts, in 10 minutes! We did it last year (see below) and now it’s time to raise the bar.

We will put you into teams of 2 and you will have 1 hour to decide what the topic of your screencast will be and lay out the plan. The constraints are quite loose, it has to be educational technology related and it should be something you think is cool and that the world at large should know!

When the buzzer goes off after the hour planning session, we’ll put you into position and you will have 10 minutes to record your screencast!

The screencast should be no longer than 2 minutes in length.

Publish to screencast.com and post a link to the screencast in the comment box below!

Examples of Student Work:

(http://edublog.techsmith.com/2009/07/michigan-state-university-maet—its-a-jing-off.html)

29Oct

Haiku – Stop Motion

Abstract: A French Haiku (short poem) is to be visualized in a 30-second video using stop motion techniques.

Description: You will be placed in teams of four and given a haiku (in french) to visualize using stop motion techniques. (You may have to use Babelfish (or Jean Pierre) to translate the haiku.)

You will be given you a brief tutorial on how to make a basic stop motion video using the tools you have been exploring for your iVideo. You may choose to do it with one of the tools you are (getting) familiar with OR you can take things to the next level and choose to use one of these three tools:

http://www.kudlian.net/products/icananimate/
http://boinx.com/istopmotion/overview/
http://www.stopmotionpro.com/

This is one of those “trick” scenarios…you have to decide if adding a new technology to the mix is worth the stress – do you want to focus on the tech or the content?

The video must be :30 seconds long (+/- 1 second)

You must have 2 title screens, one with the names of your group members and one with the text of the haiku. (These do not count towards the length of your video.)

After the tutorial you will have the several hours to work solely on the Quickfire. Finished videos will be collected on a hard drive for a viewing party.

Examples of Student Work:

GROUP A

Parlant avec l’océan
coquillage contre l’oreille
- la petite fille.
-Jean-Louis Bouzou

GROUP B

La pluie a volé
le parfum des lias
lune rousse
-Clod’Aria

GROUP C

à la cloche du matin
combien de feuilles as-tu encore perdues
cerisier dans la brume
-Pierre Courtaud

GROUP D

Juste un sac
et la lune…
Et de folles branches à l’arbre
-Jean Marc Demabr

GROUP E

Fonte des neiges
Le vieil épouvantail
a les pieds dans l’eau
-Bruno Hulin

29Oct

Google Teaching Academy

Abstract: Students create a 1 minute video on either Motivation & Learning or Classroom Innovation using artifacts collected and video captured on a field trip.

Description: Inspired by the Google Teaching Academy, this quickfire challenge is intended to prepare you to create a short 1 minute video on either Motivation & Learning or Classroom Innovation.

About the Google Teacher Academy:

The Google Teacher Academy is a FREE professional development experience designed to help primary and secondary educators from around the globe get the most from innovative technologies. Each Academy is an intensive, one-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google’s free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, receive resources to share with colleagues, and immerse themselves in an innovative corporate environment. Upon completion, Academy participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other primary and secondary educators in their local region.

To submit an application to the Google Teacher Academy you are required to create a short 1 minute video to go along with your online application. This quickfire is intended to give you the practice needed to create such videos to further your professional development and to showcase your technological skills with education and technology.

Specific Assignment:

On Wednesday July 14th we will be going on a class field trip to Giverny[H1] . While on the field trip take note of what you see and experience. When touring around Giverny take note of the things that move you, think about why, and how it moves you, does it generate any feelings? (specifically related to motivation, inspiration and innovation.) In the spirit of the Google Teacher Academy, when you return from the field trip on Wednesday, you are to create a 1 minute video on motivation and learning or classroom innovation (using the artifacts you collected at Giverny.) Feel free to be as creative as you like with the video. You may use any video/screen capture tool to create the video.

Constraints:

Your video is not to exceed 1 minute (60 seconds) in length

You do not need to appear in your video but all video or images MUST have been shot by you

Any audio used must be under creative commons license.

Examples of Student Work:

[H1]Need a substitute “trip” – a museum? Other location?

29Oct

Big Kahuna

FILED IN High | Medium | Project | Synthesizing No Comments

Abstract: In this semester-long website design project, students integrate links and materials for teaching a topic of their choice from a multi-faceted perspective, using the affordances of hypertext to create a teaching tool that encourages a cognitively flexible approach to the topic.

Description: After tackling a series of eight micro-design tasks ranging from writing a 55 fiction (a 55 word short story) to subverting presentational dogma, to examining how common Web 2.0 technologies can be repurposed for educational goals,students assemble the elements into the semester long project we call the Big Kahuna. This is a website design project, where students create an educational website that can be used to teach a subject-matter-specific idea or concept. An important aspect of this is that students create a website that teaches this idea from a multi-faceted perspective, using multiple representations and forms in order to communicate the idea chosen to teach to the website users/audience. Therefore, these sites are more than just web pages describing an idea, but rather explore other resources in order to represent the subject matter idea in multiple representations and formats.

It is important that students understand the value in multiple representations and their significance in this project, which is closely related to designing good Web pages. Different representations have different advantages for presenting and communicating information. For example, images may useful for visualizing, timelines or graphs could help to organize a chronology or a relationship, tables of attributes might be useful for revealing difference, or outlines could be useful for showing narratives in a holistic sense. Student sites might use all of these approaches, or completely different ones. By using multiple modes to teach about a single idea, students are virtually “criss-crossing” the landscape of their idea to explore the different ways it can be instantiated to the learner. In other words, in the context of learning, it is useful to have more than one depiction for showing different aspects of the same information. Ideally in a learning tool, the external representations are interlinked so that a learner can switch back and forth between them to clarify and deepen their understanding.

Examples of Student Work: Our students use most of these projects in their classrooms. The topics are wide ranging. For example: civil rights (screenshot)[H1] ; using the novel Damals war es Friedrich to teach advanced language students (screenshot); teaching fractions (screenshot); the genre of fairy tales (2 screenshots); and, exploring the geometry of bridges while building your own truss bridge (screenshot). The content, structure, technologies used, and pedagogical choices are all specific to the context of each in-services teacher’s classroom and subject matter. In this way, the experience is personal, authentic, and meaningful.

[H1]Insert screenshots if available

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Seeing Differently (Veja Du with Video)

Digital Footprints

Jing – Off

Haiku – Stop Motion

Google Teaching Academy

Big Kahuna

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