ECOMP 6102: Make a List of Standards

Standards referenced from the International Society for Technology Education (ISTE). The National Education Technology Standards (NETS) for students can be accessed here.

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Knowledge Standards - Copy Three (3) standards that are FOCUSED on Knowledge - they mostly require that students learn critical content knowledge. Highlight the critical content Knowledge in each of the standards you chose.

1. identify trends and forecast possibilities.
2. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
3. understand and use technology systems.

Reasoning Standards - Copy three (3) standards that are FOCUSED on Reasoning - these standards could require any type of reasoning from students including: comparative reasoning, classification, analysis, application (using knowledge to solve problems), synthesis, and/or evaluative reasoning). Highlight the reasoning skills required in each of the standards you chose.

1. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
2. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
3. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.

Performance Standards - Copy three (3) standards that require some kind of performance from students. The standard should require that students do some kind of task or performance. Highlight the performance skills required in each of the standards you chose.

1. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.
2. process data and report results.
3. select and use applications effectively and productively.

Product Standards - Copy three (3) standards that specify a product the student must be able to create. Highlight the product required in each of the standards you chose.

1. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
2. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
3. plan strategies to guide inquiry.

ECOMP 6102: Using Response System Technology

1. Review the Response Systems below.

• SMART Response System (formerly called Senteo) by SMART
• ActiVote by Promethean
• Classroom Performance System (CPS) by eInstruction
• Audience Response System by Turning Technologies
• eClicker for the I-Touch and I-pad

1. During this course you have taken several tests using the Classroom Performance System (CPS). What were your reactions to the use of this system for testing?

At its basic level, using the CPS system was a way to break up the day and introduce a different vehicle for students to provide input to the instructor. The system obviously can provide the teacher with assessment data that can then be shared with other teachers, administrators, and parents. What I really liked about our use of the CPS system was the class discussions that grew out of the activity. In some cases we discussed how the questions were phrased, in other how the answer choices were written. I think it was a great way to help us revisit the important points from the textbook and flush out areas of confusion and disagreement.

2. Are there features of the CPS system or any of the others systems that you feel would be particularly useful for testing in your own classroom? Please describe these features and their usefulness in your own teaching.

One of the components that SMART promotes with their SMART Response system is the ability to take a quick, one question quiz anywhere within a lesson. The idea behind this feature is giving the teacher an opportunity to assess the students on a concept within a lesson to determine if they can either move on to the next concept or if further review/discussion is warranted.

A downside of this configuration is that they really want you to have the whole package (interactive white board, Notebook software, and the SMART Response system) which can cost the school quite a few pennies. We have a half-dozen SMART Response systems in my school and, while the initial buy-in was very positive, last year we experienced several software glitches and as result of poor technical support from SMART many of my teachers have stopped using it. However, a recent software update has come up this spring that I hope will correct the problems we experienced. Whether or not I can get the teachers to buy-in to the system again will be the big question.

eClicker is an attractive option because it utilizes Apple’s iOS equipment, specifically the iPod Touch and the iPad, which are hot-button items right now. Right away, if your school does not have a wireless network within the building then this system is not for you (although WiFi-equipped schools are quickly becoming the standard). eClicker also has the option to “poll” students sequentially (i.e. assess an entire lesson/activity) as well as individually (i.e. a single concept).

Another possible drawback to this system is that assessment questions are created on the iOS device. Depending on the users’ comfort level with the iOS keyboard interface this could be an issue. Content can be created on a traditional desktop/laptop computer, but an account via the eClicker website is required, and the host device needs to be configured to sync with their server. On a positive note, using the online account system would allow multiple users to create content and sync it to the same host device, allowing a school a “cart” environment that is shared amount a team, grade, and/or department.

Unlike the other systems, eClicker takes advantage of equipment that is not so proprietary. Apple’s iPad and iPod Touches have the ability to provide a variety of experiences through an ever-increasing number of Apps. This could make them a more plausible investment for schools over other systems that only work on their equipment.

Together, Denise began our evaluation Promethean’s Activote system by watching their online tutorial video. Interesting enough, both of our first reactions upon seeing the software interface for this assessment system was, “Boy, that tools menu looks awfully confusing.” From a single drop-down menu I would estimate there were over 25 different tool icons listed. While I, an integrator experienced in troubleshooting and testing new technologies, might be able to get past this and figure out how to use the system I could see a classroom teacher being easily overwhelmed and discouraged due to the complexity of the interface.

Another aspect I noted in Promethean’s video was that the users of their assessment remotes. I would categorize them as adults, not students from with the K-12 spectrum. Now, this could simply mean that they are teachers. However, if the intent of this system is to use it with students, I would have preferred to see a demonstration video that showed actual students using the remotes.

ECOMP 6102: Using "Survey" Technology

Create an online survey using a service like Survey Monkey or Polldaddy. 

Consider the following question: For what assessment purposes might "Survey" technologies be useful?


"Welcome to MSK Computer Literacy, Grade 6"
Survey Monkey: Click here to take survey

Final Project Reflection: Make a Desktop Video

ECOMP 6016 - Assignment #8: Reflect on your final project using the articles provided on multimedia and learning, multiple intelligences, and multiple learning techniques.

Articles referenced:

• Tapping Into Active Learning and Multiple Intelligences With Interactive Multimedia: A Low-Threshold Classroom Approach, (2008) by Tom Schrand
• Integrated Instruction: Multiple Intelligences and Technology, (2007) by Ian J. McCoog
• Multimedia Information and Learning, (1996) by Lawrence J. Najjar

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Creating a movie is a form of expression that opens many doors for students of a variety of intelligences. As a result, I thought it was important to create a movie that would give students an overview of the whole movie making process. Making a movie can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it, depending on the quality of the finished product. Make no mistake that the process requires an investment of time, energy and planning. But the rewards that movie making can bring due to its ability to allow each student to utilize their learning style(s) can be amazing.

When making a movie, you need to start with a storyboard. This tool supports logical-mathematical learners because it helps them solve the problem of what is the best way to organize the story components so that it will make sense to the audience. The learner must answer questions about volume levels, types of transitions, video vs. still images, and when and where to deploy there various multimedia pieces throughout the movie timeline.

While not all movies involve dialog (our “introduction” project demonstrated how images can be a powerful medium for telling a story), many do and a movie’s script can make-or-break the success of the message being communicated. Script writing is where linguistic learners can shine and devise interesting ways of expressing ideas. For my movie, I wanted to show how the written word can be more powerful than the video, illustrated by the example of text stealing the spotlight in step three from yours truly.

Spatial and musical learners are valuable strengths in movie making since it is through these two mediums that all story components are communicated to the audience. In my final project I needed to find that happy medium between which visual/audio components best support the story and which components are just plain cool. Sometimes the picture-in-a-picture component was the best choice, other times it was using the green screen tool, and yet there were instances that involved going outside of the iMovie application to Keynote to introduce an animated component to the scene.

Bodily-Kinesthetic learners are presented with a unique choice when it comes to movie making, especially with the advancements in video-editing software: when should the actors try to use a real location for a scene versus creating a virtual location using green screen tools to best tell this part of the story? In my movie there were some scenes where it was just easier to find a real location to film the scene (e.g. the school stage and podium) while other times being able to travel virtually to another place using a green screen (e.g. the pirate/Harry Potter clips) was vital to the success of the scene.

In evaluating my final project with respect to multiple learning techniques, some interesting points came to mind. In Najjar’s paper he talks about “redundant multimedia” as a way to improve learning because its method, pace and type of interactivity is consistent. The beauty of movie making, especially an instructional movie like mine, is that the user can replay all or part of the video as many times as they want. While not part of my final project, I have seen strong evidence for this in providing support to my staff and their MLTI laptops. In this example, my old way of PDF tutorial documents were not utilized by staff, but when I created video “screencasts” of my tutorials instead my audience responded quite positively to learning via this medium because they could play, pause and re-play the video as many times as they needed.

Another learning technique that Najjar discusses, the dual coding of information, lends itself very nicely to the medium of movie making. According to the theory, information is processed via two channels: verbal information such as text or audio and nonverbal information such as imagery and sound. As students work through their movie, in both the storyboard stage and the editing stage, they must constantly evaluate which channel will best communicate the scene in support of the overall story. Sometimes a simple text slide can be more powerful than a video clip with green screen effects applied, or the right sound effect/soundtrack can help complete a scene. One of the benefits of our “The Making Of…” assignment was learning about movie soundtracks and how much work goes into its construction so to successfully support the scenes in the movie.

In conclusion, this final project has provided me with insight into the power that multimedia projects can have in reaching students with a variety of intelligences. Everyone has a story to tell, and students are no exception to this rule. If anything, middle school students have a greater need to tell their stories as they work to define themselves and what makes them unique. I hope that my How to Make a Movie project will be a helpful tool for teachers who want to integrate a movie component into their curriculum and that the skills I’ve learned in making a movie will make me a better support resource for both students and teachers in the future.

Plan a Desktop Video

ECOMP 6016 - Assignment #7: Create a video or photostory

Title of Movie: How to Make a Movie

Storyboards:

Page 1

Page 2

Video (5:51): 

Media Writ Large

ECOMP 6016 - Assignment #6B: Select a commercial online and analyze for its persuasive techniques. Reflect on the commercial and its use of persuasion.

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Commercial: Mac vs. PC

1. What is the commercial about?   The Mac vs. PC commercial series is about the comparison of Apple’s brand of computers vs. those running Microsoft’s Windows Operating System. The commercials are from Apple’s point of view. NOTE: The YouTube link goes to a collection of commercials which allows you to see a variety of persuasion techniques being employed.
2. Who is the intended audience of this message?   The overall intended audience are users looking to buy a new computer. However, each ad attempts to address smaller groups within this audience such as people who want more built-in equipment, access to pre-install photo and movie-making software, or those fed up with the constant battle against computer viruses.
3. What values, lifestyles and points of view are being transmitted in this message?   The commercials are meant to portray Apple computers as fitting the lifestyle of the average person who wants to be able to use a computer with relative ease and without a lot of time devoted to maintenance. PC is often portrayed as being for the business world while Apple is portrayed as for the family and users both young and old.
4. What creative techniques are used to attract your attention?   The commercials use the basic persuasion techniques of association (e.g. for the family), beautiful people (e.g. making a movie), bribery (buy a Mac, get a built-in webcam), fear (vulnerability to viruses), and repetition (their introduction is very well-known and often parodied). Intermediate techniques include charisma (Apple obviously), euphemism (PC often tries to downplay his issues), and simple solution (whose is more ready to use “right-out-of-the-box?”). An advanced technique employed in some of the ads is analogy, such as when PC is going in for “surgery” to upgrade to Vista. There were also several examples of card-stacking, but not in Apple’s favor. In one instance PC has a “cold” and Mac claims that he doesn’t get viruses, but that’s not the whole story (e.g. the recent MAC Defender virus). And I don’t care what type/kind of computer you have, every computer needs a restart once in a while.

One of the reasons I chose this commercial is because I just came across a great parody made by two 7th grade students from Michigan entitled, “Hi, I’m A Textbook And I’m A Tablet.” This is a example of how an idea turned into a commercial has provided a vehicle through which students can tell their own stories.

Media, Men and Women…

ECOMP 6016 - Assignment #6A: Watch two movies that make claims about how media influences people, then write a reflection based on the following questions:

• What do you agree or disagree with what they claim? Explain.
• What is your perspective on the media's influence? 
• What evidence or counter-evidence of what they are claiming do you see with your own students?

Video #1: "Touch Guise" by Jackson Katz

Video #2: "Advertising's Image of Women" by Jean Killbourne

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Good golly is this a huge topic, with so many points of views, philosophies and conclusions that is hard to know where to start…

Jackson seems to come right out of the gate attaching the media as the source from which men learn how to commit violence. But later on he points out that the media is not necessarily creating the violent culture but rather is a reflection of the violence that is in our culture.What is so scary is that our society, at least with respect to our opinions of what good “media entertainment” is, seems to be okay with this. As I listened to Jackson talk about how men are getting tips on what it means to be masculine from the media, it makes me wonder how much of the masculinity we see portrayed is an accurate representation of the real world, or is it more what a small group (e.g. the entertainment industry) thinks masculinity is? He also goes on to look at how the media portrays violence by students at school in the vocabulary they use, i.e. using the term children and rarely that of boys or young men. Unfortunately, I think there are times when the news media is less concerned with the facts or being specific then with being politically correct and/or gender neutral.

For Kilbourne, she attempts to take on the huge powerhouse that is the beautification of women. Just like Jackson who says it takes more courage to challenge the ideas of perceived masculinity, Kilbourne points out that challenging the stereotypes that clothing, cosmetics, and even plastic surgery advocates claim as femininity requires great strength and perseverance. Another interesting point she makes is what would happen if the media took their attitude toward the female body and applied them to the male body. 

When I look at my own students there are some that I can see potentially fitting into some of the stereotypical labels, but others do not. I have also seen counter-evidence to claims that it is males that are the primary source for violence; often female teachers tell me that girls are much meaner to each other than boys, and I think we may be beginning to see this surface in the entertainment media via reality TV. And speaking of girls, now that the weather has turned warmer we at the middle school had to address the issue (again) of appropriate school attire. 

As educators and parents and well, adults, I think we need to stress to students the difference between what is “real” and what is entertainment and fiction. Going back to Week #4’s assignment, one of the reasons why I love DVD technology is because it gives us the opportunity to see the “Making Of…” and see the work that it took to create all that drama and action and violence…and how nobody got hurt doing it. Interviews with cast can also show them what it takes to create the image of the characters we see, such as how much weight the actor had to loose in order to “fit into” the role. The point really hit home about how the media has gotten very good at dehumanizing people, creating artificial expectations for women about what it means to be beautiful and for men what it means to be masculine.