Monday, March 28, 2016
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Knock Knock. Get the Door, It's Digital Storytelling.
Digital Storytelling is something that I've always found very interesting and fun. By using film-based technology, students create a project about the things they learned. Naturally, it has become quite popular in the information era, and there are PILES of examples of multimedia on the internet. My current favorite at the moment is History of Japan.
As you may have guessed, the video is about the history of Japan. It's a very informative video which covered a surprisingly good amount of knowledge. But this doesn't only show off his knowledge of the text. It shows he knows how to create vocal recordings, create musical recordings, and incorporate graphic design and light instrumentals to help enhance his message. Digital Storytelling helped him not only know the information, but helped him master multimedia software.
While I do find it very entertaining and fun, Digital Storytelling can take forever to do, especially because not all students have prior knowledge with the software. It's a long process, and it's not always going to help to know how to use things like Audacity in their later lives. I don't think that I would try and actively teach it in class, because it's a lot of time that could be spent teaching other things, like:
All jokes aside, there's a lot of thing an educator has to do. While I do think that Digital Storytelling would be fun, I also think that there's a lot of things that would make it too difficult with the time constraints. Maybe if it was a class project it could work, but it could easily take 1-2 classes setting up the presentation, 2-3 days creating the project, and 1-2 showing off the finished product. Best case scenario that is 4 days, worst case is 7, which may be the norm on the first run through. Admittedly, I probably will flirt with the idea because I think it's a lot of fun and can help people interact with things other then just the books. I really liked using Storybird. It's a really great software that is very easy to use. I just feel there's a lot more we could do with our time as educators.
As you may have guessed, the video is about the history of Japan. It's a very informative video which covered a surprisingly good amount of knowledge. But this doesn't only show off his knowledge of the text. It shows he knows how to create vocal recordings, create musical recordings, and incorporate graphic design and light instrumentals to help enhance his message. Digital Storytelling helped him not only know the information, but helped him master multimedia software.
While I do find it very entertaining and fun, Digital Storytelling can take forever to do, especially because not all students have prior knowledge with the software. It's a long process, and it's not always going to help to know how to use things like Audacity in their later lives. I don't think that I would try and actively teach it in class, because it's a lot of time that could be spent teaching other things, like:
All jokes aside, there's a lot of thing an educator has to do. While I do think that Digital Storytelling would be fun, I also think that there's a lot of things that would make it too difficult with the time constraints. Maybe if it was a class project it could work, but it could easily take 1-2 classes setting up the presentation, 2-3 days creating the project, and 1-2 showing off the finished product. Best case scenario that is 4 days, worst case is 7, which may be the norm on the first run through. Admittedly, I probably will flirt with the idea because I think it's a lot of fun and can help people interact with things other then just the books. I really liked using Storybird. It's a really great software that is very easy to use. I just feel there's a lot more we could do with our time as educators.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
On Being a Writing Coach
Hi everyone, I'm back and here to talk to you about being a writing coach. Firstly, I think it's loads of fun. Helping others, building a connection, examining grammatical usage, it's all pretty dang fun. One of the biggest things I noticed is that no writer is the same. Each person has their own unique writing style and have their own strengths and pitfalls. To think that generic critique is good is a very dangerous mindset. One of my writers was very bad at using commas, so I made sure to emphasize their incorrect usage of commas. I even offered them websites to provide them extra support. By being nice and friendly, these tasks can be a lot of fun!
Of course writing coaches are not the only ones who are going to offer help. Many students are told to give peer reviews to their fellow peers. I've always been conflicted on how this works. Some writers are better than others, some people are more interested in feedback than others, some people are better at giving feedback. Like I said earlier, no writer is the same. So who do you pair people up with? Personally, I believe that good writers and bad writers should work together. This philosophy comes from my childhood when I watched Malcolm in the Middle. In the Episode "Tutoring Reese", Malcolm helps his brother Reese by cheating on his test. After Malcolm, the smart one, fails the test, They realize that Reese's teacher does have a bias against him. Near the end of the episode, Malcolm's Mother Lois is having a conversation with a teacher.
The Teacher says "Here’s the situation: If you notify the school, then the school will find out that Malcolm
cheated, he’ll be expelled."
Lois says "Let me explain something to you. I would sell Malcolm down the river in a heartbeat to save Reese. Malcolm’s gonna be fine no matter what happens. Maybe he’ll go to have to junior college or start off Blue Collar or something but he'll do fine. Reese is the one who needs saving."
I find this scene really important because it realizes that the proficient can do well by themselves. Those struggling do need help. Sure, when you pit a good writer with a bad one, the bad one's revisions will be useless. But, the bad one will get very good tips from someone else. This is important because by having two bad writers peer review, they will get nothing out of it. This is especially tragic for the bad writer who wants to a good writer because they're getting nothing from other bad writers revisions.
What can help give the good students better revision is by offering teacher reviews as well. As a teacher, it is very important to give feedback. Teachers are the masters who are supposed to know everything. By the end of their check, nearly everything should have been corrected, or, at the very least, noted upon. It's important to keep a balance, however. In "Learning to Praise" by Donald Daiker, Daiker explores the importance of giving praise. Many teachers don't give much praise. Apparently, only 007% of in marginal comments were positive. (Daiker) This isn't good because like I said earlier, the teacher is the master. Without giving positive feedback, they're learning that their writing isn't good. It's only negative While it is only implied, it doesn't help that we're not giving comments. It does nothing other than to drain morale and love of writing.
Lastly, I just want to emphasize that there is a lot that goes into revision. You can't just stick one grade on all because they're all so different. Realization of this individuality is key to not only revision, but education, problem solving, and critically thinking.
Of course writing coaches are not the only ones who are going to offer help. Many students are told to give peer reviews to their fellow peers. I've always been conflicted on how this works. Some writers are better than others, some people are more interested in feedback than others, some people are better at giving feedback. Like I said earlier, no writer is the same. So who do you pair people up with? Personally, I believe that good writers and bad writers should work together. This philosophy comes from my childhood when I watched Malcolm in the Middle. In the Episode "Tutoring Reese", Malcolm helps his brother Reese by cheating on his test. After Malcolm, the smart one, fails the test, They realize that Reese's teacher does have a bias against him. Near the end of the episode, Malcolm's Mother Lois is having a conversation with a teacher.
 |
| "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000-2006) |
Lois says "Let me explain something to you. I would sell Malcolm down the river in a heartbeat to save Reese. Malcolm’s gonna be fine no matter what happens. Maybe he’ll go to have to junior college or start off Blue Collar or something but he'll do fine. Reese is the one who needs saving."
I find this scene really important because it realizes that the proficient can do well by themselves. Those struggling do need help. Sure, when you pit a good writer with a bad one, the bad one's revisions will be useless. But, the bad one will get very good tips from someone else. This is important because by having two bad writers peer review, they will get nothing out of it. This is especially tragic for the bad writer who wants to a good writer because they're getting nothing from other bad writers revisions.
What can help give the good students better revision is by offering teacher reviews as well. As a teacher, it is very important to give feedback. Teachers are the masters who are supposed to know everything. By the end of their check, nearly everything should have been corrected, or, at the very least, noted upon. It's important to keep a balance, however. In "Learning to Praise" by Donald Daiker, Daiker explores the importance of giving praise. Many teachers don't give much praise. Apparently, only 007% of in marginal comments were positive. (Daiker) This isn't good because like I said earlier, the teacher is the master. Without giving positive feedback, they're learning that their writing isn't good. It's only negative While it is only implied, it doesn't help that we're not giving comments. It does nothing other than to drain morale and love of writing.
Lastly, I just want to emphasize that there is a lot that goes into revision. You can't just stick one grade on all because they're all so different. Realization of this individuality is key to not only revision, but education, problem solving, and critically thinking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)