Maryrita (Rita) Dunlavey
LBSC 642 Reflection # 3
Nov. 27, 2013
Camera Shy
I really enjoyed the presentation by Heather and Chelsea on
Chapter Nine’s visualization tools, especially the discussion about visual and
verbal learners. In our discussion and readings,
I concluded that I am a verbal learner, but, I learn better and understand more
deeply when that learning is reinforced with a visual presentation. I have no artistic ability so I also took
note that I should be embracing these technology tools to help me overcome my
artistic deficits in my life and work. Noting
this, I decided to explore and learn a little more about some visualization
tools.
I have been intimidated by technology tools, but especially
tools that require me to record voice and pictures, so I have conscientiously
avoided using them as much as possible.
So, I decided to confront my fears and try out an older tool that I have
heard great things about—Animoto, and
a newer tool—Videolicious, that we
learned about in class.
Animoto has been
on my radar screen for a number of years.
I first heard about it at a professional development meeting on Web 2.0
tools in 2009. I was inspired by the
presenter and shared it with my school’s teachers but we were never able to
collaborate on a project with it, mostly due to technological and time
restraints. Videolicious is a new tool that we learned about recently in our
class review of Chapter nine’s visualization tools. In class, our group’s video failed to load
and disappeared in the “black hole” and unfortunately, we did not have enough
time to re-record it. Again, I was
inexperienced and camera shy, and a colleague did the video recording. I vowed to tackle this tool on my own without
the pressure of the “classroom” environment.
Animoto was
developed in 2005 as a web application. In
2009, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) included it in its
new list, Best Websites for Teaching and Learning,
which they established to award sites that “foster the qualities of innovation,
creativity, active participation, and collaboration” (AASL, web, 2013). AASL identified their standards that the site
supports:
·
2.1.4-- Use
technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and
und understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess.
·
3.3.4-- Create
products that apply to authentic, real-world context
·
4.1.8-- Use
creative and artistic formats to express personal learning
In 2011, Animoto
released their iphone and ipad app. Richard
Byrnes in his “Free
Technology 4 Teachers” blog, recommended this app as a good one to
introduce to reluctant teachers. Once
they try Animoto, and learn how easy
it is to use, they then might be more inclined to try other apps in their
classrooms. Animoto provides an introductory program
for use in Education. It gives teachers
and librarians a six-month free trial subscription for use with up to 50
students. The only stipulation is that
students may not include any personally identifiable information with their
accounts. Teachers have commented that
it is a very easy tool to use and learn.
It grabs the attention of students and provides an alternative to more
commonly used presentation tools. In
support of our Chapter 7 discussion, Chris Roche, an educator posted on the Educator’s
PLN, “When using Animoto, compelling video shorts grab students’ attention,
create curiosity, and use visuals to stimulate thinking about prior
learning. Animoto will definitely help to bring your lessons to life.”
(edupln.ning.com, 2011).
I decided to try Animoto
and I downloaded the basic free web based tool on my computer. The free or lite version is limited to a 30
second video, with limited background themes and music choices, and includes
the “Animoto” logo on your video. Here’s
the link to their tutorial: Animoto Tutorial
I already had some
photos and music on my computer so I just selected the mind map pictures I had
from my presentation, chose a background theme (which includes the preselected
music), added a title and description, saved, and uploaded it to Animoto.
Once uploaded, it can be shared via YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, or
emailed. I’m actually amazed at how easy it was to use;
I was able to make a video without any screaming at my computer or pulling out
my hair! Here is my mind map video: Mind map video. Since
I had such a positive experience with my first try, I proceeded to make a
family video to share for the Thanksgiving holiday (but I won’t share that
here)!
Obviously, with an upgraded account, this would be a great
tool for digital storytelling, creating book trailers, book reviews, or even
just to highlight new books on a library website. Even with the limited options on the lite
account, students would have a fun learning experience with this tool. Animoto
gives them the chance to personalize an assignment with their own photos and
music—adding an element of creativity to what could otherwise be mundane
assignments. As stated in our textbook, “producing videos requires learners to be
active, constructive, intentional, and cooperative—to solve numerous
decision-making problems while solving design problems associated with
production” (Howland, p. 223, 2013). Producing
videos is now much easier than ever since digital cameras are just about
ubiquitous today. As mentioned in our
textbook, making videos can improve students’ self-confidence, create feelings
of self-satisfaction, allow students to receive feedback about how others
perceive them, and fosters cooperative learning (Howland, p. 223, 203). For this student (me), I felt immensely
successful—I had tried something that I had convinced myself was very difficult,
and it had worked!
As mentioned earlier, since our group’s class video failed a
few weeks ago, I decided that I needed to try the Videolicious app again that Heather presented to us. Feeling successful and confident after my
experience with Animoto, I gave it a
try. Videolicious
was a lot harder for me to learn. It
truly creates a video in that the narration of the story—the voice recording,
not just text as with Animoto—is
included in the app, so you must be able to organize another element in your
production. I found this a lot harder to
do, especially because I was doing this by myself--I had to hold the iphone
steady (without making myself look worse than normal), talk, and select
pictures, all at the same time. It took
me many tries before I was able to get it right and unlike my experience with Animoto, I did say naughty words and
stomped my feet! Though it took me a lot
longer to learn how to navigate this app, I must admit it has a more authentic
video feel to it than the Animoto
video. Without the audio narration
piece, Animoto resembles a slide show,
albeit one that has a video feel to it. It is is a more sophistical video editing
tool than Animoto. AASL included this iphone/ipad app on its
brand new Best Apps for Teaching and Learning 2013 list as an app “of exceptional
value to inquiry-based teaching and learning as embodied in the AASL’s Standards for the 21st-Century
Learner” (AASL, web, 2013).
Videolicious is
not a web based app; it is only for the iphone and ipad, which could be a
problem in a school setting, depending upon the technology used in your school. It is geared for businesses but it does offer
free accounts for personal users. This
account allows the user to make a one minute video with ten shots per video and
storage for up to 20 videos. The
business accounts have three different levels with different prices and
features. It does not offer special
pricing for educational users. However,
as Heather discussed in her presentation, it is being used in the classroom to
enhance learning and make it more meaningful.
The following tutorial explains how to get started with Videolicious and
how to use it in a classroom setting. In addition, I have included my video production—“How to
Access Resource Lists for the Digital Pen Pal Project”:
I think both tools—Animoto
and Videolicious, can be used in the
classroom to enhance teaching and learning.
As compared to the production process described in the book, these newer
tools have made the learning curve in producing and editing videos much more
user friendly—they have retained the fun but removed the frustration factor,
and thus made the learning more inclusive to many more types of learners. No matter what tool is used in making the video,
the learning experience lies with the modeling provided by the video, both in
the physical performance and the mental processes used in the task. Howland believes that “video feedback is
perhaps the most constructivist use of video…video feedback is one of the
deepest, most incisive learning experiences possible…video feedback can also be
used to provide insights into the self” (Howland, p. 228-9, 2013).
Using Animoto and Videolicious, either on your browser or
as an iOS app, depending upon the depth of the lesson plan, aligns with the
standards of many professional organizations—ISTE/Students, AASL Standards for
the 21st Century Learner, and Partnership for 2st Century
Skills, Framework for 21st Century Learning.
ISTE/Students:
1.a. Apply existing
knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
1.b. Create orginal works
as a means of personal or group expression.
2.a. Interact,
collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of
digital environments and media.
2.b. Communicate
information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of
media and formats.
3.a. Plan strategies to
guide inquiry.
3.b. Locate, organize,
analyze, evaluate, synthesize and ethically use information from a variety of
sources and media.
3.c. Evaluate and select
information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific
tasks.
4.a. Identify and define
authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.
4.b. Plan and manage
activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learners:
1 Follow an inquiry-based
process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and make the real-world
connection for using this process in own life.
1.1.8 Demonstrate mastery
of technology tools for accessing information and pursuing inquiry.
1.2.2 Demonstrate
confidence and self-direction by making independent choices in the selection of
resources and information.
1.2.3 Demonstrate
creativity by using multiple resources and formats.
1.3.5 Use information
technology responsibly.
2.1.4 Use technology and
other information tools to analyze and organize information.
2.1.6 Use the writing
process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products
that express new understandings.
2.2.4 Demonstrate personal
productivity by completing products to express learning.
2.4.3. Recognize new
knowledge and understanding.
3.1.4 Use technology and
other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in
ways that others can view, use, and assess.
3.1.6 Use information and
technology ethically and responsibly.
3.4.2 Assess the quality
and effectiveness of the learning product.
4.1.5 Connect ideas to own
interests and previous knowledge and experience.
4.1.8 Use creative and
artistic formats to express personal learning.
4.3.4 Practice safe and
ethical behaviors in personal electronic communication and interaction.
4.4.1 Identify own areas
of interest.
Partnership for 21st Century
Skills:
Information Literacy--
Access information
efficiently and effectively.
Use information accurately
and creatively for the issue or problem at hand.
Media Literacy—
Understand and utilize the
most appropriate media creation tools, characteristics and conventions.
ICT ( Information, Communications & Technology)
Literacy—
Use digital technologies
(computers, PDAs, media players, GPS, etc), communication/networking tools and
social networks appropriately to access, manage, integrate, and create
information to successfully function in a knowledge economy.
In conclusion, I would start with Animoto to practice and develop my skills and increase my comfort
level using these visualization tools.
As my confidence increases, then I would move on to lessons using the Videolicious app. This is what I would choose for myself, but
in reality, the students probably would be just as comfortable with Videolicious as they would with Animoto.
They will probably prefer Videolicious,
since it does produce a more professional looking video. In most cases, the Videolicious tool would be used by students working in a group
setting, where they can share ideas and switch roles as they produce their
video. However, whichever tool is used
will depend on the individual lesson plan and the individual school
environment. Either way, they are both
good tools which can provide a fun and meaningful learning experience.
