EEND 677Y Artifact #2

     In Module 6, I read an article that was titled "Effective Communication via a Classroom Newsletter," by Janelle Cox.  It suggested that newsletters need to be eye catching, few words as possible, announce only new content, and to use graphics to share a story.  I decided to create my own newsletter for PE that I could share with parents either as a paper newsletter or send home electronically.  I have always struggled with what would be the best way to communicate with parents when I have over 600 students that I teach.  I decided to create a new newsletter that will highlight our new Tower Garden that we received as a grant that I applied for.  I think the images really capture the person's eye and hopefully inspire them to read the short paragraph explaining what it is.  I used the website, Canva, to create this newsletter and found it to be very simple to use.  I learned on the go and was able to find a large assortment of newsletter templates to get started with.  It was a lot of fun playing around with different ones trying to find which one would be best for two images side by side.  I can see using this website a lot more in the future when making posters or flyers for school events.  It was very easy to save to my computer and also to share as an attachment in an email if need be.  This particular module was interesting because it was all about telling a story and what are some strategies and tools to best share that story.  I will be sharing some of the other tools with some colleagues of mine so that they can also understand why graphic design matters when creating your own content.

EEND 677Y Artifact #1

     In module 4, our focus was on the use of video in the classroom and how book trailers can engage students.  Being that I am a PE teacher, I didn't know that book trailers were a thing and how engaging they are for students.  I have always enjoyed the use of video in my classroom but it has always been short clips that I might show of different highlights of a sport or skill that we are learning about. Recently, I started playing around with Gifs and creating my own for class.  They have become a really nice way for students to look back on during the lesson.  For this module's assignment, we were asked to create a book trailer or a video that was introducing something new coming up.  I decided to try out a new website and tech tool called Animoto.  This is a site that allows you to upload your own pictures or video and allows you to choose from a variety of different themed video trailers.  In addition to the themes, it also allows you to choose from a selection of music depending on the theme of your video.  There are multiple membership levels that offer different features but I opted for the free version for this assignment.  What I like about it was how easy and intuitive it was to use.  I have always used iMovie to create my videos for class and have always felt that it is very time consuming to try and make a video.  However, with Animoto, it was extremely simple to use and offered more themes than I thought for the free version.  For the assignment, I uploaded a bunch of pictures and video clips from last school year's Endurance Challenge.  This is an event that I do with just my 5th graders and is often described as the Amazing Race, meets Survivor, meets 5th grade.  It is a fun event for the students that pushes them beyond their comfort zone.  Each year I make a highlight video to share with the classes after the event.  I always use iMovie and it is very time consuming.  After using Animoto for this assignment, it has me re-thinking how I will create videos in the future.  I will use this Endurance Challenge teaser video to show this year's classes to get them excited for their event coming up.  I can now see myself creating short teaser videos for some future units or events that we may be doing.  Unfortunately I can't post my final video on my blog due to student privacy but I encourage you to check out the website for your next project!  www.animoto.com

EEND677Y Multimedia Tools in Education Reflection

     When I reflect back on this class, there are many things that stick out in a positive way.  In the beginning of the class, we spent some time talking and learning about audio in the classroom.  I have always been a huge fan of podcasts and listen to them whenever I can.  They have become very popular in the last few years and are popping up all over the place it seems and about any topic you can think of.  It was neat to read and here about other teachers who have started their own podcasts in their classrooms for students to create and share with their parents.  I think the biggest misconception is how much work they require.  I do not have experience in creating one but from what I have heard from others, it wasn't as scary as they thought.  One of the assignments early on was to do an audio recording of ourselves reading a short story.  It was very eye opening to actually critique yourself when listening to it back.  Hearing your own voice always feels weird anyway but to actually judge your tone, pace, intonation, and enthusiasm was very different but a great learning experience.  The podcast hosts make it seem so easy!
     During module 5, we focused on the importance of graphic design and typography.  I wasn't sure what to expect in this module but I found it very interesting after completing it.  I read an article titled "The Power of the Informational Graphic" by Wyzowl, and there was a quote that stuck with me.  It said "According to studies, people tend to remember about 20% of what they read, and only ten% of what they hear. In comparison, the same studies have shown that people tend to remember an impressive 80% of what they see and do."  This quote hit me hard after I reflected on it.  Being a PE teacher, I have a huge advantage in that I can incorporate movement into almost everything I teach.  The part that is missing a lot of the time is the visual piece.  It made me think about all the possibilities of ways that I could have more visuals in my classroom (or gym).  One easy fix could be to have Gifs projected on the screen of me doing a skill so that students could simply look up and see the example as often as they want.  This module also taught me about the F-shaped pattern that we use to look at websites or any graphics for that matter.  I wasn't sure at first but then I found myself doing it all the time after learning about it.  This module was great at explaining the importance of graphic design in your classroom and being the difference in keeping kids engaged in a lesson verses taking the easier way out and creating something simple and boring.
     In module 7, I created my first screencast for the assignment.  I was a little nervous before creating it only because they always look so easy when you see others do it on Youtube.  I will admit, it took me a few tries to get it right.  It was a lot harder than I thought too.  The tricky part to the screencast is that it is all one take so you have to be really well prepared with what you want to say and points you want to make because if you forget or mess up, you have to start all over!  Trust me, I learned the hard way!  In module 8, the resources were all about Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.  I knew both were becoming very hot buzz words but I didn't know that they were making great progress into the education world.  I watched a really neat TED talk from Michael Bodekaer about how Virtual Reality can totally change the science classroom.  He demonstrated a way to do a science experiment with a headset on using his phone has the screen.  It was really neat to see how easy it was for him to maneuver around and to see why kids would be so much more engaged if learning was fun and interactive the way he was showing it.  
    I really enjoyed this class and will take many great ideas and resources away from it.  The best part is always collaborating with other teachers and hearing what they are trying and what is working for them.  So many people have so many great ideas and it's fun when everyone is willing to share what they have created or discovered.