Reflections for Week 3

Science in Plain English

This method of video production is a great guideline for teaching any concept. I like the fact that no high tech video editing capabilities are required. It is important when using a tool like video production to learn a concept, that the point of the task to learn target concepts is not lost in the complexity of making the project. I look forward to trying to make one of my own. I think my students will like doing this too. However, I do worry about having a quiet place for recording and time to rehearse will be needed, sometimes space in the classroom isn’t ideal for this. I’m curious to know how these other teachers handled this aspect.

Creative Commons
Wikipedia and other similar commons for image resources are great. I use these resources regularly, but still require my students to cite information and get permission to use images that permission isn't explicitly granted on the site. I check out the Creative Commons and found it to be a little confusing. By placing these images in the commons is the owner/creater granting permission to use. I realize all images created are automatically copyrighted but some people don't want their images being used for ANY purpose. Anyway I don't really sea a difference between a Google image search and the creative commons other than the ability to search solely for commons images. Here are some images that are from yesterday here in Fairbanks. We had a crane that was working on a bridge topple over into the river. My husband happened to be driving by right after it happened. Amazingly, no one was injured, even though when my husband first drove by they'd had a guy dangling from the crane in a basket welding the bridge supports only 30 minutes earlier. Later in the afternoon as I was driving by again taking my kid to soccer I snapped some pictures with my cell phone. However, I can't figure out how to get these images off my phone onto my computer (I don't have a data plan)... anyway, I digress, that's a whole other issue. SO... I went to the creative commons and found someone else had posted pictures of the accident. Here is a link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fairbanksmike/4747229440/

Chap 2 – Digital Images ad Video in Science Teaching

The research has proven that pictures, i.e. visualization tools, can increase student comprehension. I guess I’ve always known this since this is what works best for my own learning. Therefore my teaching style has been focused on incorporated this facet to keep students engaged, increase comprehension, and improve the student’s ability to recall the information. Levie and Lentz likened imagery as a type of advanced organizer. Further research on the effects of video showed that videos in combination with other instructional tools were better for student learning than either the video or the other learning tool on its own. It is important to note that the studies showed that interactive video produced better achievement when the use of the interactive video was guided and structured rather than left to the sole control of the learner.

Here is a summation of the guidelines for best practices in using digital imagery:

1. The photos or video must specifically illustrate the targeted content and address the instructional goal.

a. These have the greatest effect when the imagery interprets what has already been read, connects or organizes the ideas of the text or verifies the reader’s comprehension.

b. Digital imagery is particularly effective in conveying information that might otherwise be intangible such as for microscopic specimens, astronomical objects, etc.

2. There must be meaningful interaction with the imagery.

a. This is achieved through careful questioning strategies that allow students to make observations, draw conclusions, make connections, and note relevance.

3. The imagery must supplement not replace the teacher instruction.

a. It shouldn’t be used as a “filler” but should be used to exemplify concepts that would otherwise be inaccessible such as comparing various ecosystems. Images can also more easily demonstrate small, finite concepts such as precise measuring skills, elaborate diagrams, or microscopic structures.

4. Respect copyrights under the Educational Multimedia Fair Use Guidelines.

a. An interesting point made in this chapter was that of digital quality. The suggested picture resolution for a slideshow in 72 ppi, and to have an image the size of a screen it needs to be 800-1000 pixel wide at 72 ppi. In my experience, this has proven to be a really important concept to convey to students since they will often try to use thumbnail images that have been enlarged in a presentation resulting in a blurred picture that detracts from the presentation. Conversely, if their images have too high of a resolution, the project can become very slow to load on a web page and uses up valuable file space.