Public Service Announcements - My Take on Two...

This week I watched two public service announcements.  Read about my thoughts below.

My thoughts on the “The Essay”

The video, “The Essay”, takes place many years ago before technology became what it is today.  A young girl is sharing her essay about how she thinks the telephone is going to be in the future – from its small size, to watching football games on it, to taking pictures and playing games and creating movies on it – everything that today’s telephones – smartphones - can do.  Everyone is worried about the girl’s mental health, with her parents taking her to see different doctors, as they think her idea of the future of telephones is preposterous.  This video is a commercial for the company Telenor.  Telenor is promoting that each new day brings new opportunities and with technology, the opportunities are limitless.

I believe the target audience is for anyone looking to purchase a product from Telenor.  If you are interested in a smartphone, Telenor has the one for you!  I also think this video does a nice job promoting new technology ideas.   If you are in the market for innovation and the latest and greatest technology, check out Telenor.  With that said, I think the target audience age would be late teens through adults.

I thought the methods for creating this video were very effective.  The video itself was nicely made and the setting and color choices aided in the video’s effectiveness.  I think the adults in the video did a nice job conveying their concern with the girl’s idea.  Since the little girl is speaking in an accent, it caused me to really focus on what she was saying and it made the video more meaningful to me.  I thought the message of the video was powerful and that the possibilities with technology are limitless.

My thoughts on “We Think”

The video, “We Think”, does a nice job explaining the power and value of the Web.  The focus of the video centers around the idea that the amount of information available online is endless.  Information can be gained through websites, blogs, wikis, and videos.  The Web also allows for collaboration and helps to develop creativity and new ideas.  With the Web, everyone can contribute and leave their footprint.  The Web opens up the opportunity for collaboration among many and the sharing of ideas freely, but with that also comes questions.  Who owns the material?  Should anyone be paid for it?

I believe the target audience is Web users. The content of this video and the message it portrays leads me to think this video would be more appropriate for high school students through adults. 

I really enjoyed this video and thought it was nicely created.  Since only words were used, I really needed to pay attention to the video.  I did think that some of the words moved quickly and I had to replay a part once so I could read everything, but reading the words forced me to focus more on the video and its message.  I think the music that was used was an excellent choice; I really enjoyed it.  I also liked the black and white color choices.  It made everything easy to read.

In my role as the tech director, I think both videos were nicely done.  Both videos were completely different in that one video used characters, voice, and setting to get the message across and the other video used only words and drawings to convey the message.  Both were effective in their own way and did a nice job in sharing their message.

Infographics in the Classroom? Yes, Please!

I had a lot of fun experimenting with infographics this week.  I can definitely see the appeal with infographics and why they are becoming a part of today’s classrooms.  This week, I used Canva to create an infographic and found it really easy to use and navigate.  Canva provides a lot of different options from templates, layouts, pictures, and text features, just to name a few.  Canva is also free to use, making it a great addition to any classroom. 

Since I teach middle school, I don’t think my students should have any trouble creating infographics.  In the beginning, it would take some teaching on my part as students learn the basics of creating infographics and get comfortable with whichever online tool - like Canva - we use; however, I do believe my students will learn best about creating infographics by experimenting on their own.  The majority of my reference classes center around research skills and I can see using infographics as a way for my students to present their research information in a fun, creative way.  Instead of students regurgitating information, I’d actually like for them to apply what they learned, and I think an infographic is an excellent way to do just that.   I believe students will see creating infographics as a fun learning tool, leading to higher student engagement.

Next year my school is going 1:1 with iPads so technology will be readily available, making creating infographics very easy and do-able.  Even though my school is not 1:1 yet, this year I do have daily access to 15 desktop computers in the library and an iPad cart.  There are also several MacBook carts and additional iPad carts available in my building.  Having a lot of technology available is a huge plus.  Obviously, without all this technology available in my building, projects like creating infographics would be very hard to incorporate into the classroom.

I can certainly see my students creating infographics to share information.  Can you?

Online Presentations - So Many Options! My Thoughts on Two...

This week I was tasked with trying two new things – creating a Thinglink and creating a narrated tutorial using Adobe Spark. 

Before Sunday, I had never heard of Thinglink so I had absolutely no idea what I was to be creating. Once I created my account, and had some time to experiment and play around with it, I was not too impressed.  I only signed up for the free account and felt that what I could do with it was limited.  I would have liked to have added text to my Thinglink but couldn’t do that without a bullet.  I don’t like that you have to add a bullet to add another picture, video, or text box.  On a positive note, as I was putting my Thinglink together, I was thinking of ways I could use it in my own classroom, and I came up with several.  One way I can see using Thinglink is as a virtual tour of my library.  I’d like to take a picture, or two, or three, and post them on my Thinglink and then I’d add bullets to explain library procedures and where books and different items are located throughout the library.  This would help greatly at the beginning of each school year when the new 6^th graders arrive.  It’s always a challenge to get 12 different ELA classes down to the library for orientation the first few weeks of school and this would alleviate the need to bring down each class; students can just access my Thinglink via my school website and take their own virtual tour.  This would also work for any new student that comes at the start of the school year or throughout the year.  Another way I can see using a Thinglink is as an author study.  I’d like to create a new Thinglink each month that highlights a different author.  The bullets would provide information such as a link to their website, a list of books the author wrote, maybe a video interview, etc.  Again this information could be accessed via my school website. 

I also had the opportunity to create a narrated tutorial using Adobe Spark.  I already have experience using Adobe Spark so creating the narrated tutorial was easy.  Unlike my experience with Thinglink, I think Adobe Spark is very user friendly.  I much prefer it over Thinglink.  Once I decided upon my topic and selected my pictures, the hardest part for me was choosing the theme only because there were so many options.  After I decided upon the theme, added the pictures, and recorded the narration, I added some background music.  Again, this also took some time because of all the different options available.  I do think the music adds a nice touch though and I’m glad I took the time to listen to the different options.  Making changes to my video was very easy through Adobe Spark.  I had to re-record two slides just because my narration was longer than the amount of time the picture was displayed.  I was able to add a few seconds to the picture display and record my narration again with no problem.  I can totally see myself creating a narrated tutorial using Adobe Spark.  The ease makes it really nice to use.  I think it is a great way to highlight information from previously taught lessons.  By adding the link to the Adobe Spark video on my school website, students can easily access it from anywhere.  You can also use the video feature of Adobe Spark if you are in a flipped classroom environment.  It would be easy to create and upload videos to your website that students can access from home and watch before the next day’s class. 

My building is going 1:1 next year so it will be easy for my students to access both Thinglink and Adobe Spark videos from their own devices.  Had we not been moving into the 1:1 realm, my building has several laptop carts, iPad carts, and desktop computers where students can access information from either online presentation.  I’m not sure if I’d use either of these tools for assessment purposes as I just don’t think either will meet my content needs.  I do see myself using them (or at least Adobe Spark videos) for instructional purposes and using them as a tool to share, teach, and/or review information.

Have you ever tried either of these online presentation tools?  If so, how do you use them in the classroom?

Makerspace: Yay or nay?

The makerspace movement seems to be a front-and-center topic with many educators today. Until last year, the word makerspace was foreign to me.  Recently, I was tasked with the job of incorporating a makerspace into my library starting next year.  With the recent buzz of makerspaces, I'm eager to get started.  I know several districts are jumping on the makerspace bandwagon and incorporating one, in one way or another, into their schools.  I've heard of schools putting together mobile carts that can be pushed from classroom to classroom that have items like Legos, building blocks, dominos, popsicle sticks, etc. for students to tinker with, be creative, and build. Other schools have a room set up that offers students the opportunity to play and experiment with Sphero robotic balls and Ozobots.  Some schools have incorporated the use of a 3D printer into the library.  It seems that the possibilities with makerspaces are endless and, for the most part, reap positive rewards as students are developing their 21st century skill-set.

With the makerspace buzz comes push-back, too.  Many teachers are reluctant to enter the makerspace realm because, like many other things in education, they see it as a fad that will soon be replaced by something else.  Some teachers may not see the benefits of a makerspace and view it as a waste of time.  To create an effective makerspace, a lot needs to be invested - time, money, donations, etc.   Many aspects of a makerspace need to be thought through, too - finding and organizing a space, and establishing rules and expectations, just to name a few.

As an educator, what are your thoughts on makerspaces?  Would you like to see a makerspace incorporated into your building in some way - maybe in your own classroom or in your school's library?  If you are against makerspaces, why? What types of items do you think are important to include in a makerspace?