EDU 642 Portfolio

I updated my storytelling video. You can view it below.

Digital storytelling is a way to create videos that tell a story. It uses pictures, narration, music, and sometimes video. Using Window's Movie Maker, I created a digital story about places in the community where I work. In our kindergarten curriculum, students must know the places in the community. You can view my video below.

Copyright:
Music - "Favorite Secrets" by Waylon Thornton (http://waylonthornton.tumblr.com)
Photos were taken by my colleague Scott Hart and myself
Video was created using Window's Movie Maker.
Voice recording was provided by me.

Storify is an online resource where people can create a story or poster using multimedia elements. This resource allows you to pull videos from YouTube, pictures form Flickr, or sound clips from SoundCloud. You can also pull things from Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. You can view a storify project I created by clicking here.

Uses in the Classroom: Storify is another technology resource that can be used with students. Students can use Storify to create posters or stories of just about anything. This tool is a great way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a certain topic since it allows them to access many other multimedia pieces such as videos or sound clips. For example, if students are learning about the planets, they could create a storify poster to explain what they have learned.

Issues to Consider: When using storify, teachers should ensure their students are using school appropriate language and information. Also, teachers may want to limit the use of images or information from Facebook or Twitter. Often times these social media resources are not available through the school's server. Also, social media is not always the best place to retrieve academically sound information.

Copyright: For my storify project, I referenced Ruth Clark's article about using effective graphics. The citation is included in the project and also below.

Concept mapping is a great tool to organize ideas. They can be used in several ways. By clicking the image below, you can view a mind map I created using MindMeister. This map shows how technology can be used to support and embrace technology in the classroom.

Uses for the classroom: Students can use concept mapping to organize ideas or thoughts. There are millions of pieces of information available, but sometimes it is hard to organize it all. Mind mapping would allow students to also present their information. Using technology resources to create mind maps let's students manipulate "bubbles" and easily insert information versus using pencil and paper. These resources also let students change font sizes and colors for emphasis. So, let's say you are teaching students about different types of animals: vertebrates and invertebrates. Students could create a mind map to demonstrate which animals are vertebrates and which are invertebrates. The online resources available also allow students to add images or symbols. Students could insert pictures of the animals to explain their ideas more.

Issues to consider: When having students create mind maps, be sure they are using accurate information. If students are adding images to their mind maps, be sure they are copyright friendly and that they site their sources. It is also important for students to cite where their information came from.

Photo editing can be useful for teachers and students. Editing photos can be simple for beginners or more advanced. I used Photoshop to edit one photo in three different ways. You can see what I created below. My images were changed using some of the basic tools of Photoshop.