Reflection 2

Digital Media in the Classroom

Welcome

Welcome back! Today I will be discussing the pedagogical affordances of using media in the classroom (i.e. images, audio, and video) and how these modes of media could be used to aid in engagement for student learning, as well as how students might create their own media thus enhancing and amplifying their learning by doing.

Throughout my blog, I will be suggesting ideas and activities I might use when teaching a mathematics or biology/science class. I will use SAMR and Bloom's Taxonomy to guide my suggestions. However, it is important to note that when discussing SAMR alongside Bloom's Taxonomy the relationship between each model is not correspondingly sequential in design. Terminology such as 'higher order thinking skills' might confuse one's understanding of this. For example, a student could be using evaluating skills in the substitution level of SAMR, or perhaps using 'applying' skills in a redefinition context. The 'level' in one model is not representative of the 'level' of another.

As always, I don't wish to be the only one talking; I value your feedback. So please,  comment below if you have anything cool to add, something to say, or wish to share an honest critique about my blog 👇😉.

Let's get into it!

Analysis: Audio

'Audio:' this could be used as a teaching tool or as an outlet for students to share their progress (e.g. in summative or formative assessment) in the form of a single audio file. The most contemporary application of this is substantiated in the mode of podcasts - EVERYONE listens to PodCasts nowadays because they're everywhere and cover almost every topic out there. They can be accessed from Spotify, Audible, PodBean or LibriVox just to name a few. The trouble is, it's easy to get distracted since only one out of five senses are engaged (often the remaining 4 are distractions). Students are not well engaged, and, as you will read shortly, nor do 21st-century students learn effectively this way.

Through my readings and learning over the past week, I have come to the conclusion that although audio formats of media have a place in education, they do not engender higher-order levels of thinking (Cf. Bloom's Taxonomy) which means that no matter how 'new and inventive' the activity might be, (in terms of SAMR Model), the depth of student learning is likely to be quite minimal. Furthermore, a recent study, led by Poremba and Bigelow, found that tactile and visual memory were far superior to auditory memory concluding that auditory memory is not nearly as 'robust' as previously thought (Cole, 2014).

Here are some examples to implement podcasting into the classroom curriculum:

See more at: https://bit.ly/2G5IeaX

Substitution:
The teacher plays a short podcast and asks the students to close their eyes and think of one thing that stood out to them in the clip. This is an 'I do' example from the Explicit Teacher Model. An example I like is for the teacher to use the short clips from 60-Second Science such as dolphins changing their calls to compete with human interference. A follow-up question might be, 'What other impacts are humans making on the Earth?' This might lead students from simply 'understanding' to 'applying' the knowledge they have just acquired. In a science class, this could lead to further discussion; however, the podcast itself remains 'I do'.

Augmentation:
Instead of students writing an essay on the effects of smoking, they use podcasting to discuss key points of the essay.

Modification:
Students share their podcast via social media forums.

Redefinition:

Students collaborate with extension music students. who compose background music, whereas science students write their essays on smoking and health. The podcast could be posted on a social media platform where stakeholders/ peers can comment and converse.

I believe that podcast-like tools should be used sparingly in the classroom because more-often-than-not, time could be better spent 'elsewhere' (i.e. using images... or better still, video). The below image was easily designed (using a template) from BeFunky. It was quick to make and nicely exported/saved to my Google Drive with just two clicks. As you will soon see, images and other visual tools are great ways of ensuring students are deeply learning.

Analysis: Images

Images are used in a plethora of ways such as aiding engagement during direct teaching time or as the foundation of an interactive activity. Students can be tasked to create their own images, mindmaps, infographics, etc., as a means of creative, higher-order learning. Images should be incorporated on the daily for, 'The neuroscience of images indicates that the brain is wired to work with visual data' (CQUniversity, 2019). Visual information is easier to compute because 'it helps learners arrange information and visualise connections amongst items in a schema' (CQUniversity, 2019). The idea of visual learning is not exclusive to photographs. Rather, any visual representation of information (including or excluding text) is considered an image. For example, graphic organisers, stick-note boards, concept mapping, and others, all represent 'images.' The powerful thing about images is that 'they are composed and need to be "read" with non-linear logic (Miller & McVee 2013).

Teachers and students must be wary when taking photographs, downloading images in high quality and exporting large file-sized images. There are loads of online image-compressors - or even Powerpoint has this capability when saving images.

The painting to the right was downloaded from the royalty-free site, 'Photos for Class.' I simply searched for a 'See, Think, Wonder' activity and a list of possibilities popped up in grid form. I believe the benefits of using this site are twofold: the teacher avoids any legal or ethical issues due to copyright laws; and, the site provides wonderful suggestions for activities, saving on time.







Below is a wonderful 30-second video that illustrates how a teacher might use a 'See, Think, Wonder' activity in the classroom. This might be a great way to begin an English class - display an image and
encourage students to fill in the blanks in the template (either online or in their notebooks).

Upon reflection, I believe images can be used in the first three stages of the SAMR Model. Also, due to the extensive range of online resources, teachers can give greater scope than ever before in open-ended tasks which lead students to develop their higher-order thinking skills.

Substitution:

At this stage in the SAMR model, year 8 science students might use a graphic organiser to record key definitions of a biology class. This could likewise be accomplished using online mind mapping/concept mapping by Wisemapping, Coggle, Bubble.us ... etc. If I was to pinpoint the taxa on Bloon's Model, I would suggest that this example would be 'Knowledge.'

Augmentation:

A year 11 biology student could be tasked to create an infographic detailing the effects of humans on climate change. Useful websites include: Canva, Piktochart and Venngage. Here, students are 'creating' (at a basic level) once they have analyzed the key facts and synthesized relevant information from the teacher. This could be an example of 'We do' in the explicit teaching model.

Modification:

Students can use a site such as ThingLink to share their knowledge in an interactive way. In a science class, a year 10 student has explained how the different compartments of the brain function.

Here, a year 9 science student has detailed the layers of the earth including embedded images and videos.

I really like what BreannaDPSS says about the applications of ThingLink where students would be analyzing and evaluating because 'students must not only create an image but also analyse and evaluate its aspects to demonstrate a full understanding of the value of the image.' I believe that implementing this tool into a classroom setting would encourage students to dissect their image and see correlations to each aspect within the particular science topic (brain anatomy, earth science). As a result, this activity would lean toward the 'You do' step of the explicit teaching model.

Analysis: Video

'Critiques of existing schooling point to the "more compelling and motivating" multimodal learning that students engage in outside of school as an explanation for the increasing student disengagement in classrooms' (Miller & McVee, 2013). Miller and McVee (2013) share numerous examples of how to video - student created/designed video - is used by contemporary teachers to meet the needs of their students. Not only can teachers use videos (e.g. YouTube clips or Ted Talks) in their teaching of concepts, but students should be the ones to use video as a means of expressing their ideas and learning. We have discussed that students who solely hear information do not learn as effectively as those who solely see the information. However, combining audio and visual makes for a powerful tool. Furthermore, if students are given the opportunity to create - by physically touching and moving things - their learning is enhanced. Janet Brian, as cited by Diane Cole, National Geographic (2014) agrees by stating, '...we need to engage all the senses "to promote learning and memory."'

It is important to note that teachers should have students map out (or storyboard) their video ideas before starting the video process. This will save time and allow the teacher to moderate student ideas before they are filmed and shared publically.

There are many ways to create a video in the tech-knowledgable days of 2019. Various software includes iMovie or 'Final Cut Pro X' for Mac (which are both very user-friendly) as well as iMovie for iPad and iPhone; Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Wondershare Filmora. I personally use Filmora (probably once a month) to combine audio files (piano music) to video files (nature videos from YouTube). Please check out my latest video by clicking this link. You will notice I have used a number of techniques from audio and video cropping and overlaying, to text animation and fading out sound and video at the end. If you are a beginner with this software, I would recommend watching this short tutorial by Filmora themselves:

Teachers must be wary when students are using online content in their videos, especially if the students are sharing their content on social media or other forums. Students should always follow protocols with pirating and copyright - all audio should come from public domain places or should be original (very similar to protocols regarding images).

I love what Mateer & Ghent (unknown) say about digital media, 'Using media engages students, aids student retention of knowledge, motivates interest in the subject matter, and illustrates the relevance of many concepts.' These truths are all necessary for optimal student learning.

Substitution or Augmentation:
The teacher shares a video in his Grade 12 Math C class by Khan Academy. This is an example of "I do" in the Explicit Teaching Model. Students will only gather information and comprehend it which means the level of thinking remains at remembering and understanding levels.

Rather than the teacher teaching, he/she substitutes this with a video. For example - projectile motion.





Modification:
Students of the same Grade 12 Math C class, are given an open-ended task whereby they are to show their understanding by filming projectile motion in action. One way to achieve the desired goal is for students to calculate the curvature of a projectile and map this on grid paper. They then plan (storyboard) how they will video a projectile following this trajectory and film it in stop motion. Students will then overlay public domain music or voice over (mocumentary-style) and create a production-worthy video. This allows students to be 'I-doers' in the Explicit Teacher model. This task would ensure that all six thinking skills from Bloom's Taxonomy are utilized and developed.

Redefinition:
The video created (in the previous stage) would be shared on YouTube or other social media platforms to engage other learners in feedback.

Concluding Remarks

I have enjoyed experimenting with various digital medias during the week (I have only shared what I believe to be the best selection). As such, I wish to encourage teachers; firstly those currently in the profession, to be creative and try something new with your students; and for those studying, to experiment yourselves, discover new ways of teaching and enhancing your pedagogy, and lastly, become familiar with the many amazing tools which are available to you!

References

Cole, D. (2014, March 13). A Message From Your Brain: I'm Not Good At Remembering What I Hear. Retrieved April 07, 2019, from National Geographic: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140312-auditory-memory-visual-learning-brain-research-science/

CQUniversity. (2019, April 7). Topic 4: Digital Tools 2 - Simple digital media. Retrieved from https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=838532&chapterid=57295

Mateer, G. D., & Linda S. Ghent. (n.d.). Using Media to Enhance Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from Starting Point Teaching and Learning Economics : https://serc.carleton.edu/econ/media/index.html

Miller, S. M., & McVee, M. B. (2013). Multimodal Composing in Classrooms: Learning and Teaching for the Digital World. Routledge: Education.

Please note that all YouTube Videos and Images are cited throughout the blog and they are freely accessible by clicking on the desired image/video.