Reflection: Week 15

What?

This is the second week we have been working on our Digital Stories. This week in class, we were taught how to use “PhotoStory” on the school computers. Because I have a Macintosh laptop that I enjoy working with, my group is going to use the program iMovie instead of Photostory to create our Digital Story. Nothing is due next week, but Doc. Waters recommends having our Digital Stories complete so she can preview them. Our group can then make any corrections needed to perfect our final project.

So What?

The most valuable skill we acquired this week was learning how to use the application Photostory on the school computers. This application allows us to create a slideshow using music, pictures, voice recordings, and even video clips. Learning how to use this tool was much easier than I had anticipated. Because I enjoy using my Macintosh computer over a PC, I have been discovering how to use iMovie this week. iMovie is an amazing tool that I am excited to learn more about. Luckily, my husband knows how to use iMovie well and is teaching me how to become an expert at creating digital projects.

In my multicultural class this week, one of my peers created and presented a Digital Story to aid her in her book report presentation. The video she created made an impact on my learning experience. I became slightly emotional in class and could better relate to the subject she was teaching. After I saw this digital story, it motivated me even more to use technology to enhance my teaching.

Learning how to use these “movie making” applications has been enjoyable because not only is this something I can use for educational purposes throughout my teaching, it is also something I can use for recreational purposes. For example, my husband was able to create our entire wedding video using iMovie. Hopefully I will soon be able to create digital stories easily. I love learning about technology and plan to incorporate much of it during my teaching experience.

Now What?

Learning about digital stories will be valuable and meaningful in my future classroom. Digital stories can be created to address almost any health topic. This semester, my group chose to create our digital story on domestic abuse. Our story is turning out to be emotional and influential. Most likely, I will use this digital story to introduce domestic violence in my own class someday. By doing this, my student’s emotions will be surfaced and they will get to reflect on their own relationships and evaluate whether they are healthy or not.

Another benefit of creating digital stories is learning more about my content area. By simply creating this digital story, I have learned a great deal about the reality and dangers of domestic abuse. Creating digital stories and performing research not only benefits me, but it also benefits my future classroom. Through doing these activities in my class, my students will feel engaged, enjoy class more, and have the opportunity to reflect on themselves. Being exposed to this information about technology will make me a better teacher in the future.

Video Reflection:

After watching the video "Did you Know? 3.0," I started to think about the reality of technology expansion. Even in the past ten years, computers and the internet have become widely available for any use imaginable. Today, children are growing up knowing how to use technology as a means for entertainment and education and we (as teachers and parents) need to be aware of its advantages and dangers to protect and influence the future generation. As teachers, it is crucial that we know how to properly use technology in order to help our students utilize available resources used for education and also to help them know how different websites work in order to further their knowledge in this ever expanding, technological world.

I value what I have learned in this instructional media class. I feel that I am now more prepared to teach students and be current with the technology they are using. I feel this class has greatly benefited me and know that I could now figure out how to use almost any application on the computer because I have become familiar with many of them in this class. I have become a knowledgeable and reliable source for my future students to count on.