So, here is my podcast. Sorry it was a little later than I first anticipated. I had a fabulous idea I wanted to try out and so I bit off a little more than I could handle in the time period. My podcast is a little longer than the 15 minutes and for one major reason - I wanted to create an instructional podcast that could be used by my cross-country runners.
Many times there are some strategies and tips that I give them as we run that allows them to make improvements in their form, energy, strategy, etc. However, most of the time the kids are running at different paces and developing at different levels. So, as I was looking at different fitness podcasts and thought, I would sure like to be able to have something like this for my students that would give them the mobility to have instruction where ever they are. Pop in the ipod and do the training.
If you look at my podcast webpage you will notice there are some links that will allow you to see where you can get the free workout CDs provided by the Big Loser and Subway which is where I received the music for the podcast. The podcast is 1 hour long (mainly to be a workout for the students). I don't want you to have to listen to the entire hour to analyze and grade it, so I will give a brief synopsis below:
0:00 - 0:30 Intro music
0:30 - 1:00 Intro to podcast:
1:00 - 6:00 Finish warm-up jog music
6:00 - 8:00 Warm-up stretches / tips on warm ups
8:00 - 11:30 Finish warm-up stretch music
11:30 - 12:00 Introduction to workout
12:00 - 16:30 Workout Music
16:30 - 17:50 Instruction on proper shoe purchase w/ Workout Music
17:50 - 20:45 Workout Music
20:45 - 21:50 Instruction on proper clothing
21:50 - 30:30 Workout Music
30:30 - 31:55 Instruction on injuries proper care
31:55 - 41:50 Workout Music
41:50 - 42:10 Instruction on proper diet
42:10 - 51:10 Workout Music
51:10 - 51:30 Cool Down Instructions
51:30 - 57:20 Cool Down Jogging Music (repeat of intro jogging music and theme of podcast)
57:20 - 60:00 Cool Down Stretching music and thanking for joining podcast
The idea behind the podcast is to develop a training that students could perform over the summer and/or during the school year and receive instruction that pertains to their personal needs. For example, I could create podcasts for Farlek runs, Tempo runs, Intervals, etc. Students need at times explanations on how to perform their exercises, and this would be personalized training to fit their needs. They could just download the podcast to their ipod and they would be ready for the next exercise.
Podcast Website
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
TOTs - "Technology for Online Teaching"
I named my podcast TOTs – Technology for Online Teaching. The idea behind this podcast is to focus each episode on one particular type of online technology and not only introduce the technical aspects but also describe example strategies for using the technology in online teaching. It does not attempt to cover every possible tool or idea but rather just highlight some significant or even lesser known things. Also, I decided that the episodes should be rather short and succinct, in order to deliver a small bit of valuable information in a quick manner.
The first episode of this podcast could potentially focus on any number of different topics, but I decided to start by briefly introducing collaborative document platforms such as Google Docs. Episode one focuses primarily on Google Docs but also mentions a couple of other interesting platforms as well.
The first episode of this podcast could potentially focus on any number of different topics, but I decided to start by briefly introducing collaborative document platforms such as Google Docs. Episode one focuses primarily on Google Docs but also mentions a couple of other interesting platforms as well.
Peer Tutor Podcast: Tips and Tricks to Helping Students with Special Needs at School
This podcast is geared toward peer tutors in a middle schools and high school setting who are assigned to help students with disabilities in and out of the classroom.
Often as Life Skills (Special Education) teacher for students with severe disabilities, much of my time is dedicated to teaching and training peer tutors who take “Peer Tutoring” as an elective credit. With 30-50 peer tutors in 8 different classes, it is often difficult to train each one. I created this podcast as a way for me to train peer tutors on methods that will help them work more effectively with student with special needs and not have to repeat myself.
This podcast episode, “Giving Good Directions” highlights 4 tips on how to give directions so that students will listen. Other ideas for podcasts I have include, “100 Ways to Say Good Job: Effective Ways to Praise Students with Special Needs” and “High Fives and Handshakes: Ways to Encourage Appropriate Hands.”
I added this URL as an enclosure link, but it seems as though something is not quite right. Here is the link: http://www.box.net/shared/7ogszig0ek
Often as Life Skills (Special Education) teacher for students with severe disabilities, much of my time is dedicated to teaching and training peer tutors who take “Peer Tutoring” as an elective credit. With 30-50 peer tutors in 8 different classes, it is often difficult to train each one. I created this podcast as a way for me to train peer tutors on methods that will help them work more effectively with student with special needs and not have to repeat myself.
This podcast episode, “Giving Good Directions” highlights 4 tips on how to give directions so that students will listen. Other ideas for podcasts I have include, “100 Ways to Say Good Job: Effective Ways to Praise Students with Special Needs” and “High Fives and Handshakes: Ways to Encourage Appropriate Hands.”
I added this URL as an enclosure link, but it seems as though something is not quite right. Here is the link: http://www.box.net/shared/7ogszig0ek
Study Sessions
I created a podcast about study skills and the methods, strategies, and tips given to help students become successful in the classroom. In my first episode I cover some organizational basics such as workspace organization, calendars and to-do lists, along with reading strategies for textbook and novel reading. Many of the students I tutor have difficulty with how to study and getting work completed and the topics I discuss in this podcast are some of the same strategies I've used with my students.
I enjoyed putting this podcast together and since I paid for the extra space on WordPress I think I'll "put my money where my mouth is" and continue with my Study Session series. There are many topics to cover in study skills and some topics can be broken down by grade and subject, so there are many opportunities for more episodes. Audacity was very easy to use and adding and editing the music/transitions was fun to do.
Technically this is the "second" podcast I made; I recorded most of my pieces, didn't save it and Audacity decided it was done for the night! So I guess that was my practice run and the link below is my final version. I hope you enjoy it.
Study Sessions Episode #1
I enjoyed putting this podcast together and since I paid for the extra space on WordPress I think I'll "put my money where my mouth is" and continue with my Study Session series. There are many topics to cover in study skills and some topics can be broken down by grade and subject, so there are many opportunities for more episodes. Audacity was very easy to use and adding and editing the music/transitions was fun to do.
Technically this is the "second" podcast I made; I recorded most of my pieces, didn't save it and Audacity decided it was done for the night! So I guess that was my practice run and the link below is my final version. I hope you enjoy it.
Study Sessions Episode #1
Nursing 101
I chose to develop my first course on Basic Pulmonary Function Testing (PFT). The course is designed for nursing students. The idea is to give student nurses information that is and will be useful in there professional careers. With the influx of COPD and asthma patients it is important for nurses to have a strong background in pulmonary care. The course will continue to build on this first class providing information that will be of actual use. Future podcast could cover medications and nursing care for specific diseases such as COPD and asthma.
PFT 513Podcast.html
PFT 513Podcast.html
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Citizen Science 101
My podcast series is titled Citizen Science 101. The term “citizen science” refers to scientific research projects in which volunteer “citizen scientists” collect and share data with the scientists or organization directing the research. The first episode of the series explains what citizen science is, gives a little history about citizen science, and summarizes a few popular citizen science projects. The intended audience is a fictional undergraduate college science class, so the narration is written for adult college-age learners. Future episodes in the series would describe specific citizen science projects in detail. An endless number of citizen science projects exist, so the series could continue indefinitely. The instructor of this fictional science class could use the first episode of the series to introduce the topic of citizen science to the class, then have the students research citizen science projects and create the future episodes of the podcast series to share with others in the class. Hopefully the students would be participating in citizen science projects themselves and could create podcasts about their own project experiences.
I enjoyed researching this topic, but “citizen science” was a real tongue twister to narrate!
Margaret Thayer
I enjoyed researching this topic, but “citizen science” was a real tongue twister to narrate!
Margaret Thayer
The World at Unrest
My podcast can be reached by clicking on the title of the blog post.
My podcast aims to use current events as a springboard for examining history. So each episode the podcast will look at the history behind a current event.
I intended my podcast to appeal to people interested in history and for use in an upper level current events or history class with students being at least at the secondary level.
The first episode focuses on the uprising in Libya. It reviews the current events happening in Libya, then reviews the history of Gaddafi and how he came to power. The last half of the podcast is a general history of Libya and about modern day life in the country.
The next episode will look at the current events in Mexico related to the burgeoning drug cartels and associated violence then look at the history of drug cartels in Mexico and what has prompted the recent events.
My podcast aims to use current events as a springboard for examining history. So each episode the podcast will look at the history behind a current event.
I intended my podcast to appeal to people interested in history and for use in an upper level current events or history class with students being at least at the secondary level.
The first episode focuses on the uprising in Libya. It reviews the current events happening in Libya, then reviews the history of Gaddafi and how he came to power. The last half of the podcast is a general history of Libya and about modern day life in the country.
The next episode will look at the current events in Mexico related to the burgeoning drug cartels and associated violence then look at the history of drug cartels in Mexico and what has prompted the recent events.
Kids' Poetry Corner
In each of my reading weekly lessons there is a section of literary elements that is included. I rarely have time to get these mini lessons into my weekly schedule. It occurred to me that this would be a perfect topic for a weekly podcast. They are usually centered around poetry or some sort of figurative language. Along with the exposure to new literary vocabulary and concepts, students will listen to a fluent reading of a poem each week.
The format of each episode will be similar. First I will introduce the concept (similes, metaphors, rhyme scheme, etc...). Next, I will read an example of published literature that uses the particular concept. After the reading, I will point out how the author uses the concept. Finally, there will be a section where we can try to use the concept "together."
In the episode linked here, I discussed similes. Because it is meant for fourth graders, I kept the language fairly basic and the content is relatively short. This is meant as a mini lesson. After listening to the podcast, students will return to their seats to complete an independent activity about similes.
I hope you enjoy my first podcast!
The format of each episode will be similar. First I will introduce the concept (similes, metaphors, rhyme scheme, etc...). Next, I will read an example of published literature that uses the particular concept. After the reading, I will point out how the author uses the concept. Finally, there will be a section where we can try to use the concept "together."
In the episode linked here, I discussed similes. Because it is meant for fourth graders, I kept the language fairly basic and the content is relatively short. This is meant as a mini lesson. After listening to the podcast, students will return to their seats to complete an independent activity about similes.
I hope you enjoy my first podcast!
Comm 101 Podcast
I chose to do my podcast for my Communication 101 Class. I am getting ready to teach Comm 101 online this summer, so I am grateful for the opportunity to get some materials ready. For the series I will focus on basic communication topics such as public speaking, interpersonal communication, communication models, and listening.
The first episode introduces public speaking. During the episode I introduce myself and my experiences public speaking. I then explain the that the fear of public speaking is very common. I emphasize that people speak in public even though it is nerve wracking because they want to make an impact on the world. The lecture emphasizes finding a purpose, analyzing your audience, and doing your research. Future episodes will go into writing and outlining a speech.
Public Speaking
http://sites.google.com/site/greencomm101/home/PublicSpeaking.mp3
The first episode introduces public speaking. During the episode I introduce myself and my experiences public speaking. I then explain the that the fear of public speaking is very common. I emphasize that people speak in public even though it is nerve wracking because they want to make an impact on the world. The lecture emphasizes finding a purpose, analyzing your audience, and doing your research. Future episodes will go into writing and outlining a speech.
Public Speaking
http://sites.google.com/site/greencomm101/home/PublicSpeaking.mp3
I Love to Tri
I choose to do a podcast on triathlons and titled my series, “I Love to Tri”. I teach an early morning fitness class at school and the culminating activity for the students is to compete in a school run triathlon. The information in the podcast could help them with training, race preparation, strategies, and tips on equipment.
The “I Love To Tri” podcast series could have an infinite amount of episodes. Each weekly show could touch on a different aspect of triathlons, such as race preparation, nutrition, it could focus just on one discipline of the race for an episode, the possibilities are endless.
For this episode I focused on triathlons for beginners. It’s aimed for someone that is entering a triathlon for the first time. There are four main sections within the podcast, one each on the swimming, biking, and running aspect of the triathlon. I touch on training prior to the triathlon for each discipline as well as tips for the actual race. The fourth section discusses the transitions between activities during the actual race. My information in the podcast is about 10 min, but the actual length of the podcast is about 13 min. I found a slightly annoying song about triathlons and got the artists permission to use it, so I included it, I couldn’t resist. The next episode in this series will address different technologies in triathlons.
Video World Podcast
I have entitled my blog the "Video World Podcast." It will contain information about the world of video production. My plan is to touch on several different aspects of production, but for this first one, I decided to start with the most basic information, the video camera or camcorder.
In the podcast, I give a brief description of what a camcorder is, what it does, and some specific features. I have also included information about what makes one camcorder better than another. I did include some techno-babble, but kept it pretty limited.
I really would like to use this blog for my production students. I can see it being used as an introduction to a chapter or unit. It could also be used for a test review. Happy listening!
Video World Podcast
In the podcast, I give a brief description of what a camcorder is, what it does, and some specific features. I have also included information about what makes one camcorder better than another. I did include some techno-babble, but kept it pretty limited.
I really would like to use this blog for my production students. I can see it being used as an introduction to a chapter or unit. It could also be used for a test review. Happy listening!
Video World Podcast
Biome Lady's Podcast
I created the Biome Lady’s Podcast mainly to give 5th graders an alternative to learning about biomes. Currently their main source of information is their textbook and thousands of Internet sites; I can only image how bored 21st Century children are with those learning materials. My first episode is an introduction to biomes and I hope I made it fun for anybody wishing to learn about biomes. In the introduction I outlined what the series will include, how scientists study Earth, and why it is important to learn about biomes. In future episodes I hope to invite a biome expert as a guest speaker.
This project gave me the opportunity to really explore Audacity and as a free download what a powerful tool. I found using the software easy but learning my new hardware a little more challenging. My old computer had major hardware failure so I needed to purchase a one. It was tricky learning how to disable the internal microphone so I can use my external microphone/headset to record. I did and I think my podcast turned out great. Finally, over the summer I plan to complete my podcast series and publish it for use with 5th grade.
(Below is the General Description of the podcast series. This is what people will see in a podcast download center. I also included the artwork I created for the series.)
The Biome Lady’s Podcast introduces people to the six major biomes found on Earth. The podcast has eight episodes and they are, the introduction to biomes, freshwater biomes, marine biomes, desert biomes, forest biomes, grassland biomes, tundra biomes, and biomes a conclusion. This podcast is designed to help people, aged 10 and up, learn about the Earth’s biomes.
This project gave me the opportunity to really explore Audacity and as a free download what a powerful tool. I found using the software easy but learning my new hardware a little more challenging. My old computer had major hardware failure so I needed to purchase a one. It was tricky learning how to disable the internal microphone so I can use my external microphone/headset to record. I did and I think my podcast turned out great. Finally, over the summer I plan to complete my podcast series and publish it for use with 5th grade.
(Below is the General Description of the podcast series. This is what people will see in a podcast download center. I also included the artwork I created for the series.)
Insurance Billing Beat Podcast
The purpose of Insurance Billing Beat Podcast series is to give information about different types of patient insurances. I wanted to create a podcast series that gives Coders and Billers more of an opportunity to learn about different type of insurance companies and the benefits they offer to patients. With this up-to-date knowledge, I would then hope, we could bill the insurance company right the first time. If the insurance company is billed correctly the first time, it creates less work for the Coder and Biller thus creating a better profit for the company. Staying up to date with all the different insurance companies tends to be very time consuming. I thought having a Podcast where they could listen to a short audio at their desk each week could benefit the overall department. The benefits of using Podcast with an RSS feed; the employee can listen when they have time.
My first episode was on Medicare Benefits and the types of Medicare plans patients’ might choose. I spent time going over the details of each Medicare plan. I had no idea about how beneficial Podcast could be to employees. I think having a Podcast could cut down on the daily e-mails. Employees could just listen once a week about all the updates instead of reading e-mails about every little detail that is changing with insurance companies. I think this could make employees much more efficient because they are not stopping and starting each time a new e-mail comes in their inbox. They would know each week that the insurance companies’ policies updates are in one quick audio Podcast.
I really enjoyed creating this project. Audacity is such an easy product to use for Podcasting. The only thing I did struggle with is not having a partner to talk with during the Podcast. I think that would have helped with this type of a topic. I think if I were, to do this Podcast each week I would have guests on the show explaining some of my questions. I tried to make myself sound very upbeat when I was presenting. Insurance information is very informative, but I made sure to change my voice on points that were very important. I look forward to hearing all your feedback. Please let me know if you thought I made the transition, changes from subject to subject bring your attention back to the new Medicare topic.
Hope you all learn something new about Medicare.
Thanks,
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Theatre for Educators
My project is entitled Theatre for Educators. It is intended to be a resource for teachers to use in their classrooms regardless of the content. My first podcast, Creating a Classroom Community, is designed to lay the foundation upon which a creative classroom can be built. The podcast is divided into four sections, Civility, Confidence, Creativity and Bringing it to the Classroom. I speak in this podcast specifically about the student in the middle years, and explore the transitional time we middle school teachers witness as children move from childhood into adolescence. What started out as a piece on practical application for instructional practice soon moved into a philosophical approach to teaching as a whole. I believe I opened a whole can of worms just wriggling to get out. This podcast has endless topics and possibilities, and I am looking forward to exploring them in the future.
The challenges I faced was the use of my equipment. If I am to continue recording, as I am definitely inspired to do at this point, I must invest in a good microphone. The hum of my laptop could not be eliminated by the noise reduction application in Audacity. I am hoping that people do not listen to this podcast on headphones, as it is an unpleasant experience. Small laptop speakers work fine though. My lesson? Record cheap, listen cheap.
On the other hand, I found the development of my podcast to be painless and very engaging. Although I spent hours on this project, I enjoyed every minute of it. My podcast runs long... very long. 1+3+3+3+2+2 etc.. does not equal what I produced. I still cut out lots of content in order to trim it down. As a listener, I am a fan of longer podcasts, so I decided to leave the rest intact. My son suggested the Cirque de Soleil music for my podcast, and I think it came out delicious.
The challenges I faced was the use of my equipment. If I am to continue recording, as I am definitely inspired to do at this point, I must invest in a good microphone. The hum of my laptop could not be eliminated by the noise reduction application in Audacity. I am hoping that people do not listen to this podcast on headphones, as it is an unpleasant experience. Small laptop speakers work fine though. My lesson? Record cheap, listen cheap.
On the other hand, I found the development of my podcast to be painless and very engaging. Although I spent hours on this project, I enjoyed every minute of it. My podcast runs long... very long. 1+3+3+3+2+2 etc.. does not equal what I produced. I still cut out lots of content in order to trim it down. As a listener, I am a fan of longer podcasts, so I decided to leave the rest intact. My son suggested the Cirque de Soleil music for my podcast, and I think it came out delicious.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Aiko's JamBand Podcast
Hi Everyone: I learned quite a bit about Audacity the last two weeks, yikes! I started seeing those little wavy lines in my sleep. It was kinda creepy. It's been really fun and trying at the same time. I am thankful that Dr. Hall allowed me to use this concept of "classroom" and "learner" to this particular project.
This particular podcast has been in my head for a couple of years. I really do have thousands of concerts on over 4tb. I wanted to share the collection, and what better way than podcast. It can introduce new listeners to different styles and genres. The exposure through sound far exceeds reading about the band in a magazine. Hearing what that new band sounds like or what those old concerts sounded like can't be expressed adequately words, only through live concert footage can you get a true feel. This is a project that I fully intend to continue; I have mapped out the next six episodes.
But I really wanted to experience the full idea of podcasting. I got an account at PodBean, a great podcast posting service. There, I created a whole profile page, complete with logo and helpful widgets that were completely customizable. A plus is that I can keep track of statistics. Monitoring traffic is key to whole thing. Do people want to hear it? A great feature with PodBean is its direct link to iTunes. After creating your PodBean Podcast, you use the RSS feed directly to iTunes and all the information transfers smoothly. Pretty Cool.
Now, if you're not into my style of music, I apologize up front. Here are pertinent links:
Aiko's JamBand Podcast - The Official PodBean Page
EdTech 513 - Project Justification Page
Here's the big thing, my friends have already shared it on their Facebook pages today, and there are already positive responses, so this whole instantaneous access really is tremendously effective. This has been pretty exciting in a way because it allows me to express myself in a way some may not expect. And talk about authentic, my wife and friends have posted it to Facebook, every friend I know, and every family member, anybody on the planet can hear this, etc will see this... holy cow....
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Luke Wiggs- Special Education Daily Podcast
Special Education Daily Poedcast-
The purpose of my podcast series is to discuss issues in special education. As a special education teacher there are many issues that you must deal with you a regular basis in the classroom and out of the classroom. The goal of my podcast series is to address these issues on a daily basis. The first episode focuses on co-teaching an inclusion method that is probably the most popular today in the world of education. The first episode defines co-teaching and then it provides and defines different models of co-teaching. I hope that you enjoy, this is my first real podcast. I had a good time making it and I look forward to receiving all of your feedback.
Thanks
Luke
The purpose of my podcast series is to discuss issues in special education. As a special education teacher there are many issues that you must deal with you a regular basis in the classroom and out of the classroom. The goal of my podcast series is to address these issues on a daily basis. The first episode focuses on co-teaching an inclusion method that is probably the most popular today in the world of education. The first episode defines co-teaching and then it provides and defines different models of co-teaching. I hope that you enjoy, this is my first real podcast. I had a good time making it and I look forward to receiving all of your feedback.
Thanks
Luke
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Teaching Online Utilizing Technology (TOUT) Podcast
Why All Instructors Need a Website and the Tools to Make it Happen!
Click on the title to hear podcast.
I decided to do a podcast that will eventually go along with a class I’m developing for the College of DuPage. The program will target instructors or prospective instructors who want to be introduced to using online technology to enhance student learning. These podcasts will eventually be used for the class, but I would like to make them available through iTunes as a download in hopes to encourage others to take classes at the College of DuPage.
As far as the recording…I definitely need more practice at getting my voice to be dynamic, but not rushed. I re-taped a number of times and think that it will come with more practice. It isn’t a professional job :-) but I think for my first podcast it is respectable. I’m still pondering the idea of doing vodcasts more than podcasts- I’m such a visual person :-). Does it work the same way with iTunes?
Monday, February 14, 2011
Week 4 Readings
When thinking about PowerPoint and the multimedia principle as described in chapter three of ELSI, onoe thing in particular that caught my attention was the fact that graphics should support learning. It occurs to me that in designing PowerPoint slides we sometimes have a tendency to select clipart and icons that are cute or catchy but don't necessarily reinforce the content being delivered in text and perhaps speech. I also pondered the discussion in the Atkinson and Mayer article about how we have an inclination to format PowerPoint slides (or any multimedia, for that matter) in a certain way because the features within the program are most convenient or lend themselves to that particular formatting. However, research shows that these ways of organizing and delivering content are not necessarily effective or appropriate according to cognitive learning theory.
I think that the best way to present the multimedia and contiguity principles to my colleagues would be to demonstrate contrasting good and bad examples. Since PowerPoint is likely going to be the medium of choice for many of them, I would also show them a short YouTube video from Guy Kawasaki where he explains his 30 20 10 principle. It's a great way to sum up the best practice for text on PowerPoint slides.
I think that the best way to present the multimedia and contiguity principles to my colleagues would be to demonstrate contrasting good and bad examples. Since PowerPoint is likely going to be the medium of choice for many of them, I would also show them a short YouTube video from Guy Kawasaki where he explains his 30 20 10 principle. It's a great way to sum up the best practice for text on PowerPoint slides.
Barb's thoughts on Week 4 Readings
The Multimedia principal is best incorporated into e-learning when the learner has little or no prior knowledge of the topic. On page 69 the authors, Clark and Mayer (2008) summarize the principal, “Overall, we recommend that you be sensitive to the level of prior knowledge of your learners…they may be able to learn well mainly from text or even mainly from graphics.” I created a flash video explaining the use of this principal.
http://barbsedtech.com/edtech513/videos/mutlimediaprinciple-output/Web/mutlimediaprinciple
As for the contiguity principal the authors, Clark and Mayer (2008), explored two techniques of this principle and summarized them nicely on page 93-94. This link shows how I would explain it to a colleague:
http://barbsedtech.com/edtech513/videos/contiguityprinciple-output/Web/contiguityprinciple
Clark, R. C., and Mayer, R. E. (2008). E-learning and the science of instruction: proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. Pfeiffer and Co.
The Atkinson and Mayer article, Five ways to reduce PowerPoint overload, reminded of another article I read called PowerPoint is evil by Edward Tufte which can be read by following this link: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html. It also appeared in the September 2003 issue of Wired Magazine. I’m proud to say that I have always taught my students to make their PowerPoint slides short and sweet. Use words that make the point right away and images that represent the words. Now, with Web 2.0 tools galore who needs Power Point (sorry Bill Gates).
http://barbsedtech.com/edtech513/videos/mutlimediaprinciple-output/Web/mutlimediaprinciple
As for the contiguity principal the authors, Clark and Mayer (2008), explored two techniques of this principle and summarized them nicely on page 93-94. This link shows how I would explain it to a colleague:
http://barbsedtech.com/edtech513/videos/contiguityprinciple-output/Web/contiguityprinciple
Clark, R. C., and Mayer, R. E. (2008). E-learning and the science of instruction: proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. Pfeiffer and Co.
The Atkinson and Mayer article, Five ways to reduce PowerPoint overload, reminded of another article I read called PowerPoint is evil by Edward Tufte which can be read by following this link: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html. It also appeared in the September 2003 issue of Wired Magazine. I’m proud to say that I have always taught my students to make their PowerPoint slides short and sweet. Use words that make the point right away and images that represent the words. Now, with Web 2.0 tools galore who needs Power Point (sorry Bill Gates).
Week 4 Readings
This week’s readings were very good and applicable immediately. I think most people, at least to a degree, have suffered from PowerPoint overload. We have been on the receiving end of it and have probably made more than a few students endure our own presentations that were, in hindsight, poorly put together.
The way I would go about defining and demonstrating these principles is, oddly enough, a PowerPoint presentation. I think it is important to show a good and a bad way. I would design a presentation that explains each of these principles, using the proper principles of course. After each point, I would take one of my own presentations for my classes and show both the traditional (or old fashioned or wrong ) way of presenting the material. I would explain why it was not a good slide Then, I would contrast that slide with one following the proper principle we were discussing at the time. At that time, I would try to encourage discussion on why the new slide is better than the old slide.
To close, I would explain to my colleagues that we have got to re-evaluate how we are teaching. When preparing a lesson, we have got to have these principles in mind and constantly eliminate the material causing an extraneous load on our students. In combining that line of thinking with these principles, I think our students would have a better overall learning experience
Week 4 Readings
There were two main points from the reading this week, it is better to have graphics in addition to words rather than just words and the graphics and their corresponding words need to be in close proximity. The article added to these points that segmenting information is important and that each segment needs a heading. Ultimately, all these principles are aimed at reducing cognitive overload.
The most concise way to explain these points to a colleague is through the phrases, 'less is more' and 'keep it simple'. All the principles discussed this week lead to reducing the amount of 'stuff' in a presentation, whether it is background images, text, extraneous information, not pertinent images, etc. Multimedia presentations need to be the minimum amount of 'stuff' needed to convey the necessary content. For example, a presentation slide with a heading and a pertinent graphic that serves a purpose past decoration simultaneously accompanied by spoken information should minimize cognitive overload.
PowerPoint type slide presentations are the most frequent offenders of these guidelines. I have seen many slide presentations that violate most of these principles. As the article stated, the abundance of cluttered slide presentations is due largely to the program and how it aides the creation of cluttered slides. I am certain that I am guilty of many of these presentation offenses.
The most concise way to explain these points to a colleague is through the phrases, 'less is more' and 'keep it simple'. All the principles discussed this week lead to reducing the amount of 'stuff' in a presentation, whether it is background images, text, extraneous information, not pertinent images, etc. Multimedia presentations need to be the minimum amount of 'stuff' needed to convey the necessary content. For example, a presentation slide with a heading and a pertinent graphic that serves a purpose past decoration simultaneously accompanied by spoken information should minimize cognitive overload.
PowerPoint type slide presentations are the most frequent offenders of these guidelines. I have seen many slide presentations that violate most of these principles. As the article stated, the abundance of cluttered slide presentations is due largely to the program and how it aides the creation of cluttered slides. I am certain that I am guilty of many of these presentation offenses.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Week 4 Readings - Christina Talley
It is important to realize that in the realm of multimedia and presentation for learning, less is often more. While it can be tempting to get bogged down in using the wide variety of creative features we now easily have at our fingertips, such as animations, videos, audio, and eye-catching graphics, these instruments can have the unpleasant side-effect of making material difficult to sift through.
Multimedia is important to include in a wide variety of works. It can be found everywhere, in all forms—from an interactive slideshow in a news article to a flash animation on a school website. When used correctly, it helps enhance and bring to life what would otherwise be a very bland block of text. As Atkinson and Mayer (2008) point out, it has been discovered by numerous studies that people learn more from text with graphics than text alone. Effective multimedia can be as simple as a photograph and as elaborate as an interactive learning simulation, but one must be careful to ensure the focus of the viewer is not distracted by what they are viewing.
Therefore, I sincerely believe—and would explain the process of adding multimedia to a colleague—that multimedia should only be used to support the base information being presented. A rule of thumb that I use is this: if the viewer’s attention is more on the type of multimedia that was used rather than the information being conveyed, it is probably not an effective application.
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