Media (is) the Message

In looking at the media debate between Richard Clark and Robert Cozmo, it is important to take a few things into consideration.  First is the time period in which this debate spans.  Clarks first article which argued that “media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in our nutrition” was written in 1983, the year I was born.  Kozma’s articles rebutting this argument were written in the early 90s.  We, as lovers of technology, know how quickly it changes and develops. One thing is true; technology has changed tremendously since the year I was born, a time when cassette tapes were current, and many people still owned record players.  Also, as educators, we know that one size never fits all.  For these reasons, I agree with Kozma’s outlook on how media impacts learning.

Kozma argues that “learning is an active, constructive, cognitive, and social process,” rather than “a passive response to instructions ‘delivery’.”  Therefore choosing the best medium to present information to particular students an absolutely influence learning.  Our students come to us with individual abilities and challenges.  To assume to presenting information the same way to each child would be effective is simply incorrect.  Clark suggests that several options for information delivery will yield the same outcome so “we must always choose the less expensive way to achieve a learning goal”.  Again, I feel like this argument is made assuming that everyone learns the same way, which is not a fact.  This is why we teach and reteach concepts in the classroom.  Some students may be fine learning by reading from a book, but others are successful hearing information, and from my experience, most of them learn best with hands on experience.  That is what modern technology introduces.  We have resources which allow students to discover information on their own, analyze it and present it in a way that makes sense to them.  As teachers, it is our responsibility to find many mediums to help all students discover and understand content.

   

Resources:

Clark, R. E. (1994). Media Will Never Influence Learning. Educational Technology, Research and Development, 42(2), 21.

Kozma, Robert B. (1994), The Influence of Media on Learning: The Debate Continues, School Library Media Research, Volume 22, Number 4, Summer 1994.

Podcasts in Education

This week I took a look at podcasting as a teaching tool. Podcasts can be useful in a variety of ways.  As a librarian, I might create podcasts to share with my students about the latest titles that I have read as well as short pieces to help students navigate the research process.  It would also be neat to have students record their own book review podcasts to upload to the library station.  As a teacher, I like the idea of exploring some good educational Podcast stations to have students listen to.  After looking at GrammarGirl's podcasts, I thought this would be a fun way to change up bell work from time to time.  I'm sure my students wouldn't mind hearing a voice other than mine going over content for the day!  

I think that in order to be successful at getting students to listen to a podcast station, it would probably have to be done in large group settings.  I don't think that most students are going to seek out and listen to these things on their own time.  I do think, however, that teachers would benefit from a good podcasts for professional development purposes, so a librarian might create some of these to share information with the faculty.  Maybe it would be neat for principal's to address the staff this way in between faculty meetings instead of the classic bulleted email.

I explored three websites for creating and hosting podcasts: SoundCloud, Audioboo, and Podomatic.  I chose to use SoundCloud to create my podcast.  I liked that the homepage of the site listed suggestions for podcasts to follow, and it was easy to create an account and jump right in to recording or uploading a recording.  The site allows you to embed your podcasts to share elsewhere.  Audioboo required you to submit details about your podcast before being set up to get started, so I didn't get very far with it because I had already discovered how simple SoundCloud was, and didn't feel it necessary to take those extra steps.  It did offer a wide variety of podcasts to listen to right away, though.  Unfortunately, my exploration of Podomatic was cut short because as I tried to create the account, I continually got an error message that said "Captcha failed".  I tried several times, but never could get the account created.

I don't know if this was just a me thing, or if the site was having some issues, but it blocked my ability to check it out any further.

I created a podcast titled "5 Apps to Amp Up Projects".  This is a podcast that I plan to really share with the students and teachers at my school.  Here it is:

Creating Comics

Exploring websites for creating comics this week was a lot of fun!  I haven't ever created comics to enhance a lesson before, but I can see where it would be a fun addition to a lesson for a teacher, and also a good assignment to give to students to encourage them to explain a concept in a fun way using technology.  Below are the comics that I created using Toondoo.com, Pixton.com, and makebeliefscomix.com followed by my thoughts on each sight.

Toondoo



Toondoo requires users to create a free account to gain access to lots of options for clipart, backgrounds and text options.  My initial reaction to the homepage was that it was very busy, and a little confusing, but once I got signed up and figured out where to get started, the program was pretty simple to work through.  There were lots of options for elements to add to the cartoon, and there is a search bar available so that a user can type in a term and have all of the clipart related to that term pop up.  The process is to simply click and drag the items that you want into the windows that you want, and a toolbar across the bottom of the page offers tools to resize and manipulate each item to your liking.  I liked that there were lots of options for type besides just the thought bubbles.  It was simple to access and embed code to share my comic.

Pixton

By ambermstowers | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

Pixton required me to set up a free account, but as I began exploring the many templates available I discovered that the free account limits users to the creation of three comics.  There is an option for a free trial period, and after that you must pay to upgrade.  A teacher account provides you with the ability to give students a code to also use Pixton.  One issue that I came across, however, was that initially I was using my ipad which required me to download the app.  The app was not opening things correctly for me to edit, and upon further investigation, I found that there were many negative reviews in the app store.  This would be an issue for schools like mine where we are 1:1 with ipads.  I liked, very much that Pixton offers a large library of templates that can be changed and manipulated.  Templates are categorized by school subject.  I think this would serve students well with assignments that need to be done quickly because they wouldn't need to start off with a blank page.  It was simple to go in and make changes and additions to the templates.  Pixton also gives the option to start from scratch if desired.

Make Beliefs Comix

Make Beliefs Comix is a website for creating comix that does not require the setup of an account.  It is simple to choose a blank template and browse through a library of characters with multiple moods, objects, and text bubbles to add.  I liked that all of the tools in the editor were clearly labeled and very easy to use.  I found myself wishing that their were more options for adding text to my comic outside of thought bubbles, but I made it work.  Since you don't sign up for an account in this program, your options are to save your comic as a png to insert into your work, or email it.  I really liked using this website, and found it very user friendly with a fair amount of options.

I plan to use each of the comics that I created with students in our district as I present to them about Digital Citizenship.  My favorite program to use was Make Beliefs Comix because it was so simple, but someone seeking a more detailed comic might want to try one of the other options.  I think that the fact that this website doesn't require an account is good for using with students.  They can simply create and then save their work to their Google Drive or school drive.  I think that in the library, it would be fun to create some of these to demonstrate expectations and procedures.  It might also be good to create some for topics like plagiarism and research.  It would be fun to have students create storyboard comics for the latest book that they have read, and display them for others to see.  I can see a lot of potential for using comics to amp up lessons for students in an enjoyable way.

Here is the Telegami that I created: