AR Reading Post

Article: How to Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom by Jennifer New

A brief article discussing seven key concepts to digital storytelling that involve

1)   1. learning by watching (character development, camera framing, what attracts or detracts from movie)

2)   2. Don’t teach about technology, but about the art of telling the story

3)  3.  Learn to be a teacher and a student in the classroom

4)   4. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes

5)   5. Work out assignment requirements

6)   6. Establish boundaries

7)   7. Show their work

Article: Educational Expression:Creating Connections Through Stories by Elena Aguilar

A fantastically inspiring teacher who blogs about various educational topics but has a passion for storytelling and wants to instill that passion within her students. Point of interest to be mentioned:

-Discusses the relationship between telling stories and the interconnectedness that begins to develop from it.

-Continually inspiring students with readings, music, poetry and then asking for their stories.

-The importance of giving students the right tools to create their representations of the life they know.

-Engages students to be honest and forgiving with themselves.

-Introduces their work to the community to provide positive feedback.

Article: Online Opportunity: Documentaries and the Power of the Image by Milton Chen

Focuses on the documentary’s strength in teaching core concepts of visual success. Chen discusses the history lessons learned from watching Remember the Alamo. He also emphasizes the tremendous effect video/the internet will have on the future of education to his conference audiences. The effect already in place that not only affects the resources educators use but also how educators will communicate with each other and the networking that will increase.  Chen cites Union City, NJ as an example of a school that incorporated technology and went from the bottom to the top of the state’s most successful schools.

BP14_Google Presentation3

Here's the presentation I put together in Google Documents.  I love this tool and will be using it extensively for my photography classes!  View it here by clicking the play button or by visiting:
https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dc49nfwp_1g5ks5qf4&interval=5

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When I decided on Google presentations, I imagined images and text to show various shooting and photographic techniques that I want my students to become familiar with. As I filtered through the tutorials, ideas began emerging on other rich design elements that can be brought into my presentation to incorporate a more meaningful message—for example, using the drawing tool to create a mind map.  

Google Presentations Drawing Feature

I thought about how much more effective the presentation would be if after introducing the subject, I displayed a map of the key concepts or steps involved in the technique as a way to establish more concise learning outcomes.  The second design element is the addition of video.  

YouTube video and my dog

Presentations should no longer be static, especially in digital photography with the emergence of limitless online tutorials. Google Presentations are linked with YouTube so any video on the site can be incorporated into the presentation. I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner! So any tutorial I create or video that enhances the lesson can now be a part of it (and in a much more organized way!)  Since my ARP is focused on digital storytelling, I feel as though, with Google presentations, I have a new tool to help me in my journey. 

The third design element that I’ll be incorporating involves animation and a technique called “incremental reveal”.  This feature hit home with me because I find that at the beginning of my discussions I usually ask a question that involves several responses.  It’s a way of beginning a brainstorming session to segue into a topic. With incremental reveal I can have words revealed at different points in the slide for more effect. Students can also think more deeply about their response as certain key words appear on the slide.

Adding animation to presentation

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Google Presentation Tutorials on Lynda.com

I decided to learn more about Google presentations.  This is a perfect tool for me because I am always preparing lesson plans and examples to show my students on various photographic techniques. I sit at my computer at night putting my presentation together, then save it to a disk or flash drive in order to take it with me for my class. The google presentation tool eliminates the saving and storage issues and gives me peace of mind that I’ll never forget to take it with me. I’m excited to get started with it.  It's also a tool I'll be using with my ARP.

Woopid only had a 2 minute video and it was more of a generic google docs introduction, so I went right to Lynda.com (thank goodness for Lynda), where I found over 45 minutes devoted just to google presentations. The tutorials are broken down into 3 sections: the basics, working with media and sharing, collaborating and presenting.  I love that they offer templates to choose from—I found it very inspiring as I was learning the tool. What I also love is the “new features” button.  This gives the user the option to see the latest features that have been added to the tool—what a simple and fantastic way to stay current with the software. Google presentations also offers a revision history every time the presentation is saved, so there’s no need to worry about ever deleting a slide by mistake and thinking it’s lost for good.  It reminds me of the layers option in photoshop.  I’ll be back in later posts to report on my progress with google presentations but so far, so good!

BP10_Comment to Teresa

Follow this link to my comments on Teresa's blog.

BP9_Comment to Amille

Follow this link to my comments on Amille's blog about Google forms.

BP8_Photobabble

Web 2.0 never ceases to amaze me—I’ve just found photobabble, a talking photograph site! At first I laughed and quickly passed it by, noting that it seemed to be consumed with baby photos where the parents thought it would be funny to give their child the voice they think he or she might have, if they could only speak. But then I began to think about ways in which this site might be useful in my digital photography classroom.  My concern is that I never want to fully replace the class time critique we currently have with all of these web 2.0 tools that can be utilized in a more online discussion.  I love the fact that, in class, students respond to each other face to face and discuss in person what is working well or what may need improvement. I truly feel that this is the most valuable aspect of the class. However, I was looking at photobabble and imagining that students could record some very pertinent information in their babble, such as the image’s location and exposure settings. This would give other students the information that helps to better understand the lighting and would save the deeper discussions on composition, inspiration, etc for class time to generate a richer discussion and related topics. 

One of the biggest reasons I chose this tool is for just plain fun and a way to increase the social interaction among classmates. How great it will be to see how creative students will be as they decide what their images will say.  Will they disguise their voices and try to be funny or be more concerned with mentioning the non-visual aspects of the scene they photographed—talk about using MI theory to bring out their natural personalities!  Here's a link to the site to find out more information.

www.photobabble.com 

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BP6_Comment to Barry

Follow this link to my comments on Barry Roth's blog.

BP5_Comment to Mike

Follow this link to see my comments (2 posts) on Mike Padilla's blog.

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Image provided by www.photopeach.com

The image you see here is a screenshot of the second web 2.0 tool I’ve chosen: Photo Peach. This tool is a slideshow creator that utilizes images, sound, text and video into online presentations that can then be posted to various URLs. Since my AR project is the incorporation of digital storytelling in the classroom, it’s necessary that I have a platform for students to create their own photo stories as assignments. One of my deciding factors to a site such as Photo Peach is its availability of use. Though the computer labs that my students have access to through the college are equipped with imacs (meaning the availability of software such as iMovie and Powerpoint), they are not open on a consistent enough basis to give students adequate “out of class” time to work on their projects.  This has been a frustration for some time because instructors have to allow a large portion of their class time to be used as a lab. Most of my students now have computers at home so by incorporating a tool such as Photo Peach that doesn’t require additional software, students are still able to upload and design their stories out of class. This tool alone will enable the class time to be more centered on discussions, showing more advanced techniques, and instructor/student as well as student/student interaction.

I can’t begin to express what the incorporation/presence of this tool, alone, will do for my students. My entire focus and platform for teaching/learning is shifting to a much more collaborative process. Due to Photo Peach being based on user-generated content, I imagine students incorporating their favorite music and personal text to give their stories more meaning and personality, thus inviting richer feedback from viewers/classmates.

The networking feature was another reason for choosing this particular tool. I’m sure the social interaction available on Photo Peach will be one of the favorite features to my students. The site offers the ability to view and comment on classmates work as well as to anyone else who has posted a slideshow on the site. A user can also subscribe to a particular creator and be notified as new posts are made to the site. It will build relationships/networks that the classroom alone couldn’t do. In addition, by incorporating a group project through Photo Peach, I can modify my curriculum on documentary photography in the hopes of encouraging more projects that reflect students’ lives, our community and their college experience. By expanding my “big picture” view, I see how creating a Photo Peach digital story in class will spill over into college events such as our annual student art show. For example, I foresee every year that the digital photography class could attend the show, document it, and finally assemble a presentation that represents the evening for view afterwards. What a wonderful project for their resumes and for the college to have as a collection of presentations year after year!

The ability of Photo Peach to be linked to additional URLs leaves even more room for networking potential. Though I’m a little nervous at the kinks that will have to be worked out, I am confident of the overwhelming benefits that will be produced by the incorporation of Photo Peach. Through more meaningful assignments, richer class dialogue and a connectedness to an outside community of slideshow creators, I will achieve a higher level of engagement in my classes. Here's the a link to Photo Peach so you can try it in your classroom!

http://photopeach.com/home

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AR Diigo Page & Group

BP3_PhotoBlog.com

The first thing I want to say is that I had no idea how many web 2.0 tools were out there—it’s unbelievable, and this has opened up an entirely new resource for me as an instructor of digital and traditional photography. It felt like Christmas morning opening up that site (ok, that may be a slight exaggeration, but it was so much fun to see all the tools at my fingertips).  Let me preface this by saying that I’ve been in search of a tool that my students could use to set up an online gallery to display their work throughout the semester. A few months ago I was pretty set on carbonmade.com because of the beauty and simplicity of their gallery design. However, there is no room for comments or much text to accompany the images, which is a vital aspect in my students’ learning process. So…my search continued.  Now, there are a ton of online photo galleries to choose from, but I decided to go with PhotoBlog.com.  I’m so excited to begin using this tool in my classroom and the reasons I chose this particular sight are as follows:

-the ease and accessibility of posting images.

-the use of the online format to generate additional discussions on photo media issues and networks.

-the ability to leave comments on individual/classmate images.

-the category feature (images of similar topics can be grouped together to support lesson plans).

-the blogging feature that I can invite students to read for updates/tips/techniques on individual assignments. They can even begin their own blog about their project experiences.

-the ability to view classmates’ work, but also the work of thousands of other photographers and to be able to easily connect with them and ask questions.

-an additional email feature right on the site for students to ask questions about notes, examples, etc.

-an RSS feed to subscribe to the site/blog/info and see when new items have been posted.

I have begun setting up my account, which was extremely easy and have included a screenshot to give you an idea of how it looks so far. This is one of my classrooms.

  

My thought is that this will also be a site that students will like personally.  They can post their picture to their profile, invite their friends and families to view, and share their classroom work “out” of the classroom. The idea of the online gallery also benefits students as they begin to see the culmination of their work throughout the semester and see the progression of improvement and personal style. It’s also a fantastic organizational tool for me as the instructor due to the reduction of cds and flash drives to turn in their work.  I'm looking forward to seeing the response this tool will bring.  It will be a huge change for this current class!

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BP1_Google Reader

Learning about Google Reader this week has really forced me to be much more aware of my organizational skills and how much time can be saved by having just 1 place to check ALL of my sites—thank goodness! The links and posts are piling up, so without this tool I would be completely overwhelmed.  Here are some other ways I’ve found to keep me just as focused and up-to-date as an instructor.

http://www.educause.edu/

This site is so important for my purposes as an instructor and member of my department! I feel like every moment of the day I’m either teaching, grading, in meetings, etc that I don’t get a chance to read as much about what I “could & should” be doing to better the environment for students and the department.  I joined Educause because it has such an array of information from conferences to technology to professional development, etc all in one site.  They’re non-profit, which makes me want to support their efforts even more and they also offer a member blog that can be searched by keyword. As I pursue this masters in hopes of being hired full time, it’s especially important that I’m as connected as I can be with others in higher education and up to speed on the latest information.

http://www.artistaday.com/

Though I normally only teach traditional and digital photography at SUNY Orange, I had the opportunity this past summer to teach an Introduction to Art class at one of our branch campuses.  Art and art history were some of my favorite classes as a student whether I was in K-12 or as an undergraduate student at Penn State.  I was fascinated as I listened to the stories behind the work about how the artist perceived the scene and what they were experiencing in their own lives at the time they made their masterpiece. It was like solving a puzzle to me.  So I used that idea and introduced a similar style in this class.  After a discussion about several of the more recent artist movements (cubism, fauvism, dada) I had a student raise her hand and ask, “So what movement are we in now?” Besides my obvious answer of a “Digital” movement, I wasn’t sure how to answer her question and so began my journey to find more recent art to display to my class, in addition to discussing the established pieces in our art history books.  This site shows a new work each day and keeps me fresh on more current artists that students seem to resonate with a bit more than the classic artists.  I can search by category and location, which is a wonderful way to introduce students to local artists they can follow.

http://www.photoshopsociety.org/blog/

One of the scariest things about being involved in our industry is the pace at which it changes. My department just updated our digital photography labs with Adobe CS4 and now CS5 has already been released by Apple.  So it’s been a year and we’re already behind!! I am the sole photography instructor at my college so I HAVE to know what is happening in various fields of photography at all times. What this site offers are the latest tools and techniques being used in Photoshop. It’s so important that I not only see how a technique is being applied but in what circumstances it would be utilized if I want to teach it properly. What I also like about this site is that I can join (for a small fee) in order to receive their publications filled with tools and techniques in addition to the blog site. As an instructor, I find it very helpful to also have something tangible in my hand as a resource as well as the links. It makes for a quick reference when I’m not at my computer.

http://digital-photography-school.com/

This guy is fantastic!! He combines awesome, real world tips for beginners as well as experienced photographers and makes them incredibly easy to understand. The design of his site is very user friendly and he uses such great examples in his explanations. I reference him quite often when I’m preparing my lessons and he often has a viewpoint that I hadn’t thought of or an example that seems to explain his point so effectively.  This is the site that I reference the most often because he also discusses equipment and software surrounding digital photography as well as the business side of being a photographer.  This is a great resource for anyone looking to learn more about how their camera works and/or how to understand a photographer’s eye a bit more.  He also makes me laugh so I’m having fun while I’m learning better ways to teach!!

http://teachingteachers.com/

The last site is one that I will be referencing A LOT regarding my AR project. I’m focusing on using digital storytelling as a lesson plan to demonstrate photoshop/compositional techniques important to my class objectives.  The site not only introduces the key parts to the digital story but also includes information on how to set up a digital story along with articles/blogs from those who’ve pursued it in their own classes.  What an incredible reference for me to begin understanding through practice how to effectively assemble digital stories and how much meaning they can hold.  I also want my students to begin developing their own stories as a more media rich tool for learning, compared to doing a simpler photo essay.  This site will be holding my hand as I begin to put this idea into practice!  I’m anxious to go through more of the articles written by other instructors as they used digital storytelling as part of their curriculum.