End of Semester Reveiw

It’s funny to think about the first class we had of Productions and how quickly the end has come. When I look back at the first blog post that we used as a test, I was completely skeptical about the power and use of a blog in the classroom.  Now my mind has completely changed. Although the technology we used was not as new to me as it was to others in the class, the ability and utility of the programs in a classroom was completely new territory and opened my eyes to a new avenue.

My favorite project in the class was my second story board because I dedicated it to my friend Jess who passed away earlier this year.  At the time she had recently passed and the pain and sadness still weighed heavy. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to pay homage to an amazing person.  So what started as a homework assignment turned out to be a healing mechanism. Because I put so much heart into making it, although it is not perfect I am the most proud of it. This I think is an important concept to take account of while teaching. Your students are going to come from various backgrounds and they may be experiencing a good day or bad day. By giving opportunities for students to creatively output their emotions into a project of their choice, I believe, gives an opportunity to build community and to expect success and academic achievement in a way that captures interest.

The project that I did not like the best was the wiki assignment. The fact that it was a group project and my group didn’t work the best together took into small account as to why this was so but also because it was a completely new concept.  It was something I didn’t know how to work with and it perplexed me. The educational value to me was hard to grasp as well because of this. However seeing everybody’s presentation helped me get a better idea of how a wiki could be used.

The tools that I think are the best and that I will most likely use in my classroom in the future are blogs, podcast, and storyboards. I would use blogs as a way for students to upload projects so that it makes it easier to assess them as a teacher. I would use podcasts to record class discussions and post them on the classroom blog as a way for students to review what was said. Storyboards as a history teacher can serve of great use as a way to relay historical events in a visual representation.  All in all technology is the new wave of the future in schools, and all of these resources together make for an optimal educational environment.

Social Networking Poster

I choose the topic of Social Networking in the Classroom because I see the immense potential of using a product that students are already so familiar with. Also, I believe that it will get students more involved and interested in their work. In my poster I used the aide of these design theories to make my presentation the best I could make it.

Information Processing

The length:  With my poster I tried to keep it concise and to the point by only using the important details.

Text: I used only one font that is legible and easy to read. Also the font size is big enough to be read.

Break apart the information: I broke done the information into different sections and used bullet points for simplification.

Use of graphics: I used the Facebook and Ning™ symbols to draw people’s attention to the different sections. I also used smart art to organize my information in an eye- appeasing way.

Dual Coding

Two Separate Channels: Used both pictures and words to allow for optimal information processing.

Cognitive Load

Finite Capacity: There is only so much information the brain can take. For this reason I limited the amount of details I put on my poster.

Gestalt Principles

Proximity: My poster shows proximity because the background picture shows many different social networking symbols of all different sizes and shapes. Although not one is the same to the other when they all group together they all appear as a group.


Background used found on:
http://webtreats.mysitemyway.com/wp-content/gallery/76/01-free-social-networking-hand-drawn-photoshop-shapes-webtreats-preview.jpg
Pictures courtesy of: 
Facebook.com
Ning.com
Information courtesy of:
Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts: and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2006. Print.

I the Woman

Podcast #2 is up and ready to go! Last week I read an excerpt out of Sandra Cisneros book the House on Mango Street and in keeping with the same author I’d like to also read a poem written by Sanda Cisneros entitled, I the Woman.

Hope you enjoy it!!

Works Cited

Song, On the Water, courtesy of freeplaymusic.com

Poem, I the Woman, written by Sandra Cisneros

Photo found on http://kenyanprincessproject.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/cisneros.gif 

The House on Mango Street

Published in 1984, The House on Mango Street was one of my favorite novels growing up. If follows the life of a Mexican girl named Esperanza Cordero, trying to get out of a Chicago ghetto. Here is an excerpt from one vignette entitled My name. Enjoy!

Works Cited

Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: Vintage Books, 1984. 25-27.

Last Dancers Standing (3:32)
Composed by:Dean Barrett, APRA (50%), Judy Whittaker, APRA (50%)
Published by: Freeplaymusic

Photo found on http://kenyanprincessproject.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/mangost_bc.jpg

Just Moore Love: Stop the Violence

Video courtesy of New Jersey Star Ledge- NJ.com
Poem courtesy of Christian Powe
Pictures courtesy of Facebook.com
Music, I Cry, courtesy of Jess Ann Moore

Questions for Will Richardson

Questions for Will Richardson

1. Any teacher coming into a classroom environment should know and be prepared for the lesson that will be taught and the material covered. This is essential to a positive and effective learning environment. With new technology coming out one after another how can teachers keep up to date with the rapid change especially in an environment where students perhaps know the information better than the teacher does?
2. I grew up attending  urban schools and I have had experience working in urban schools. I know the money is just not there in these school districts for the latest and most appropriate technology. If lucky two computers sit in the back of the classroom gathering dust, not even having internet capabilities and children are only exposed to forty five minutes of computer class a week. In these areas where money and resources is an issue what do you suggest would be cost efficient solutions to expose children to technology needed for success?

Love and Faith

Sweet Tooth Vocabulary Attempt 2

Sweet Tooth Vocabulary

View more presentations from Melissa Silva.

Sweet Tooth Vocabulary

View more presentations from Melissa Silva.

Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

The design concept of Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning was originated by Richard Mayer. It is based on the belief that basic multimedia education with pictures and words alone is not adequate and effective enough as a learning technique. Instead knowledge of the brain’s processes is necessary to achieve a greater understanding of effective ways of using multimedia resources that coincides with the way the brain works. Multimedia in this case is defined as any environment where material is presented in more than one format. Any presentation that contains visual aids would qualify.

Mayer’s Cognitive Theory consists of three main principles:

1. Information is processed in two ways, auditory and visually similar to Dual-Coding Theory.
2. There is a capacity for the amount of information processed similar to the theory of Cognitive Load.
3. Learning is a constant and active process of filtering information.

Mayer also discusses how as new information is received, the brain constantly creates mental pictures of the material and is then stored.

There are three memory stores discussed by this theory:

1. Sensory which takes stimuli and stores it for short periods of time.
2. Working which actively processes information and makes schemes out of them.
3. Long-term is the ending place for all information learned.

Taking this into consideration, in the classroom, material should be constructed into logical schemes and integrating prior knowledge with the current material being learned. A teacher should guide the student into choosing relevant words and images, organizing them into effective models, integrating these models and then connect them to prior knowledge.

Citation

Mayer, R. E.; R. Moreno (1998). “A Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning: Implications for Design Principles”. http://www.unm.edu/~moreno/PDFS/chi.pdf.

First Blog Post

This is my first experience blogging. This might take a while to get the hang of it but learning new skills is always exciting!