EEND 677
Course Reflection
Wrapping up the Multimedia Tools in Education Course, I have a ton of new ideas to bring back to the students and staff of Hatch! The first thing tech tip that I send out the staff for the year is going to include the article "Do's and Don'ts of Typography." This article stuck with me so much as there are so many little changes that the teachers, secretaries and administration can tweak with how they communicate with the stakeholders when creating worksheets, emails or newsletters. I am have already sent some new signs to get printed based on the suggestions from this article!
This course also opened my eyes to some easy ways to add more multimedia tools into my instruction. I am excited for the students to create book recommendation in FlipGrid to share with one another. I can't wait to use Google Drawing with the kindergarten students with having them label the parts of a book by dragging the colored boxes over the correct parts. I was inspired by learning how some of the classmates are already using these multimedia tools in their classrooms. Especially how Jen used EdPuzzler to check her student's understanding in math. I cannot wait to share this tool with the 3rd - 5th graders at one of our Institute Days.
One area that I would love to learn more about is the world of VR vs AR. I just saw in the latest FlipGrid announcement that their videos and app are now FlipGridAR! I am excited to explore this more with my students in the fall. Next school year I will have five iPads dedicated for the library so the technology department will have more options for what apps can be installed on these iPads. Earlier this year I bought for only $1 10 Merge Cubes! This is a great way for students to experience VR and AR technology cheaper than other options out there. There a ton of apps offered by Merge Cube so I am still trying to figure out how to use the Merge Cubes in an educational setting because right now my family and I have been having a lot of fun explore all the different apps for them. My 4 year old asks to play with it!
Overall I found this course very helpful in teaching me new ways to integrate multimedia in the classroom and I can't wait to share what I learned with my coworkers and students!
Artifact #2: Communication with Families
As the librarian, it is always hard for me to get the news out there to the parents and administers of what is happening in the library. After reading through all the information I am excited to create monthly videos to share what is happening in the library! I want to keep it short and include pictures of the students learning. Then I would share the videos via social media (Twitter and Facebook) as well as my principal's weekly newsletter. Please let me know your thoughts!
Artifact #1: Book Trailer
Graphic Design
According to Wyzowl, people remember about 20 percent of what they read, only ten percent of what they hear, and 80 percent of what they see and do. Because of this, anytime a teacher can incorporate visuals into a lesson it will benefit the students. I also think that anytime infographics can be incorporated into Professional Development for staff to help communicate the importance in changing their instruction that it also speaks volumes to getting the message across. Below is an example of an infographic that I plan to share with my teachers in the fall, that Jillian Heise posted on Twitter on June 23rd, 2019, to show the importance of using audio in their classroom.
When teachers design worksheets, posters, or presentation for their students they should be aware of visual they are creating. After reading the article, "The Do's and Don'ts of Typography" by Sam Jones it had me reflecting on what visuals I am creating for my students. The most common mistake that I used to make, but after reading this article I will not make again, was using too small of a font. Typically when I create worksheets I use a font of 12 so I found it interesting that Sam Jones says to not use a font size smaller than 14. In addition over and over again, I kept reading that you shouldn't use more than two or three fonts on one page. Thanks to Canva, I tend to get font happy when creating visuals for my students so I found this very informative and will work on not being so font happy moving forward. I truly believe that if teachers follow Sam Jone's advice for when they are creating visuals for their students it will allow for the students to understand and retain what the teacher is trying to communicate better.
As the teacher librarian in a K-5 school, I would love to integrate infographics into the student's research unit. I would like for the students to have to read different infographics on their topic and then use the information they research from infographics, books, online and databases to create their own infographics. I loved the website nounproject.com to offer copyright free images for the students to use when they are creating their infographics!
In addition, I would like to create an end of year infographic to communicate to the staff, students, and community members all the happenings in the Hatch Library this school year.
Overall, after reading all about graphic design I am so excited to bring these ideas back to my school and share them with the students and staff.
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteYou just gave me a great idea for our research units. I am sure that students would probably excel in their research when they are able to look at infographics.
Another good point you made had to do with the sizing of font. As an English teacher, I am so used to using Times New Roman 12pt font that it is just something that comes naturally whenever I create a new assignment. Perhaps we can start this change together!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Erin!
ReplyDeleteI love how you talk about adults benefiting from visuals as well as school age children. The graphic you have about the benefits of audio and literacy is great! It captures all the information the author indents and does so with few words. This is my kind of learning about a topic!
Wow! I also have the same issue with using too small of font and being font happy! I will change my behavior as well so students are not so distracted by unnecessary items on the page. Thanks for sharing this information.
What a great way to communicate with parents and community using an infographic. As a parent, I would very pleased with my school if they shared all the happenings from the school year in an easy to read visual. Great idea!
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteYes, I tend to either stick to one boring font or go with too many! I'm going to try to stick with two fonts that compliment each other and are easy for students to read. I love your idea about an end of year infographic. I try to create monthly newsletter for parents, and it might be a great idea to create a monthly infographic instead. I know what I do with newsletters. . .I skim them and look at the images, so maybe incorporating an infographic will get more engagement from parents. Thanks for the idea!
Erin, great information. The fact that we remember 20% of what we hear, 20% of what we read, but 80% of what we see/do is a testament to the fact that we need to present infographics that are useful and engaging. My special education students truly need that image to help them better understand and put the words to an image. This same idea benefits everyone. Many times when I am reading something or trying to figure out how to do something, it is the image that gives me the better understanding. We can easily upgrade our lessons by redesigning and adding infographics, being mindful of our fonts as well as the font size. Great information and infographic!! Thanks
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteFirst I really like you blog site. I found the same stat on the Wyzowl website as important as you did. I can not believe that we only retain 10% of what we hear. I have always thought I have learned best listening to a lecture but maybe I will have to rethink this idea. I agree with your point on needing to use larger font to gather attention of students quicker. I will have to try this method next year.
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteI love your blog! You bring up some really great points about incorporating infographics into your classroom. I am also looking forward to using them more and more next school year. Prior to reading the information this week, I never thought to have students create their own infographic, but I think that would be a great idea!
Hi Erin! Google Drawings are awesome and I think that using them for the little ones would be great. If they learn how to use Google Drawings now, I can only imagine the things that they will be creating by the time that they are in middle school.
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful idea and I wish you luck and success with it.
Erin -
ReplyDeleteI love your book trailer for Space Case (Stuart Gibbs). I have read many of the Stuart Gibbs books....but not this one. I think I will have to check it out. Thanks for sharing and for all of your fantastic feedback this summer. :-)
Erin, I love all of your ideas and so glad that you liked the EdPuzzle and are excited to bring that back to your classroom. I did not see the Flip Grid about AR but I am excited about something like that too! A personal goal of mine this year is to us Flip Grid more in the math classroom and it would be nice to have different options like AR vs. VR.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you 100% about the Typography article on how we communicate to our parents and students!
I really enjoyed working you with you in Module 3! Thanks for all of your positive and constructive feedback! It gave me a new mindset for my bellringer!
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteYour post is excellent! You went extremely in depth and gave me some great examples of ideas to use. The typography article assist me with contacting home. As a PE teacher, I have to make calls about no dresses. Even though I make plenty of positive phone calls home as well, some parents do not understand the responsibility and cleanliness aspect of having their child change for PE. The Typography article gave me strategies to communicate this message more effectively.
Your post is fantastic! I loved your video trailer for the Space Case and your graphic. I completely agree about the Topography article. This will help in so many ways. Not only in communicating with students, but also parents and staff. It sounds like you are refreshed and ready to start a new school year!
ReplyDeleteI love your post and you have a great website!. I agree I really liked the Type article and I learned a lot about how to create worksheets as well. I am looking forward to creating a few new worksheets this year!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment on how we can make little tweaks to whatever communication we create, and it will have a major impact. This course, and that week's module really gave use an opportunity to step back and reflect on our own practices. Great blog site, and good luck in your career and continued learning.
ReplyDelete