Librarians 2012: Technology Training

Librarians 2012: Technology Training: In the school where I’m doing my field experience, the media specialist is available to answer technology questions or prepare a brief tr...

It is fortunate that the teachers are willing to share technology tips and other useful information with each other, but the media specialist should also attend the training for the Smartboards and other new technology so she can also be available for assistance. The Smartboards are often used in our media center and the media specialist is responsible for setting them up and troubleshooting this and other technology available in the media center. Sometimes she is even responsible for setting up overheads, audio and the projector in the cafeteria for other assemblies. We do have a technology specialist but she works part time at our school. When she's not around, we ask the media specialist for help.

Of course there are other teachers that are helpful, but she's a person available in the central location - the media center.

It is a good idea to offer surveys so you know what the needs of the staff are. Unfortunately, time is hard to come by. Just recently, there was a technology class offered that I was extremely interested in, but I couldn't make the time committment. We try to offer our programs after school in lieu of a faculty meeting and yes- snacks do help! I hope when you are a media specialist, you are involved in the technological aspect :)

Digital Storytelling

by Linda Morris

 

According to the University of Houston, Digital Storytelling is the newest, most innovative approach to education. Telling a story through the use of computer technology creates a basis for the lesson and a beginning to what promises to be an excited trip through learning.

Digital Storytelling may seem like a new concept, but in fact, it has been around since the early 1990s. Joe Lambert from Berkeley, California, helped develop and co-founded the Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS). The CDS was designed as a non-profit group of community arts individuals that would provide training and assistance to people interesting in creating and sharing their story through the use of a Digital Story. The Center for Digital Storytelling has developed a list of the Seven Elements of Digital Storytelling in an effort to support and direct how educators should prepare individual lessons.

Point of View	What is the main point of the story and what is the perspective of the author?
A Dramatic Question	A key question that keeps the viewer’s attention and will be answered by the end of the story.
Emotional Content	Serious issues that come alive in a personal and powerful way and connects the story to the audience.
The Gift of Your Voice	A way to personalize the story to help the audience understand the context.
The Power of the Soundtrack	Music or other sounds that support and embellish the storyline.
Economy	Using just enough content to tell the story without overloading the viewer.
Pacing	The rhythm of the story and how slowly or quickly it progresses.

Digital Storytelling, though a rather new approach to learning, has become a very powerful instructional tool. By combining digital multimedia, images, video, audio, and of course, the art of storytelling, the educator develops an interesting tool used to open lessons and introduce students to a new unit or concept. We live in the age of technology, with a world of video and audio available at our fingertips. Focusing on the standards to be taught, educators now have a new and exciting tool to share with students.

Digital Stories can be categorized into three major areas, first the personal narrative. In this type story one tells a personal account or gives information relating to a significant incident from a point in time. The second story type is the historical documentary. These stories can be dramatic events or take the learner through a chronological timeline of events. The final story type is designed to merely inform or instruct the learner. Introducing new concepts or material would fall into this type story style.

Students create Web pages and publish blogs using social media. Taking their knowledge of technology one step further would give our students a edge in our global society. Digital Storytelling is a concept that can and should be taught in the classroom. If students are to become lifelong learners using technology and learning new innovative approaches should become part of our curriculum. Helping students develop technology skills is only one level of mastery that will help the transition to college or career. As students become more visually literate they become better communicators. Students learn to value the use of images to communicate and ultimately tell a story. Communicating and fully understanding the issues the community outside the classroom is yet another area students will develop and appreciate. Digital Storytelling brings an issue full circle and asks important questions to draw the learner into the idea or subject. The student developing the story will be exposed to more information and grasp the bigger picture through the development process.

Finally, our ultimate goal, as media specialists, is to give our students the ability to find, evaluate and synthesize information; to become Information Literate. Through the use of Digital Storytelling and through the eventual student creation of Digital Stories, students will see the joy in learning and gain a better understanding of how powerful knowledge truly is. On a personal note, I enjoyed reading the suggested information relating to the University of Houston and Digital Storytelling. I believe this is one area we need to explore and use in the classroom. Along with use comes work on the front end. The preparation of Digital Storytelling lessons is a goal I plan to add to my list, how quickly I create and fine tune these stories, is yet to be determined.

Houston, U. (2011). The educational uses of digital storytelling. Retrieved from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/

Houston, U. (2011). The 7 elements of storytelling. Retrieved from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/7elements.html

Copyright, Fair Use, and Multimedia

     A multimedia presentation is a presentation that uses multiple forms of media. It includes original work by the student, along with some form of copyrighted animation or media material for a specific class or assignment. A typical multimedia project contains at least one of the following: a video or movie clip, music, text, illustrations, photographs, etc… Students may use the presentation for later use as examples of their work and for job and college interviews. Teachers may also use copyrighted material when creating presentations for instructional purposes, conferences, workshops, and as a part of their professional portfolio.

     As our students create and produce more multimedia presentations to fulfill class requirements, there is a need for more awareness of copyright and fair use policies. A clear cut definition of fair use is the condition under which you can use material that is copyrighted by someone else without paying royalties. Portion limitations control how much of copyrighted material you are actually allowed to use without having to obtain permission. A good rule to follow when working with copyrighted material is to be conservative and use only small amounts of material.

The guidelines for portion limitations are as follows:

Motion Media: Up to 10% of the total of 3 minutes; whichever is less.

Text Material: Up to 10% of the total or 1,000 words; whichever is less.

Music, Lyrics, and Music Video: Up to 10% of the work but no more than 30 seconds of the music or lyrics from an individual musical work.

Illustrations or Photographs: A photograph or illustration may be used in its entirety. No more than 5 images from one artist or photographer. No more than 10% or no more than 15 images, whichever is less, from a collection.

Numerical Data Sets: Up to 10% or 2,500 fields or cells entries; whichever is less.

Copying of a Multimedia Project: No more than 2 copies may be made of a project.

Copyright Friendly Resources for Educators and Students

Clip Art and Animated Images

Awesome Clipart for Educators

Classroom Clip Art

Phillip Martin’s Free Classroom Clip Art

Pictures

Flickr Commons

FreeFoto

FreeStock

Wikimedia Commons

World Images

Music

Classical Archives

Freeplay Music

PBS Kids Music

RoyaltyFreeMusic

Sounds

Free-Loops.com

Jamendo

Podsafe Audio

Video

NASA’s Observatorium

National Archives

The Open Video Project

Teacher’s Domain

PowerPoint Templates

BrainBetty

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2011 from http://centerforsocialmedia.org/medialiteracy

Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2011 from http://www.gait-inc.org/GSMF/fairuse.htm

MEDT 7477-Group 5: Is No News Good News?

MEDT 7477-Group 5: Is No News Good News?: By: Kim George Personally, I think not. Currently we do not have a news program at my school and I have been trying to think of the best ...It is unfortunate your school does not have a news program – especially in middle school. I hope you are able to find the means to implement one. You have good ideas to implement as well. It will be beneficial for the students to be announcers and to listen to them.

At this time, our schools announcements are not on TV, but done over the intercom. I am in the process of finding out how we can make them be produced on TV. I am an interrelated teacher but am in charge of the announcements and am surprised no one has suggested this before. We had TV’s installed in every classroom a few years ago, but they weren’t wired correctly. Anyway, my principal is pro technology so I knew she would support going live. I’m looking forward to having this in the future.

We used to have safety patrols do the announcements on a 6 week rotation, but decided to hold auditions for them this year. That might work well for you too.

MEDT 7477-Group 5: In the Know with Television News

MEDT 7477-Group 5: In the Know with Television News: by Liz Manguno So, first, a disclaimer. I minored in journalism, worked for a suburban daily, taught newspaper and yearbook – and love ...

You are indeed very fortunate to have a full time staff running your media program. Having the broadcasting opportunity is wonderful for high school students. Having a fully equipped studio is also incredible. Your students experience first hand the ins and outs of producing a television program. It may be the beginning of a career in television and broadcasting for some.

I too, was very impressed with the KNN and Southern Columbia programs. Our announcements aren’t even on TV. They’re done over the intercom. I approached my principal and media specialist about starting video announcements and they are investigating how we can do this. I am hopeful we will have them on TV by next year.

Lucidity: School TV News- Cougar Cub News

Lucidity: School TV News- Cougar Cub News: I knew that my school was not savvy when it came to School TV News, but after looking at Pleasant Grove Elementary and The Tige...

It sounds like your school needs to invest in some new equipment. You are one step ahead of us though. We don’t even film our announcements. They’re done over the intercom. I’m working on changing that, but it’ll take some time. I was also extremely impressed with the video programs at the schools we viewed. I emailed the link to my principal. I hope we can strive for something like that! We have very involved parents in our school who would help make it happen.

It would be hard to approach your media specialist, but it sounds like it’s a good idea to do so. This way your announcements can be updated. It wouldn’t take much to liven it up. I’m sure you’re not the only one who thinks they should change, but no one has approached her yet. You can tell her you’ve been learning about it in grad school and offer some simple suggestions…

School TV News

Wow!  I am green with envy at Pleasant Grove and South Columbia Schools news programs.  I happen to oversee announcements at my school.  An interrelated teacher who retired, supervised them for years. When she left, they asked me. Unfortunately, we are behind the times with our technology. 

Last month, I approached my principal and technology specialist about going live with our announcements.  They are currently trying to find out what’ll take to do this.  They warned me that it’s a slow process but a work order was put in.

In the meantime, I emailed my principal the links to the sites I viewed to show the potential we have. Just a few years ago, TV’s were installed in every classroom, but they are just collecting dust because they are not wired correctly. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get them up and running.

As I said before, we are behind the times. Our announcements are done every morning over the intercom.

In the past, safety patrols were chosen to do announcements on a 6 week rotation.  This year we decided to do something different. Upcoming 5^th graders that were not patrols auditioned. We thought it would be a big hit, but unfortunately it wasn’t.  I had to go classroom to classroom several times to promote the auditions. Finally there were a few brave students.  My plan was to get 8 students total to do announcements.  Pairs would do them weekly.  At the beginning of the school year, I asked for a few more students and luckily, some agreed to do it.  In the end, we got 8.  I think that if they were on TV, kids would be more likely to volunteer.

5 minutes before the bell rings we begin to play classical music.  Teachers and students have reported they like this because it’s a warning the bell alerting them it’s almost time to start the day.

  The announcement format begins with the date, music just heard, pledge, patriotic song and moment of silence.  In the second half of the announcements the students announce birthdays and announcements of the day such as upcoming events like the talent show and spirit night.

We haven’t really encountered any problems except on the rare occasion, the intercom in broken.  Sometimes, there is static over the intercom too.  The issue is easily resolved.

I enjoy supervising the school announcements and can’t wait to someday have them on TV!