I loved reading the blogs of others in the cohort this week. I am astounded at the changes we have made in our thinking this semester. We have been challenged to think of a problem in our classroom, think of solutions to that problem, implement a set of strategies for how to fix the problem and them and finally report out on their effectiveness in addressing the problem.
All of us have faced similar struggles along the way. I think that a common theme in regards to the struggle for this week has been being concise. We have had such a complicated journey where we met dead ends, contradictions, and road blocks. All of that is part of this project but in some cases it is not MOST important for the people who are going to be utilizing our projects. They need to know the bottom line. The two cents...not the whole enchilada. The poster, the elevator speech and the executive summary are not the whole enchilada. We were met with the challenge of finding ONLY what viewer need to know to carry on the legacy of this project and bring it into a new generation in their own classrooms. I am proud to say I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I couldn't see it before. Even though I am relieved to see the culmination of all of this work coming into focus I am saddened by the finality of it all.
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I don't really have any complaints! I enjoyed playing around with new software and making my video was enjoyable overall. Getting to hang out in JP's room was wonderful and I am so thankful that he put us in touch with videoblocks! It was just what I needed to fill the holes in my video. I've been away from home for the last few days so I have not had a chance to put the footage that I found in place but as soon as I get back I will.I can't really remember....was there a set of guidelines for the video aside for the time frame? Did we need to include a frame that states our name, program and level of teaching? Also, do we have to thank Napa learns and Touro in our video as well?
Writing my executive summary was helpful for me. I think I feel better having put it down in a very clean, straight and to the point way. I do see how making this will ultimately help me to create my poster. I need more visuals though.... I intend on putting in some graphs, but I honestly don't know what else to include. I could include some some pictures of students maybe? Maybe some screen shots of the program and/or student work? I found my video making process to be a combination of fun, fulfilling and frustrating. The 3 Fs! First and foremost it was fun! After last class I decided to stray away from my comfort zone. I have used Adobe spark for so many of my videos in this program. I decided to have courage and try i-movie instead. I had no prior experience with i- movie, which I felt was pretty gutsy to try in the first place especially for my final video. In the back of my mind adobe spark was going to be my fall back if I couldn't get i-movie to cooperate. I had trouble making my movie what I truly wanted it to be on such a small screen.
Let's move to frustrating so that we don't have to end on a bad note. I realized that after I had invested so much time and effort in my video that I just wasn't meeting up with my expectations. I couldn't seem to make things the right duration on my phone. I thought about throwing it out and starting over again in Spark until my fantastic husband saved the day with Sony Movie Studio Platinum ( fancyyyyyyy). We managed to move my video over to his program on his desktop. Now that I wasn't working on a phone screen anymore I could change things with ease. I recorded and re- recorded my voice about 25 times to finally get the words right....who knew reading a script into a microphone was SO hard! Then I scrapped my script and re- wrote it again. I realized that this software I was using didn't have any background music capabilities. I then recorded my voice on i-movie then moved it to SMSP. Last, it was very fulfilling to have it done. I feel like the finished product exemplifies really well my capstone project. I am also satisfied with the fact that I transgressed out of my comfort zone to try using a tool I had not used prior. That is what I have been doing during this capstone journey. Why stop now? On a side note, although I am done with my video for the most part. There are parts that I would like to change using JP's program he was saying has a bunch of pre- recorded video... I look forward to seeing what this program is all about tomorrow! I had a hard time narrowing in on the most important aspects of my capstone project and summarize them in a story board. I need to work on my first few pictures I think. I was supposed to leave my viewers nodding their heads in agreement and understanding of the picture that I am trying to paint. I need to bring to the surface the true origin of where this project originated. This project came from a place of need. It came from a place of necessity. I want the teachers that watch this video to understand that my capstone project was a result of years and years of trying to solve a problem I couldn't solve. My storyboard, the way it is worded right now is not really the polished, well calculated wording I was hoping for. This was just a start to outlining my basic ideas.
I chose adobe spark to make my video mainly because with all of the stuff I have made I feel the most comfortable with using it. I hope that I won't run into any problems like I did with my book review presentation. I think that since the video is short and sweet it shouldn't be an issue. Fingers crossed! I am wondering if the storyboarding tool that I used could use the images that I created in the video that I make as well...I am wondering if this video is an appropriate place to put student interviews... if not where can I put those? It's funny because when we had time to break out into groups last week and experiment with a logo making tool I was given the job or trying out graphic springs and found it so easy to use that I was able to make one is just a few short minutes. I was so happy with that creation that I made that all the other logos I tried to make on other websites seemed sub- par to what I had created first. The logo I created embodies what feedback means to me. I think that the color scheme exudes a sense of newness and growth. I am wondering if it is too complex. Lots of logos are very clean with simply shapes and lines. I wonder if my logo is to "busy".
Some hurdles I ran into with this software was mainly color issues it took me a little while to figure out how to change the different aspects of the color and glow. I also didn't like that they were not forthcoming with how much it costs to have your logo. They let you design it, get all attached to it and then after ALL of they they are like....oh hey by the way you owe me 20 bucks. I am eager to get feedback on this logo because my first instinct is normally to be very stuck to my first draft....but in true Feedback Friends form I would like to hear what the color scheme and design says to you when you first look at it. I there anything I can change that would make it more effective and more simplistic? 1) How does transliteracy change your current thoughts on the content you deliver? 2) How do see the incorporation of transliteracy teaching methods increasing student inclusion and engagement? 3) Your own thoughts...
Making the content that I post on my capstone website appealing is going to be one of my main focuses. I hope to use a lot of student images and video to help support my capstone. I hope to create some cool infographics that are eye catching and informative without being too wordy. As far as a logo, I hope to sum up my research with a good title and encourages the reader to find out more with an image to match . My hope is that I can use transliteracy in my new classroom next year to allow students to communicate, share ideas, and show competency in ways other than paper and pencil. I hope that I can continue to use the digital portfolio platform I have begun using this year to inspire my older student to show what they know by video taping, taking pictures, annotating, illustrating and performing. I think that there are a lot of really great tools out there that make learning so much more engaging. If it's engaging it makes kids want to do it more, right? The cookie cutter model of education needs to stop. Our administrators need to stop making us force feed content in ways that are not engaging...especially when there are such great resources at our fingertips... RANT OVER! |