#UWinDig

Ashley Hinck’s article, Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom, discusses the expectations that students have with digital media, and the stark difference between teacher centered versus student centered media education. Beginning this assignment, I assumed that it would be a linear process in which I would cobble together some words, drag and drop some pictures and then I would be guaranteed a working final piece. Having now completed this assignment, that was certainly not the case. I found it very difficult to get started, as I wasn’t sure exactly what to do. I didn’t have a set linear procedure to guide me through the steps that I needed to complete in order to get my finished artifact. There is also no set answer to this assignment, which is very different than the standard teacher centered courses that made up the majority of my university career. With the assignment I found myself being forced to be creative and try some new things that were certainly outside of my comfort zone.

I initially started with the standard template websites such as Canva because it was easiest to use a template rather than design something myself. I decided however to try MindMup as it was much more open and it gave me some creative freedom to come up with a project that was entirely mine. Coming up with my own design was very rewarding to me as I had to troubleshoot through problems, and there were a good number of problems, as well as tinker with the project with the inputs that I was given in class by the professor and my colleagues. I found it very satisfying using MindMup and learning the inherent issues that came with that software in order to come up with a final product.

MindMup

-Brandan Joyce

For my multimedia reflection, I decided to do a Powtoon that summarizes what I believe to be the main points of the article Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom by Ashley Hinck.

Click the image to view the video

[Disclaimer: I have never used Powtoon before and I did not realize that the trial runs out even after exporting the video on their site so do look past the “PRO” and “PRO+” watermarks as I am actually incredibly bitter about this  ]

ANYWAY

Throughout the article, Ashley Hinck makes many valid points about the use of shortcut/template methods and the effects that these methods have on students and students’ creativity. Personally, in my own academic endeavors I have found that many of the digital creations I have made for assignments (including this response with Powtoon) have been heavily reliant on drag and drop platforms that allow for me to get my point across as easy and hassle free as possible. However, even though these platforms are incredibly easy to use and usually allow you to finish creating a product in no time at all, in my own experiences I have also found them to be immensely frustrating. In the creation of this Powtoon alone, there were many different things I would have loved to add to the slides that were not available in the resources the site provides and it did limit me a lot in that aspect. On another note, something else that is also really frustrating about a lot of these shortcut/template websites are their freemium services (something we had talked about in class previously). These sites give you a trial and let you use all services it has to offer in order to give you a taste of the capabilities and then suddenly all of those premium services disappear which makes the website even more limiting to the user if they want to use it again.

Of all the years I have been in school, most digital assignments were created with the intent of using easy shortcut/template websites and platforms that you can get easy marks from by following the step-by-step guidelines given to you. With that being said, I have also had the experience of taking a few of these courses in my time that have required me to utilize more open-ended platforms to create a finished product; assignments that were given little limitations. In one of said courses, we were expected to create a website about ourselves using HTML to do so. It was highly recommended by the professor to create these websites from scratch; however, due to the time constraints of the assignment and the few requirements that I needed to meet, I decided to take the easy route (something that I am sure we all have been accustomed to at some point). I ended up finding a website that was similar to the way that I wanted mine and used it as a template, changing things here and there to make it my own. It is not something I am proud of, but is something that I was reminded of when reading about students in Ashley’s class and their similar experiences with HTML. I found that it was much easier to create something out of something else, rather than creating something entirely out of nothing and I am sure this is a result of years of drag and drop. So, to make myself feel better about that entire situation, I feel that it is safe to say that the digital ghosts made me do it…

All things considered, I hope that some day I will truly learn how to break free of all the shortcut/template ghosts and truly utilize more open-ended platforms for my future creations. There has already been a few times in past where a drag and drop template just wasn’t doing it for me and I forced myself to utilize Photoshop out of frustration instead, but I don’t want to look at open-ended platforms as a last resort in order to get my points across – I would love to seek them out first some day.

– Jessie Vanderveen

I chose to respond to the podcast that was written by Chris Friend and Amy Collier. I have chosen to complete a rant and discuss how teachers are always told to follow the curriculum exactly and “teach to the test”. In this rant, I will discuss my opinions about teachers teaching to the test and how they should branch out and try new teaching methods. It will also be discussed how every student learns differently, whether it be visually, kinaesthetically, interpersonally, etc therefore we shouldn’t just have one method of teaching. The whole point of teaching is to take risks and experiment with different teaching methods to see what works best for your students. You need to encourage risk taking with your students, and to teach them that making mistakes is okay and they won’t get punished for it.

I chose to edit my project using iMovie. I have never used this medium before therefore I had some difficulty when I was first using it. I was hoping to film my entire rant in one take, but unfortunately that did not happen. Luckily, I was able to film it in 2 parts that way I didn’t have much editing to do but I still had difficulty editing those 2 clips. I tried to play with the program a little bit, but was having no luck so I had to call a friend who has used the program before for help. She was able to talk me through what to do and helped me to better understand the program. Now that I know how to use the program properly, I would definitely use it for future assignments and in my future classroom.

Rant 

http://hybridpedagogy.org/questioning-learning/

I chose to respond to the podcast HybridPod – Questioning Learning by Chris Friend and Amy Collier. The podcast included the ideology of the push to inquire more in the classroom, and that students should not only extend and deepen their learning by doing this but feel comfortable in doing so. The podcast also touched upon the importance of the relationship between teachers and students. In personal experience, I’ve had teachers who have impacted me both in and outside of the classroom. Chris and Amy analyzed the result of removing the teacher-to-learner and learner-to-teacher relationship, and how it would not be beneficial to either of the two parties involved. As future educators, I believe we should empower our students to inquire. To inquire themselves, and further understand their thoughts, and to question us moreover. Students should be aware of their thoughts and should be able to uncover the complexity of them by making connections, considering different viewpoints, and building reasoning. While it is constantly reiterated that we are the change, I believe it is difficult to make change. We sit in desks longer than we are before them, and while in those desks, are faced with expectations of our own that mirror the methods of old teaching.

I knew I wanted to create some sort of video after listening to the Friend/Collier podcast. As I was listening, my mind began racing to the fact that everything sounds great on paper, and how things are often easier said than done. With this, I decided to put my thoughts into a rant and explain how I feel in that we have yet to change as much as we say we want to. Biteable is a medium I haven’t used before, and while using it I found myself confused and frustrated. While I am happy I pushed myself to try something new, I wanted to be free from limitations and decided to opt-out of using a template. I created my video from scratch, and found I could be more creative in doing so. Along the way, I noticed many of the options I wanted to incorporate required a fee. After I accepted the fact that I was limited to free options, I ran into another obstacle when trying to sync my audio recording to the video clips I had selected. Biteable did not allow me to view the audio clip while in editing mode. To see if the audio synced, the video needed to be ‘published’, and I had to physically sit and listen to whether the idea I stated, matched the video clips I selected. This process was quite tedious and timely, as it took about twenty minutes each time. All in all, though I wish the system ran smoother, I am pleased with my final piece. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to listen to this podcast, and was thankful for the text that was provided with it. I was able to revisit ideas in the text by use of Command + F, rather than trying to find the timestamp in which it was said in the podcast.

Below you’ll find my interpretation of the Friend/Collier podcast, mixed with my opinion on how we have yet to shift from standardized education.

Carla

I confess, I’m a shortcut platform junkie. I have used most of the ones mentioned in the Hink article at least once. They have helped me in my work and in my personal life but I can see the limitations.

As the article explains, these platforms have become just another way for students to try to ‘get
the right answer.’ They are haunted by the ghosts of education past that say that students should be filled with facts and figures. Those facts are then regurgitated onto a worksheet or standardized test. This model of education continues to permeate our system and many of the tools we use to try to extend beyond it continue to limit students within the context of rules and boundaries. The Powtoon below both describes this idea and is also an example of the limiting features of these types of platforms. Just check out this Powtoon by another student in a different class to see how limiting they can be – we created something very similar and we don’t even know each other (somehow I think we even sound the same!)
I do want to challenge the article in one way. Many of these platforms can act as a scaffolding tool to something bigger and better. Especially in the junior years I believe they definitely have a place in getting students creating digital content, even if it is within certain parameters. One of Hinks criticisms of shortcut platforms is students believe they are “guaranteed [a] working product at the end with little risk of failure.” Students need to learn to take risks but sometimes they need an opportunity to create something with a small risk. Once they are comfortable in an area, they are more likely to move beyond it to something more challenging.  And believe me, there is no guarantee even on a platform like Powtoon that everything will turn out they way you want it to. I was ready to give up on mine more than once!

So, my ‘take-away’ is to be careful. Be careful of the message we are sending to our students with each platform we use. We need to be sure to celebrate failures and show them how we are limited within the frameworks. Creativity takes a lot of risk and we should provide our students with as many open-ended opportunities as possible.

Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom raises many relevant points comparing the assumptions made regarding media use and the realities seen in classrooms today. Ultimately, the author indicates that students must be encouraged to develop digital literacy outside of shortcut template platforms (STP). While I certainly agree with the author that students must develop creativity in order to become creators of digital content, rather than simply relying on available templates.

By creating the above reflection, I had the opportunity to explore two different STPs: Mindmup and Canva. While both have their benefits, there are also many drawbacks. Mindmup allows the user to create a mindmap, using pre-determined themes. It is free provided that the user does not include any images. The mindmap can then be downloaded as a .jpg file that is very high quality. Meanwhile, Canva allows the user the opportunity to create their own design using a blank template (a feature that the author fails to recognize). Therefore, I uploaded by mindmap in order to add photos and make it more interactive in that regard. The drawback to doing this is that the overall image quality was reduced. This has resulted in a more dynamic reflection, that is of lower visual quality.

Ultimately, this combination of positive elements of free STPs with the inevitable drawbacks is a reality of much digital content curation. Hopefully, I will be able to elevate my students beyond my own comfort level to enable their creativity and encourage them to become far more comfortable with digital content creation than I am.

Please select the image to view in greater detail.

Ashley Hinck’s article Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom was an interesting read. After reading the whole article it made you think of all the social media applications you can make templates, GIFs, YouTube Videos, and much more on, and how they are limited to what they provide to their consumers.

There is no visual step by step process written out for you on most of these sites. Students do not like that and wish there was a process for them to follow. I’m the type of person that can figure out the steps along the way, but for the average Joe student, I don’t think that is the case. It comes with practice and years of experience working with different softwares. If I was teaching a class and I knew the site did not have any steps to go along with the project, I would make sure to make my own project as a guide for the students, and communicate with them the steps I took in order to achieve the final product. Along the way it is alright to fail, we as future educators have to encourage the failing process, because if we fail a few times we know what it takes in order to succeed. Students have to realize that failing is not bad thing, but a learning experience. Maybe sometimes a wake up call, but majority of the time sometimes we need it.  

As a teachable being in the arts, these programs are awesome because art is all about creating something visual, something auditory, and an emotion. Students will be creating their own assignment through the help of these programs. Schools, teachers, and future educators need to bring the creative process to the classroom. You wouldn’t believe what your students can create if they put their mind to it.

2018/09/30 – 103586003

The Hinck article, “Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom”, linked here: http://hybridpedagogy.org/digital-ghosts-modern-classroom/  addressed the difficult issues of using pre made templates, filters and drag and drop tools that can minimize the creativity of the person using it. Furthermore, students get anxious and frustrated if there is not a step by step instruction to follow when using technology. When using these platforms, making mistakes is a great way to learn; however, many of us feel like we are failing if we are making mistakes. I also feel this way, I am more comfortable when I know that I am completing the proper steps to achieve the desired end goal. I need to step away from this frame of thought so that my future students may be able to step out of the box and create things of their own in their own way. In many ways, we are programmed to assume that the creative process is linear and Hinck discusses this in the article. There is no step by step process in digital media and the mistakes you will make should be viewed as challenges and apart of the process rather than a failure. Digital media is the process of creating, and there is no right or wrong way to create something out of nothing.

As a future teacher, the process of creating, learning and trying new things is going to be a part of the job. I must become more comfortable with digital pedagogy and pushing myself out of my comfort zone so that my students may do the same. I also need to expose them to my own struggles and failures so that they can see that I do not expect perfection from them. I chose to use Imovie because I do have a little bit of previous experience with it but would like to play around with it more. I also chose Imovie because I enjoy video representations of ideas and would like to produce more video content in the future. I also chose to write by hand with chalk because I really enjoy brainstorming and producing ideas by hand with a tactile object like chalk. Also, the juxtaposition of chalk and the video representation is a blend of the past and future of learning in classrooms. Also, how I would like to have my own classroom, a blend of both ways of learning and teaching! I have never published a video on to a blog or Youtube, so I originally tried to use Uview but the video would not embed into the blog post. I started to get frustrated that it did not work the first time. I assumed it would be very simple without any struggle and immediately got frustrated. I had to create a Youtube account to publish it on there and then embed it and it finally worked. My own struggles and expectations of wanting it to be successful in the first try mirrored the struggles that students have in the classroom. Therefore, I realized I cannot have expectations that my students won’t get frustrated and want to give up because I feel that way myself when I am facing a new platform or project. For the next project, I want to try a platform I have never used before!

Thanks for watching!