Blog Post #H

Expressing Creativity with Multimedia Technologies is very important in the classroom because students need to learn how to create things with the internet using the content that they are currently learning. For example, powerpoint is a well known tool for teachers and students. During lectures most teachers use powerpoint and for presentations the majority of the students use powerpoint however, are the teachers using powerpoint correctly? In this chapter they discussed strategies for using Powerpoint which I shocked to find the littlest details mean the most. For instance, using images to generate class discussions help students response to the visual images that relate to the content they are learning. The visual content can create discussions within the classroom and keep the students interested. Another aspect in creating a powerpoint for students is promote visual analysis of discussion topics. This meaning that a teacher should show an image or another source of visual aid that can promote critical thinking to the entire class. With the critical thinking, the teacher should then ask questions in order to create discussion. The teacher should also display questions or comments for short writing assignments. The book gives a great activity with this which is a strategy called the 50-word sentence which is when students create a 50-word sentence the summarizes the main idea of the lesson. This gets students involved and critically thinking. The teacher should also use the slides as attention getters. This meaning that the teacher should tell stories, explain concepts, ask discussion questions so that the class can understand that main purpose behind the lesson that day. The last strategy for a powerpoint is develop your own powerpoint learning game, this will help get the students involved and interactive. The students are creating their own questions and thinking critically while having a good time with their classmates. Using these strategies for powerpoint will help the students understand the lesson better because there isn't just bulletin points on the board and this will help the teacher get the students involved with the lesson more.

Photo from Google 

Not only are there strategies for using powerpoint but there is also strategies for using videos with students. Although, videos should not be used in every single lesson plan they are a great tool to use to get students interested and involved. If a teacher picks the correct video, a lesson can be explained very well and understood very well if a video is incorporated. In this chapter, they gave plenty of examples of different resources that teachers can use to access content related videos. One example would be PBS Learning Media which is information that is visually engaged through interactive timelines and resources to help visually engage the students. PBS has a bunch of helpful resources for teachers in regard to video resources. Instead of using Youtube which can be unreliable and is now blocked at schools, there are websites that have videos which are school appropriate. With these resources, students and teachers can create a fun learning environment.

Videos create a fun learning environment but so does photo-taking and movie-making with students. Photo-taking and movie-making with students is a fun activity that help engage students, document learning, create active learning and incorporate information creation. Creating the videos help teachers incorporate the interests of students while engaging them academically. Documenting learning will help show students their progress and help remember classroom learning activities. Active learning includes filming, acting, viewing and editing which is great skills for students to learn. Information creation deals with the students being creators of their own visual masterpiece which explores their creative minds. All in all, movie-making and photo-taking with students is a great and fun learning experience for the students especially since these activities explore their critical thinking.

Photo from Google 

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References: 

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc

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