EDLD5363-8011+Reflections

For your final examination, you will write five short responses about the course activities, considering the outcomes and the extent to which the outcomes will influence your role as an educational technology leader in your school and district.

1. What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned? 2. To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not? 3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them? 4. Were you successful in completing the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you? 5. What did you learn from this course: about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

1. When starting this course, I hoped to learn more about multimedia technology and ways to incorporate it into my curriculum. While I learned more about technology, ways to incorporate it were not available. My district does not allow editing software for teacher or student use. Downloading free software is not an option. Teachers do not have the ability/right to download anything as every computer has all downloads blocked except to IT personnel. Students are not allowed to check out cameras to record, and the server does not allow them to have large files. There are those who want to allow students more use of multimedia in learning, but they are not the ones with the power to make decisions.

 2. Media production engages and excites; it leads to unexpected discoveries, increased self-awareness and esteem, sharpened critical thinking, analytical skills, group work skills, and ability to communicate ideas. Media production demands writing and rewriting, research, group effort, and clarity of thought. Media production offers a means for students to talk to whomever they think is an important audience. It does all this because students want to say things that have meaning to them - authentic production comes from authentic learning. (Garrison)  Comparing different software for video editing has never been a concern. At work, I only have access to Windows Movie Maker from Microsoft on a limited basis, while a home, my Mac has IMovie from Apple. These programs were initially chosen for their price. Movie Maker was bundled with the Microsoft software at no extra cost, thus meeting the most important requirement in my district. It was free. IMovie was also provided as a free download when I purchased my Mac. IMovie can also be purchased for $79.00 from []. I started by first reading about differenct editing software at [].  Windows Movie Maker requires the Windows software platform be installed in order to use it. It supports .AVI (DV-AVI), .WMA, .WMV/.ASF, .WAV, .MPG (MPEG-1), and .MP3 formats. Using Movie Maker is simply, and can be accomplished without referring to the help menu. It consists of a drag and drop program. When I introduce my students to this, it usually takes them only minutes to master. Microsoft also offers tutorials at []. While Movie Maker is relatively easy to learn and use the software, according to Microsoft there are required elements in order to use the program. Micosoft says you must have a MiniDV digital video camera, MiniDVtapes, a computer that supports a digital video connection, Microsoft Windows PX with Service Pack 2, which includes Movie Maker 2.1, and an i Link port (also known a a FireWire or IEEE 1394) on your computer. (Microsoft.com) I use a small digital camera that plugs directly into the computer’s USB port and do not need additional equipment, so this is not necessarily true. Basic editing of video is relatively simple after you have imported video from your camera. Additional features include adding audio, themes, titles, music, and transition effects. Combining different movies is also easy. My students generally become frustrated when they begin to use the transition effects. This part is more complicated and time-consuming. They do like the storyboard, as it allows them to easily see what they have created. Updates are easily accessible through the Microsoft site. This program would not be the best for professional use, however, this is a good program for general classroom projects. Microsoft even provides a [|site] just for educators.  Even though I have used Movie Maker more, I prefer Apple Inc,’s iMovie. It runs with Mac OS X and iOS4 platforms. Video is easily imported with a drag and drop feature. Clips are edited quickly by simply dragging the cursor over what you want to save. Two audio tracks make adding sound simple. I was able to create a short video with titles, credits, background music, and vocals, in only minutes. It separates the audio track on the camera from the video, making it easy to use audio from one portion as the narration for another portion. It also had other features to show shaky video or poor sound so that they can easily be edited out of the final work. A detailed tutorial is available online at []. When used with a Mac, the built-in camera and microphone make the handheld camera unnecessary, thus giving more options. Exporting is as simple as clicking Share, then Export ,and choosing from the menu. Choices include iPod, iPhone, Appletv, computer, MobileMe, YouTube, QuickTime, FinalCut XML, MediaBrowser, and more. Different sizes are also available: tiny, mobile, medium, large, and HD. I was able to easily read the charts shown, choose the correct format and export my video, all without watching the tutorial provided. A limitation to iMovie is that it is designed for use with Mac and not a PC, so not everyone will want to use it. Also, all projects are saved .mov unless you specify otherwise. However, converting them if you forget this step is easy as well. Video editing is something I will have to do this year as my eighth and ninth courses I am being required to teach.

3. The goal I set for every course is to do my personal best. I feel that I achieved my goal for this course. However, I am required to write about this goal and why I did not achieve it. I think I did achieve it, so there is little for me to write about. I wish I had kept some of my printouts away from the cat, so I would not have holes in the pages. I don't have my final grades at this point, so I do not know if I have achieved that goal, nor will I for some time. I am not sure why it is assumed that every student will not achieve his/her goal(s).

4. I feel that I was successful in completing the assignments for the course. I was able to do each assignment (video and podcasts) without being frustrated. My team completed our PSA early and it is exactly sixty seconds and has all of the required elements. The discouraging moments were mainly in week 4, where our online program did not mesh with the new syllabus. The assignments were not difficult, however they were time consuming. I took the podcast assignment a step further by subscribing to my podcasts on iTunes so that each was automatically downloaded to my iTunes account as it was completed. I talked to my students about how this was done, so some are planning on trying this in the future.

5. As to new learning, some occurred. I did learn that my partners for the PSA were terrific. I reinforced that I don’t enjoy making video. I have never owned a camera and have no plans to purchase one. I make videos for work that are well received, but it is work, not pleasure. I had made podcasts, but never used the site [|Podbean], so this was new. It was a simple site to use. I had also not uploaded video to [|YouTube]. This was also quite easy. I learned how to subscribe to my own podcast on iTunes as well. Overall, the course was time-consuming, but not unrealistic. Having it start at the beginning of a school year while working ten to twelve hour days and then trying to complete course work was the most challenging part.

 6. The creation of the PSA went smoother than I expected. Everyone contributed something to the process. We began be telling our strengths to the group and choosing tasks based on those strengths. It was a lot of work. I did not enjoy the project as much as most (I don't really enjoy video projects as I do them often for work.), but my team members were great. We collaborated with email and a wiki. This is where we posted all notes on the project for the past three weeks, including comments, shot lists, outlines, script versions, emails, and contact information. I am not certain this was the most effective way, but it served its purpose. The project was completed several days ahead of schedule, which allowed for time to reflect and submit paperwork. We would have liked to have a video or voice conference, but our schedules did not allow that to happen. I was responsible for the outline and script, along with second narration. Amy set up the wiki and every member posted updates as we worked. Patti was the primary narrator. Anthony and Jo'celyn were the directors, talent and camera with Jo'celyn and Amy also doing editing. The shot selection was effective and went well with the script. If I were to change anything, the main thing would be my narration. My voice would have been the introduction and not the closing. Patti has a better voice for narration than I do.

 Apple, Inc. (2010) //iLife.// Retrieved from [].  Garrison, A. (2002-2007) //Video basics and production for the classroom.// Retrieved from [].  Microsoft Cooperation. (2010) //Windows Live Movie Maker.// Retrieved from [].

