EDLD+5363-+Final+Exam+Responses

Final Examination - 5 Responses
=== 1. The variety of Open Source software available to use such as Movie Maker, Wikispaces.com, Google docs, and Audacitiy (to name only a few) can be overwhelming, but so helpful and useful be it in the classroom or for personal use when creating a project using technology. Deciding which to use will be part of the challenge with future assignments for myself as well as for students. Being able to select content to include and make changes can be time consuming, yet it is required when there are constraints such as the particular topic to be described and the time involved. When creating a digital story, it is important to follow the proper steps as you would with a document or assignment. One must continually revise and edit to create an end product that is worthwhile and relevant. With a team, one is able to have others give input and offer suggestions as well as expertise. I plan to share with collogues and students ways to utilized many of these technologies and techniques. Having experience with these programs will be quite beneficial. ===

2. The teamwork and collaboration aspect of this course was quite valuable and enjoyable, especially with the enthusiastic and knowledgeable professionals that were in my PSA group. We shared ideas and made suggestions to continue to improve our presentation. The different steps to include brainstorming, pre-production, production, and post-production were required to complete our project effectively. I hope to incorporate these ideas in my classroom even with the challenges of learners that my not be motivated or knowledgeable about various forms of technology.

3. Using a wiki to post video, responses, images, and more was so easy and useful when working with this team and members that lived in different areas of Texas. The ease of communication and posting was amazing to someone that is new to completing a project with this technology. Our wikispace and email accounts were also useful when collaborating. Movie Maker, Audacity, and Utube were tools to create the presentation on a higher level while using the Internet to post for public viewing. The level of professionalism with my PSA group was one I wish I could see with all educators. Knowing we all wanted to do well on our project with time constraints of work and families kept us focused and motivated. I would hope to see this determination with future groups of educators and students as well.

4. Not only were the web conferences full of information, links, suggestions, and communication, they also were available to view as a reference material. The participants were able to contribute and ask questions in order to clarify directions from the professor and assignments. Dr. Abernathy was able to speak to us and rephrase when necessary so that we would find clarity in the instructions. It was important to attend in order to understand the additions to assignments as the weeks progressed.

5. Creating a video such as a digital storyboard and viewing the final product was quite rewarding. Having learned about Movie Maker previous to attending this course and not taking time to really see the benefits and ease to use, has proved to be a program to use frequently in the future. I hope to share this program with my students as well for they can use this with their personal projects and classroom projects as well. The process was one that could be developed by using a wiki while collecting the needed graphics, video, audio, and copyright information. All of these details were to be incorporated to obtain a completed product that was worthwhile using a program such as Movie Maker. I shed a few tears with the personal storyboard as I reflected about important women in my family beginning with my mother that I lost over four years ago. I was able to find pictures and record short audio clips to describe the images that I chose. Using personal experiences, like a teacher can do in the classroom, can prove to be quite effective as emotions can assist the learner with focusing on the project from beginning to end. Finally, posting this and other digital storyboards to the web will allow others to enjoy and benefit as well.

After the experiences in this course with the creation of a digital storyboard and the team collaborative project, I hope to benefit other educators in my district as well with the information I have learned. I have teacher friends at different campuses and that is one way to start sharing what I have learned. Using examples to describe how they can use this technology will be important as developing uses for technology can be a challenge for some and that can dissuade its use. I hope to share these program uses soon.