Digital Stories Blog

Today we worked on our Digital Story Assignment. My group and I are doing ours on the American Revolution. We're hoping to evoke a patriotic emotion and help students understand what the early American colonists were willing to do to be free.

I think Digital Stories can really enhance a lesson. History can often inspire emotion and I think using a Digital Story as a introduction to a new topic can help students become more emotionally vested into the topic. This will hopefully help them to be more interested and willing to learn. Not only can Digital Stories be beneficial in the educational world, but also in other aspects as well. These can be used to create photo diaries of an event or time. In my current job I have to put together a PowerPoint to show during our GED Graduation. PowerPoint can be difficult to work with and I'm excited to have a different program that I can use.

I'm hoping to implement Digital Stories as an introduction into new topics. I can utilize audio and pictures to help my students prepare for the new unit. I think both of these can really enhance the learning experience. Depending on the type of media I have access to, I may be able to assign my students a Digital Story to design on their own or in a group. This will not only allow me to discuss the importance of not using copyrighted material, but also allow them to research a topic in more depth. Perhaps I can share the Digital Stories I prepare with my future colleagues and vice versa. This will put a lot less stress on both of us. I'm looking forward to using Digital Stories in my future classroom.

Copyright, Creative Commons Blog

                Today we learned about Copyright law and intellectual property. I thought it was interesting because copyright law had changed so much in the last hundred years. Now a work is copyrighted for almost a hundred years after the author has died. Then it is free domain. We learned about resources to help us access material that is not under copyright.

            This will be very beneficial for me and my future students. As a history student I have to write a lot of papers and I know the importance of citing your information. I think this is important information for everyone to know. The internet is a great way to get information but it’s very important that we give credit to those that deserve it. This information is something that I will use throughout my life no matter what I end up doing. This is important in my current state as a student and in my job. It will also be helpful because I will have to teach my future students about the importance of copyright and how to avoid plagiarism.

            Although I wished we would have learned more, I think it was good for me to be reminded of the ethics in the world of technology. That growth in technology is great but it can also cause more problems that haven’t been experienced before. As teachers, we need to keep up with that type of thing because our students will be in the midst of it all.

Vidcast Reflection

            Our vidcast is called “Colonial Settlement.” We are working with a junior high history class and our cooperating teacher asked us to do a vidcast on the original 13 colonies. This project addresses Standard 4 in the U.S. History I of Utah’s Core Curriculum. We incorporated numerous standard objectives into the vidcast because we had to discuss a broad topic and our cooperating teacher wanted the project to lead into the American Revolution.

            There are multiple benefits to creating a vidcast on this particular subject. The original 13 colonies is the basis for much of American history. This information is an integral lesson that explains the foundations of Democracy and why the colonists fought against the British to become their own nation. This vidcast offers students a visual on that information. It combines visual, linguistic and musical aspects to accommodate different kinds of learners. Although it is short, it is a great way of introducing this specific topic to a classroom. It prepares them mentally to examine this time period and discover new aspects of history.

            This vidcast also complies with multiple INTASC Standards. Some of which include: Standard 2F in which the teacher must incorporate appropriate resources to facilitate individual student learning and 3E which requires teachers to differentiate instruction to meet individual

student learning needs. This project also complies with NETS Standards as well. More specifically it complies with Standard 3 which asks teachers to model digital-age work and learning. This vidcast demonstrates new technology that will very likely be integrated into the student’s future education or careers.

            Some potential drawbacks to using this series might be that it requires media and technology that some classrooms don’t have access to. Many classrooms are not able to use much technology yet. There is also that chance that a classroom will not react positively to new approach to learning.

            I think a series like this would be very beneficial in my future classroom. I intend to utilize vidcasts such as this one as an introduction into new topics. This way I can provide visuals and media to help my students get a brief overview of what we will be discussing and also help them to analyze the topics more. I believe that it is also necessary to help students become more familiar with different components of technology as it will be a large part of their lives. As a result, teachers must be familiar with it as well.