EDLD 5363 End of Course Reflection

EDLD 5363 Multimedia & Video Technology has been useful and insightful to different multimedia technologies that can be used by students. The readings were constructive and gave me a foundation for the assignments and projects. I particularly enjoy The Digital Storytelling Cookbook by Joe Lambert. In this book it communicates that there are many stories that can be told from character stories to love stories. “And the best of these stories tell us more about ourselves than the details of our own lives.” (Lambert, 2007) This reading was beneficial in helping guide me in the story development not only for my first digital story but for our final group project of a student centered video. I also learned that good video stories are the creative artistry of several skills blended together (Lindenmeyer,1995). The final three weeks of the class was a group project developing a core curriculum student centered video. This project involved our group meeting together on a regular basis and collaborating using a Google document as well as a wiki to post our video clips and other materials. This group project was challenging and frustrating. This was my third class that had a group project yet this was the most challenging. The group was comprised of four students and being summer and working around travel and summer activities proved to be an issue. This was the only group project where I felt like two of us really carried the majority of the load of work and that was disappointing. However, this gave me insight to what students in my school must also deal with. My experience of group projects gives me the tools necessary to create lessons for students to collaborate with other students not in their classroom, but school district and globally to create a multimedia product. This opportunity opens doors for more diversified learning and understanding on an educational as well as a personal level for students. One reference that I will carry with me and share with students and teachers is from Lambert (2007) who notes that you should try to use the best effect of all: letting the images speak for themselves and using the words to say the rest (Lambert, 2007). The tools I have learned and projects that I have created and experienced will be relevant to students and teachers that I work with as a Library Media Specialist. I think the digital story about them is a perfect way to start off the school year to introduce and get to know students. My experiences will encourage me to encourage more multimedia projects being done on my campuses. According to Shank (2011), "In instructional design, the purpose of multimedia isn't just to incorporate multiple media, insert cool text, or add complexity (which can detract from learning). This reference by Shank will help me design rubrics that are clear and go beyond simple graphics. I was familiar with Creative Commons and this is something I will continue to encourage with students as they create e-portfolio of their work. I would have enjoyed using some software that I was not as familiar with but I do understand that most school districts use open source software. I understand and appreciate district budget constraints but I feel many students may go into the workforce unprepared by not being exposed to products such as Adobe. The assignments were not as clear for the group project as I would have liked. The project for this class was new and different from previous classes. I feel like this class worked through all the “kinks” which will help make directions more clear for future classes. The digital story and podcast were by far my favorite projects. I was able to develop my leadership skills in the group project. I had to encourage some group members to volunteer for what parts of the project they would work on. I learned setting early deadlines were important so if work was not up to par or difficulties arose there was time to correct or help with any glitches. Input and listening to that input is an important area of group work that must be facilitated. As I reflect, I realize those challenges that may have been the most frustrating to me were actually the ones that taught me the most in developing leadership skills. References Center for Educational and Training Technology. (2006). Success is in the planning. Retrieved from http://www.create.cett.msstate.edu/create/howtoStoryboardHandout.pdf Lambert, J. (2007, February). Digital storytelling cookbook, 1-30 Story Center. Retrieved April 4, 2009, from http://storycenter.org/cookbook.pdf Lindenmeyer, H. (1995). Writing voice-over narration for video. PSA Journal. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1306/is_n9_v61/ai_17461871/ Shank, P. (n.d.). Designing multimedia applications. Adobe Think Tank. Adobe Systems Incorporated. Retrieved from http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/thinktank/valuemedia/.

EDLD Core Curriculum Student Centered Video