Hello everyone! To document my summary of learning, I decided to continue what I have done throughout the semester and explore another new tool called VideoScribe that could potentially be used within the classroom! After using this site for the first time, I was a little disappointed with the free 7 day trial. For some reason the voice over wasn’t working and cut out at 5minutes. I was also unable to download my finished video. However, I was very happy with how the visuals turned out. To resolve my problems that were faced, I tried using googles “screencastify” to record the finished visuals. Unfortunately, the free version of screencastify only records 5min length videos. After searching different screencast tools, I decided to download “Screenrec” which was free of charge. I then screenrecorded my visuals and emailed the link of the video to myself. Once I had the video on my phone, I used InShot (tool that I learned in this course) to edit and add voice over to the video.
This was a huge process that took time and patience…I was very grateful that my learning project helped me learn to be more patient, as this was much needed.
I am very happy with how my finished project has turned out, and I am excited to share it with you through this platform. Thank you so much for following my learning journey!
Enjoy,
Danica
Script:
Hello everyone! My name is Danica Finlay. This past spring term I had the opportunity to participate within a class titled introduction to educational technology in media 300. Through this course I have learned many new skills and have obtained an abundance of knowledge that I am eager to implement within my future classroom. Over the past seven weeks I have found myself being mind blown on multiple occasions and in awe of the incredible technology that is accessible to individuals. Before taking this class I had very little experience with technology. However, through Dr. Katia Hildebrand‘s teaching, I can now confidently say that I love exploring new things that can be found online and through networking to become the best version of an educator that I can be for myself, and future students that I will have the opportunity to share my learnings with.
I believe a huge part of this class revolved around the understanding of Personal Learning Networks also known as PLNs. This is a way to effectively use technology in order to learn from others through questions, ideas, reflections, and references. Through networking, information can be shared fast! Not only was I able to learn about PLN‘s through this class, I was able to participate/receive first hand experience on how it works through the platform of Twitter, discord and blogs (edusites). My learnings on this topic evolved throughout the semester as I began to understand the value in learning through others. Prior to class I posted things online just because I felt like it . Now I feel I am posting with a purpose, to share with others and receive thoughts, ideas and feedback in return to help myself grow.
Before this class I had almost no experience with twitter. Throughout this course I learned the importance of implementing hashtags within posts. Doing so allows tweets to gain a specific audience. For example, I used #edtech within my tweets so that individuals who are wanting info on that topic can find and read my valuable, informative post. Additionally, I found posts to retweet and share with our #edtc300 class by searching items such as #edtech and #onlinlearning to find relevant posts. edtc300 also introduced me to instant PLN through Live Twitter Chats, specifically the #SaskEdChat. Through this I was able to participate with fellow educators from all over Canada and the United States (this is what I noticed when people introduced themselves during the chats) where we shared ideas, answered questions as well as uplift/encourage/inspire others with their teachings. Tweet deck is a way to look at different things all at one time and was essential for participating in live twitter as I could see my notifications, what I was tweeting, and what others were tweeting.
My learnings on twitter progressed grately the more I pushed myself out of my comfort level to use it. I started my account with 0 tweets and I am now up to 260! Ending this course I can confidentially say that I have learned a great deal and am now comfortable using this platform on a daily basis.
I have learned that discord is an incredible tool that can be used as a way to communicate with a small community of your choosing. This platform offers a safe place for students to discuss concerns, questions and comments which I think can be a valuable tool to use for online learning and in class (highschool years).
Through blogs I was provided with the opportunity to share who I am as an educator as well as post reflections, resources and questions from in class learnings. I was grateful to implement this platform through weekly posts and my learning project to network with others by including pingbacks within posts as well as commenting/replying to posts, providing my input and listening to others ideas. I really enjoyed watching my site evolve throughout the semester by organizing it through different menus and widgets which ensures that it is appealing and easily accessible to others. Hildebrandt has taught me the importance of digital identity and keeping in mind what I would like others to know about me through my online presence. To learn about this first hand, I was tasked with a cybersleuthing activity where I instantly realized just how easy it is to access information about individuals with a simple google search. Keeping what I have been taught in mind, I have ensured that my edusites page as well as other platforms is professional and includes information that I would love for my future employers to see about me.
Before taking this course, I honestly had no idea how to identify if something online was real or not. Dr.Katia Hildebrandt has taught me how to look for clues through digital literacy. I now know that when coming across something on the internet, I can do an internet search to see if any resources back up what I have found. I can also look for the 5cs that John Spencer has created to help identify authenticity: Context- finding out where the information has come from and when it was written , Credibility- is this a popular post? Are works cited?, construction- is this an opinion or fact?, corroboration- ensuring that the information can be found elsewhere, compare- what is this in relation to other news?. When teaching about authenticity of info to students, I will share and keep in mind the “7 types of mis and disinformation” created by Clare Wardle which includes satire of parody, misleading content, imposter content fabricated content, false connection, false context and manipulated content.
As I incorporate technology into the classroom, I can use the SAMR model that I have learned through edtc that was developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura to identify the tools I need for different specific reasons; ,Substitution, augmentation, modification and redefinition. Through this my hope is to make the connection between teaching and learning a seamless experience for all that is involved. I believe that learning about internet safety is important, especially after learning the story of Amanda Todd. When teaching, I would like to share the two films that Hildebrandt has provided the class with students so that they understand the importance of learning safety with technology. I also need to ensure that students understand how to use the different tools, which can be taught by teaching digital citizenship. In class I have obtained an abundance of information on this topic, including Ribbles nine elements of digital citizenship and how to incorporate the different elements into specific grade level/subjects using the Saskatchewan curriculum. Myself, choosing to look at health, careers, and English language arts for upper elementary and middle years.
This class has gone above and beyond my expectations and I am so thankful for this learning opportunity. I wish I had an hour to share my learnings with you, but I will leave you with this: Technology is truly incredible, and I cannot wait to share my learnings with others through in class teachings and my professional learning network.
Dr. Katia Hildebrandt and fellow EDTC 300 Classmates, thank you so much for providing encouragement, guidance, and assistance when needed and most importantly, helping me to become a better educator for future students that I will have the opportunity to teach. I am so grateful for the connections and learnings that have been made.