Sarah's Blog EDCI 337

What is your favorite tool we learned about this term and why?

I really enjoyed the digital story telling and the screen casting. It is also why I chose it for my post to be graded as well. I felt very comfortable reading the story. There was a learning curve though. I had a hard time with the microphone, it did not want to record any sound at first. I also found myself having a hard time editing at first. It was a new experience and I enjoyed learning it, just like I enjoyed other things I have learned this semester. It was a very fast pace course and I am looking forward to bringing forth the new skills I have learned. I do have a but of time before I become a teacher, but I will reflect back on this class and I will use the skills I have gained.

It is also wonderful to be almost done my degree!

I wish everyone a happy and healthy summer.

It appears that this blog post has disappeared from my list of posts so I will redo it.

I see AR becoming a huge part of future classrooms. AR is able to help students explore things they may never have seen. I have heard that this year teachers have used things such as virtual tours to allow students to explore museums or nature reserves. This allows students to get to experience places that they may have not been able to go to in the first place.

AR can replace some things in the classroom like certain field trips but I don’t think it will be a staple in classrooms. Traditional teaching is still extremely valuable and there are some students who cannot use technology such as AR, therefore they would be missing out on the information provided.

Students who may not have access to this technology due to income levels, or students with sensory issues may struggle with this. On a personal level, I had a class where we needed to watch Macbeth with VR googles on, I couldn’t even get past the first 5 minutes because I felt nauseous, and I do not struggle from sensory issues.

AR will have a place in future classrooms, what that place is still up for debate, as a society we still have a long way to go with this technology before it is master, and we do not want to end up like the society in Ready Player One.

Game Based Learning is something that I have always loved. Having grown up in the 1990s Game Based learning was not nearly as advanced it is today. In fact, we would only get one to two hours a week in the computer lab, which was often spent playing games, little did we know we were learning in the process.

Game Based Learning is taking the fun aspects of a game and creating a learning experience within that game. The game can focus on typing, grammar, history, or math to name a few topics. Really any topic could be turned into a learning game. Most of my game-based learning took place in elementary and I have very fond memories of going to the computer lab. I played such games as Freddi Fish where I learned about the ocean. Reader Rabbit which helped me pronounce words and help with reading. Save The Dinosaurs! Which was also timed based that added a new amount of pressure to get the right information and save all the dinosaurs while learning about them. The Jump-Start games are the ones I have the fondest memory of Jump-Start Typing is the one I played the most. It allowed me to learn how to hold my hands on a keyboard properly, which fingers to use for which key, all while keeping the games fun and refreshing. There were so many different aspects within this game and trophies that could be won. Honestly, if I had it in my hands today, I probably would play it again for nostalgic purposes.

More recently my employer has used games such as jeopardy or Kahoot to have us learn things such as policies, or Covid-19 protocols. It has proven very effective for everyone. There are also hundreds of new games created for students to learn, they also appear less like learning games and more like video games. Even bigger video game companies have gotten in on the game based learning model, like Minecraft and Mario. There is even a website called Education.com that has 35 pages worth of games, they can be broken up into grade or subject. As society moves more into the technological space it is more important that students use technology to understand the world. Coding is something that is being taught in schools as young as kindergarten. This is something I never would have dreamed of doing in school, and something I have almost zero experience with, but children today understand these concepts.

It will be interesting to see where the future of game based learning leads us, could the future be more like this Betty comic published in 1997, or are we already here?

Top ten worst movies – with focus on production (editing, effects, sound, graphics)

If there is one thing you need to know about me when watching a movie, I tend to look at what is going on in the background, I point out places I have been to or have been in other movies. The famous one I always point out is Riverview Mental Hospital in Port Coquitlam. Almost every movie and show filmed in BC has used that location for one part of the plot. Another thing that can ruin a movie for me is bad CGI, I cannot handle it. Think the Hulk Buster suit in Avengers Infinity War or Superman’s Moustache in Justice League. My boyfriend HATES that I do this. So, this week’s blog prompt for this has me buzzing in my seat.

10. Justice League (2019) – Joss Whedon

I can’t overly fault Whedon for this one because the last director Zack Synder left halfway through which meant a lot of reshoots and that darn moustache cover up. But when people first saw this movie they left upset. They could tell it was two different visions put on the big screen. DC was trying to hard to follow in Marvel’s happy go lucky foot steps and this did not work. Story lines of major characters were cut, Steppenwolf did not have a very scary look to him and this film became a joke to viewers. When Zack Synder was finally able to release his vision of the film in 2021 people loved it. (Not so much the 4 hour run time) but seeing the true vision for this film was all the redemption it needed. It was dark and had all the aspects of good editing. If you watch these films back to back you will realize how different the same story can be with two visions.

9. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) – Michael Bay

It is well known that Bay is a fan of over the top explosions and heavy CGI films. At times they come off very well done. However there are not many good qualities within this film. The script feels forced and the way the film is edited makes some of these actions scenes feel out of place. Each seen feels like they are not in the proper place. The soundtrack is one of those ones where you need the remote in your hand because the music and action is very loud while the dialogue is very quiet. While space robots are something of fiction the way this film was spliced together is sadly something that is real.

8. Ghostbusters (2016) – Paul Feig

I should start off by saying I am all for equality but this is a film that was better not made. It has one of the most forced dialogues in recent history. All four of the main characters are very talented actresses. Every joke is forced and lands flat, the CGI is also pretty rough. It is cut in weird ways that leave out what appear to have major plot points left out, sadly we wont know because of the editing. There are not many redeemable qualities to this movie. Even the remake of the Ghostbusters theme song was not well received.

7.  Super Mario Bros (1993) – Rocky Morton

If you watch any top ten YouTube videos about bad movies this is almost always on that list. There are points in the film where props are in one cut then gone in the next only to reappear two seconds later. It was also has a terrible script that seems forced. There are references to the game which don’t make sense or are lost on viewers because they aren’t actually references. The Goombas are something straight out of my CGI nightmares. A big body and a tiny head is the exact opposite of what they look like in the game. It has bad CGI, a bad script, bad editing and placement of props. It is basically a perfectly horrible movie.

6. Resident Evil (2002) – Paul Anderson

This movie comes off as one giant jump cut. Which makes it hard for viewers to focus on what is going on. people were very excited for this video game to be brought to life on the big screen. George Romero was originally brought in to write the script and keep it true to the video game but Anderson wanted this to be a film that would appeal to more people which was a big flaw. The CGI and even the makeup is pretty questionable at times as well.  These movies are still being made today but they are still suffering at the box office because people know this is nothing worth paying for.

5. The Snowman (2017) – Tomas Alfredson

This is a film that is a crime mystery. There is one thing with mystery films they need to tie up all loose ends. Leaving things left open because they were assumed the audience would forget about them during editing is a great way to leave viewers upset. There are parts of this film where viewers are given new pieces of evidence that seem to be important to the plot then are never spoke of again. From what I have heard there was a significant part of the film that did not even get filmed. This is most likely where those missing pieces were left. Actively not filming a part of the film is such a poor editing choice.

4. The Meg (2018) – Jon Turteltaub

You would think someone involved in the writing and editing of this film would have seen Jaws and used that as the basis for The Meg. With Jaws there is still a sense of fear even when the characters are on land or unaware of where the shark is. This film does not do this. There is almost a lost sense of suspense when the shark is not on the screen. This is supposed to be the biggest deadliest shark that kills anything in its path. The jump cuts in the final scene also make it hard to follow which characters suffer injuries or death and who gets to walk away. A viewer should not be seeing the ending credits and wonder about every single person in the cast whether they lived or died.

3. Venom (2018) – Ruben Fleischer

A lot of people have their first experience with comic book characters on screen. It is up to the director and editor to ensure these characters are done well and viewers return to see the sequel. Venom did get a sequel, but Sony has a history of doing Marvel characters dirty. They don’t give viewers enough of the backstory of Venom and there was 40 minutes of the film that got cut, which would have included the main characters bonding and showing how they reached where they did at the end of the film. Venom also decides to stay with Eddie instead of taking him over which is a weird ending and is not explained very well.

2. Event Horizon (1997) – Paul Anderson (oh no he’s on this list twice)

This is a very good film, however just like Justice League this is so far from the original vision. There are some very weird editing choices. There are also a lot of factual errors in this film. The jump cuts at times can be a lot to take in. There is a scene where viewers are given an opportunity to see what happened to the previous crew members although it jumps so fast you cant actually make out what is happening. There are also problems where props are there one second and gone another then suddenly reappear. The music is also a lot louder. There are points where the CGI is not something to phone home about, although I will give it  break because it is a film from 1997.

1. The Room (2003) – Tommy Wiseau

I’m not sure if this is here for a good reason or a bad reason. The room has become a cult classic because of how bad it is. I could probably write an entire essay on the flaws of this film. There are sex scenes that never end, characters that disappear, subplots that are never mentioned again. The dialogue at times is hard to understand. The green screens are what really make me struggle to watch. The plot is all over the place. There are misogynistic overtones that are not something that people enjoy watching. There are also a lot of issues that happened behind the scenes as well. This even inspired a spin off parody film by James Franco named The Disaster Artist (2017). It is a film that you need to watch to understand how truly awful and cringe-worthy it is.  

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16EzDyS5Jsxyord49DrHwfWr0I0523NbM/view?usp=sharing

Teachers are always looking at different way to engage students and make things more fun for them. Digital story telling is something that I have seen firsthand in the school system. When I was an Educational Assistant plenty of schools used resources such as YouTube to have the students listen to stories during lunch time, or when a teacher had a designated story time. I even witnessed a teacher with a speaker system and would use a microphone to read a story for the entire class to hear.

There are some possibilities with bringing this technology in the classroom. First it can help with illiteracy rates, depending on the video being used, there could be words broken down, highlighted, or enlarged in a way a traditional book would not have. There can also be follow along function. I have even heard of using a tablet so the student can interact with the words and pictures while they are on a bigger screen.

Having digital story telling in classrooms also employs duel coding theory, whereas children are able to have visual and verbal cues at the same time. This method allowed students to retain information easier. Digital story telling creates a more immersive experience for everyone involved as well. Movement and music can be added to the story to essentially make it a movie. Movement and music can also help students retain more information as well.

While children are able to comprehend the information better through digital story telling, it also creates a sense of meaningful and active listening. When children are engaged with the subject at hand they are more likely to have an emotional response to the information and when they are actively listening it allows them to understand the material better. All of this leads to better grades for the students and more enjoyment for everyone in the classroom.

As students get older as well, educators can allow students to do their own digital story telling and create presentations for others in their class. It allows them to further understand the process of digital story telling while engaging with different multimedia techniques.

Digital story telling is some thing has a firm place in the education system and I believe it will replace traditional story telling due to the benefits. It will be interesting to see where the future of digital story telling takes us, could we possibly see AR story telling?

https://prezi.com/v/v_2htm-irj2a/classroom-discussions/?preview=1

I will be the first to admit that new technology scares me so much. So, making a Prezi was something that I knew would be a big challenge for me.
Even making my power point for week one was a bit daunting. I have managed to make it through my entire degree with one other online presentation, and that was a YouTube video. I also hate seeing myself on screen, if I am on Zoom for class my camera is off. I spend more time worrying about if I look weird than focusing on what is being said.
That being said this assignment was about overcoming the challenge of new technology and being on video.
The first step I did was go over my power point and take out the key information. Secondly, I made a script that I would follow throughout my video. I practiced, and practiced, but as soon as I was recording, I forgot everything I said. (I will never make a good actress). I then found out after I hit record that I needed to add the templates first. One of the things that we learned, that stuck with me the most was not to read off the slides. So, I wanted to ensure I only used key words in a bold font that would stand out for the viewer to see. I also added a photo that would help aid the viewers memory on the key words. Once I completed the templates, I tried recording again. I should have kept count of how many recordings and starts and stops I made.
Even though my performance needs some improvement, which I imagine will happen over time. I felt as though I employed some of the theories and ideas, I have learned in this class within my power point.
One of the ideas I used was exploring a new tool. Prezi is a tool that I have had no use for prior to this course. Power point is a tool that I believe could become something from the past like MySpace and Ask Jeeves. I also made a point of not densely packing my templates, since this is an ineffective way to covey information. I kept to one claim per slide. I wanted viewers to be able to absorb the information. When it came to the color scheme, I wanted to keep the words the same, yet I used a bunch of different styles of photos and colors on my template. The one that stands out the most is the Mario one with the pink background. Which in my opinion is the most important speaking out in my presentation. It is how to make class discussions more engaging.
I feel as though I also employed the characteristics of instructional design models by making it learner centered, having a goal, focusing on real world performance, ways of measurement, I used data and information based on what was taught in our class. The only thing I did not do was employ teamwork as this was an individual project.
My Prezi allowed me to learn an entirely new platform and made me step outside my comfort zone. It allowed me to use tactics that were new to me and create something I am proud of. It also gives me hope that I will improve with more and more use on the platform.

Where do I see AR in future classrooms?

This is a topic that I have always found rather interesting. Back when I was in elementary school over head projectors were about as fancy as it got. If we were watching a movie in class (which was rare) the teacher had to sign out a tv, there were maybe two in the whole school. The teacher then needed to put the cassette tape into the VCR (lets hope the person before us decided to rewind the tape). Once a week we would all get up and go to the computer lab, because laptops were expensive and having 30 computers in a school was a big deal.

Nowadays Smartboards are a basic, and there are enough Chromebooks for a minimum of a third of the school. Kids are taught coding starting in kindergarten. When I was an education assistant it was eye opening to see how technology has been interpreted into schools.  

My first experience with AR was actually in a Shakespeare class at the University of Victoria. We were given AR goggles and we watched a 3D model of Macbeth. To say it was disorienting was an understatement. I actually had a hard time staying focused on the story, I couldn’t even finish what I was watching because I felt sick.

I’m not sure if AR is realistic in an every day classroom setting. However, I do think much like drones, AR can be used to show students things that they wouldn’t be able to see normally. Tours to museums or they can travel to different parts of the world using AR technology.

Another bonus with AR in the classroom, it allows students to access the material anywhere with a stable internet connection. If the world were to experience another pandemic, students could still have the same level of education they would receive in the classroom.

AR can also be more engaging than traditional teaching styles. If a teacher is teaching about dinosaurs the best they can do is fossils. However, in an AR setting they can almost create a real-life Magic School Bus scenario. The students can be walking with the dinosaurs, or travel to other planets. In a sense this is more hands on than looking at a slide or a black and white photocopied picture on a paper.

There would also be no use for textbooks, which in turn can save tress. As textbooks get outdated with information, they become useless, if information is always being added into the AR technology it does not take up anymore physical space.

There would need to be a lot of improvements to AR, it would need to come down in price. Yet, the big thing that would need to change is for users who experience nausea and dizziness much like myself.

It is exciting to think about engagement of students going up if AR is used correctly. I wonder if in the future every student will have an AR headset to learn.

This blog post will discuss what are some non-digital multimedia and interactive experiences, specifically classroom discussions. What I have experienced in the past, whether or not they were interesting or engaging. If so, what made them interesting and how they can be improved to engage students time. This is also the topic of my power point in less words.

From personal experience classroom discussions are possibly the worst thing a teacher can do to students. They often get sidetracked and as a student that does not enjoy speaking up it can cause some unwanted anxiety. There are also students who enjoy speaking up too much whether or not they are correct. Which can cause misinformation. I am sure we have all been part of a classroom discussion that got a little too heated when people have different options. There are also struggles for people who have auditory issues or nonvisual leaners. On a personal level note taking can be difficult, especially if multiple people are speaking or if the information given turns out to be wrong.

However, there are ways to make classroom discussions more engaging for everyone involved. This does come down to how well the teacher is able to engage the students. Often times in TV and movies we see the “cool” teacher sitting on a desk, maybe throwing a ball around keeping it casual. This is actually a great technique to let students know that its just a conversation, much like they would have with their friends. It can help those who are less likely to speak up an opportunity to be heard without a fear of being formally rejected. Keeping it “casual” can create laughter and jokes which also further encourages students to engage. It is up to the teacher to maintain proper boundaries of the discussion though. A properly engaged class also allows students to further expand ideas and concepts in words their peers understand. In my power point I brought up a few different ways that teachers can engage students, like mentioned above, throwing a ball. Students who have the ball are allowed to speak and those without the ball need to listen. Depending on the age you can use different types of balls. For younger kids you can use beach balls for older kids a tennis ball may be more appropriate. The teacher can also turn the discussion into a game like jeopardy or kahoot. There are topics the students need to answer and once they have done so a discussion can begin about further elaborating on the topic. There are also several websites such as Teachers Pay Teachers or even Pintrest which can help teachers engage their students within discussions and beyond.

Classroom discussions and teaching methods of the past were very one sided, it was a way to get information across whether a student was able to understand or not. Thanks to technology and multimedia students are able to learn in new ways every day. Teachers can assist students with different learning styles with the use of multimedia, or in the case of classroom discussions, different methods. The future of teaching holds endless possibilities for everyone.