Reflection of Web Conferences - EDLD 5363

Tonight I attended my third web conference for EDLD 5363. I have noticed that as the students have become accustomed to web conferences, there are not as many problems with feedback. The students have figured out to mute their microphones as soon as possible. The first conference I attended for this course was on Sunday, November 20th. This was a good conference with a lot of information from Dr. Abernathy about this course. Quite of few of us needed some time to digest the information, so we planned to meet again the next evening. Unfortunately, there was some bad weather and Dr. Abernathy was not able to get a connection. I logged in early tonight only to find out I am still having issues with Adobe Connect. I was so glad I was early because it gave me time to switch to another computer. If there's one thing I've learned with technology, it's to always have another plan and to be flexible. Our conference was cut short again due to technical difficulties, but I did learn something important tonight. I did not realize that I needed to license my podcast. It doesn't contain pictures or video, so I didn't think it was necessary. I was glad to learn that so I could add the license to my podcast before submitting my assignment. Another thing that I like about web conferences is that it creates a sense of community among the cohort. I look forward to the web conferences!

Evaluation of Free Video Editing Software

This week I set out to learn a video editing software program. I've heard a lot of great things about iMovie, but since I do not have a Mac, it wasn't an option. I read a review of Movie Maker that stated it was comparable with iMovie, and since it was also preloaded on my netbook, I decided that I would give it a try.

Unfortunately, I immediately started having some challenges with Movie Maker not loading properly. I decided to uninstall it and then reinstall it. Uninstalling, of course, was easy. When I tried to reinstall it though, it would not complete the process due to a missing file. To make a long story short, I spent hours trying to troubleshoot the problem. I eventually gave up and started looking for other options. I read many reviews and found that some people preferred the original Movie Maker, while others preferred Windows Live Movie Maker 2011. I decided to try to install WLMM 2011, and thankfully did not encounter any problems.

After downloading the software, I opened it and began to "feel" my way around. It was easy to import my pictures and video clips by dragging and dropping them. I was able to figure out how to use the trim tool, too. I found that I needed to watch a few tutorials if I was going to learn how to use the software efficiently. It was actually easy to use once I knew the process. I learned that the video clips could be moved around simply by dragging them, and also that they could easily be copied. Something else that is an important step is to make sure to set the video volume to none before adding audio. I did not do that with the first video I made and the wind noise and talking on a few of the the original clips was very distracting. To narrate, I just used my sound recorder with an external microphone. I found the sound to be much cleaner and consistent than the method used for Microsoft's Photo Story 3. Of course, using a program such as audacity gives you more control. I downloaded Audacity, but ended up having to use the beta version. I didn't have any trouble with it, however. Adding transitions and filters in WLMM was easy simply by the click of a button on the menu bar. One thing to keep in mind is that just because you CAN use a filter or fancy transition does not mean you SHOULD.

One problem I encountered with WLMM 2011 was having the ability to add music and a voice over. It only has the capability of adding one audio track. I found an extremely useful YouTube video that showed me a great work around. Simply add one track, and then save and close the video. Import the saved video into WLMM and then add the second tract. This worked well for me. Another nice feature of this program is the ability to manage the volume of the video and the added audio.

Once the movie is how you want it, you can immediately share it on Facebook or YouTube with convenient buttons on the toolbar. WLMM saves to .wmv format.

Overall, I was glad that I already possessed knowlege of making movies from stills, but I found that editing video is much more involved than using still photographs in programs such as Animoto or Photo Story 3.   I think that at this time I would be more likely to use video editing software to produce videos as teaching tools rather than asking the kids to create videos with editing software.  I have used Photo Story 3 very effectively with students.  Possibly, once I am more comfortable with video editing myself, I might want to introduce it to students as a highly engaging learning activity.  I can imagine having students create a video as an alternative to a traditional research paper.  To get started, I like an idea that I gleened from one of this week's reading, "Video Basics and Production Products for the Classsroom".   In this article, Garrison suggests having students script and video alternate ending to stories.  I think this would be a fun way for students to become familiar with the equipment and software while showing their creativity and collaborative work.

I liked Windows Live Movie Maker 2011, but I think I would like to also look into other programs so that I will have a basis for comparison. 

Garrison, A. (1999, Winter). Video basics and production projects for the classroom. Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/aritcle3.html

Podcast - Windows Live Movie Maker 2011

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Podcast - Windows Live Movie Maker 2011 by Suzanne Manzano is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Week 1 Reflection - EDLD 5366 Multimedia and Video Technology

In the first week of EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology I made a digital photo story. We were given our choice of open source software programs to use. Since I had never used Windows Live Movie Maker, I thought I'd give it a try. I don't have it on my computer, so I tried the free download. I tried three times before giving up. Apparently I am missing something on my computer that it needs to install it with. I tried repairing with no sucess. I decided to borrow my roommate's laptop to make the video. I was able to download it fine. By this time, I had already invested several hours just trying to get the program to work. Once I began working with Movie Maker, it seems fairly intuitive. I loaded all my pictures and my music only to run into another roadblock. Every time I added my narration, my music disappeared. My goal was to have soft music playing in the background while I narrated the story. I was unsucessful. I began to wish I could just use Animoto because it is so easy to use and creates a professional looking product.

I started over for a third time, switching back to my own laptop. I decided to use Photo Story 3. I found this very easy to work with, but I had a hard time finding music that I felt conveyed the feeling of the story. In fact, I ended up just settling. The options for creating music were very limited, and the songs that were appropriate to upload had lyrics that overpowered the narration.

I also had difficulty maintaining my voice volume throughout. Since each slide is narrated invidually, it was hard to maintain a consistent rate, volume, and tone. Some slides are louder than others.

I am going to continue experimenting with various programs. So far, Animoto is my favorite. The one negative is that, as far as I know, there is not a way to add voice over narration. I am still learning something new every day!

Digital Photo Story

Reflection of EDLD 5301 - Action Research

I was dreading having to take a class, an entire class, on nothing but research.  Just the word research made an involuntary shudder shake my entire body and brought to mind agonizing hours in a library slaving over 3x5 index cards.  As it turned out, though, not only did I learn a lot from this course, but I actually enjoyed aspects of it!  Action Research is nothing like what I recall from my high school experiences with research papers.  The key word is action.  It’s a method of inquiry which is cyclical rather than linear.  In the Dana text (2009), Principal Lynette Langford from Trenton Middle/High School in Trenton, Florida stated, “The best thing about inquiry is that it never stops; one wondering leads to another, and we are always finding ways to help our students.” (148) 

To me, the most important aspect of action research is that it is continuous questioning, continuous data gathering, and continuous reflection.  Decisions are made and action is taken based on the analysis of the findings, which are supported by data, but improvement is sustained by continuing to question and gather data, and reflecting on the outcomes.  Relevant experiences and related literature also come in to play, as well as collaboration among colleagues.  Action research is meant to be shared, and collaboration is encouraged. 

When confronted with a research “project” that was intended to span over several months to a year or more, I felt completely overwhelmed and out of my element.  The related readings for the course, especially the text by Harris et al (2010), and the templates provided both in the book and in our class resources were extremely helpful in breaking it down into manageable pieces.  Dr. Arterbury and Dr. Jenkins videos, presented in question and answer format, were also very helpful for explaining inquiry or action research.  I appreciated the ability to both listen and read about the topic to further my own understanding.  Meeting with my site mentor, Dr. Lori Broughton, was also very calming.  She helped to explain that the action research should be based on something I might already be doing in my classroom, rather than adding something else to my “to do” list.  She also helped me narrow down my topic and reassured me that I was on the right track.  I am very fortunate to have a site supervisor/mentor that is supportive and encouraging in my desire to further my learning and education.

I’ve learned that an action plan is likely to change or evolve over time as more questions develop or insight is gained through reflective thinking.  The one aspect that I feel makes action research the best choice for teachers and leaders, is that the research is conducted by person that has the question, rather than by an outside consultant or someone that may not be as familiar with the context of the research.  There is a greater chance of “buy-in” if the recommendation is coming from one of the stakeholders in the school or district instead of someone from outside the organization.

Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, a Joint Publication with the American Association of School Administrators.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. P. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.