EdL755 - Reflection #2

One of the core educational concepts that day four of EdL 755 helped solidify for me is that technology and culture is changing teaching and learning. Whether I love everything about the current trajectory or not, it is safe to assume that I will have opportunities to teach outside of the traditional classroom structure in the future. Both of the tools covered in class adhere to the principles of this new kind of learning in which students learn online using web 2.0 tools at a time and pace that is unique to individual learners. Moreover, all of the tools covered throughout the face to face meetings of the course could aid a teacher in this new, dynamic 21^st century approach to teaching and learning.

The concept of the screencast especially demands the attention and consideration of the evolving teacher. One of the trickiest aspects to the distance learning model is the difficulty in replicating the face-to-face human interaction of a traditional classroom. Screencasts allow a teacher to model the precise steps to perform and master a particular task while guiding students both visually and by narrating each step with his or her unique voice. This auditory connection personalizes the experience and provides students a consistent vocal guide from lesson to lesson. Because screencasts are so simple to create, a teacher could use them to respond to a student’s question from a  blog, wiki, Ning, or Google Doc and address that student by name.  The Screencast-O-Matic tool in particular even allows teachers to integrate video of themselves captured with their computer’s webcam. Video of an instructor introducing the lesson, especially someone students have not met in real life, puts a face to the name and humanizes the distance learning experience.

While there are more advanced tools like Blackboard Collaborate, formerly Elluminate Live, that offer more flexibility for distance learning, screencasts are a great supplement to traditional education and a chance for teachers to dip their toes in the 21^st century waters. Blackboard Collaborate combines real-time screencasting, voice, chat, direct messaging, and breakout rooms for students to collaborate in groups. For teachers without access to this expensive tool, screencasting could be combined with backchannel tools like TodaysMeet or VOiP software like Skype to simulate some of Blackboard Collaborate’s best features. Another way Blackboard and screencasts help meet the demands of 21^st century learners is that lessons can be recorded and students can watch them at a time that is convenient to them. Additionally, struggling learners can view a particular screencast as many times as are necessary to learn the skill.

Even though some of the aforementioned tools may have more potential to revolutionize teaching, Pixlr will probably have the most immediate practical impact in my classes. Teaching journalism, preparing kids to work in an evolving industry where future job prospects are uncertain, poses many challenges. One of them my newspaper class faces every year is earning revenue. We have been lucky to be afforded a school budget that covers our printing costs each month, but students need to sell advertising to buy cameras, microphones, video cameras, software, and to pay for field trips. Print advertising revenue is hard to come by these days, and money from online ads has been virtually nonexistent, so every year the students face an inevitable shortage of cash.

Since I started as advisor in 2008, students have hoped to upgrade our one copy of Photoshop CS, released in 2003, and have dreamed of purchasing copies for multiple computers. However, most of the tasks they perform, like brightening and cropping photos, can easily be handled by Pixlr or Pixlr Express, which both offer free, cloud-based photo editing that rivals traditional software. Pixlr is more robust, but Pixlr Express, a Photoshop Elements-like tool that has fewer features, uses a simpler interface that any student could learn in a matter of minutes. Not only will my students be able to use Pixlr on any computer in our lab, but they will also be able to edit photos from home using any web browser that supports Flash.