Week 4 – Digital Technologies 2

This is an exciting week for me as I love learning visually. I seem to understand a point more when I watch videos and look at photos. You may have realised this as my past blog are full of video clips. It very busy week for me though. This week’s activities will be very time consuming plus I’m also graduating my Sports Science degree plus I’m heading away for a state netball game on the weekend. No rest for the wicked right?

This week we shall look at in detail some more digital technologies which can be utilised in the classroom. Photos, videos and podcasts are the hot topic this week! It’s exciting because there is some much you can do with these technologies. 

Digital Images in Teaching and Learning

For some people say a picture is worth a thousand words. This however does not mean that the words are less important. We all respond to different stimuli in different ways. It has however been discovered that people learn better from words and pictures than words on their own.¹ If we were to use images in teaching and learning, it’s important that the images are relevant to the topic which is being learnt. Images are a great digital learning tool as they can create opportunities for debate within a classroom. Having collaboration allows students to explain what they see and it can make other students realise some things they hadn't yet seen.

Images are an easy resource to use in a classroom as they are everywhere. You could simple grab one of the internet or take one yourself. It is however important that you make sure you are getting images from a trusted source. This is to make sure no inappropriate of offensive content is seen by students.¹ Another important issue is copyright. This can be complex but if images are copyrighted cleared then you are all good but you need to make sure you know what you can and can’t do with that image.¹

I wasn’t able to download that free software so instead a played around with some image editing tools to produce a before and after photo. You can see the second photo allows you to see more close detail.

Digital Videos in Teaching and Learning

Using videos in the classroom can be a very engaging activity. They are like images but they move and have sound effects. I have been reading the reviews on TeacherTube and most say the power of videos in education is amazing.² Its understood that using video to teach can help students understand concepts and retain information. Research has indicated that using the digital tool video can improve learning.³ Its states that using multimedia within a classroom can enhance learning. A direct quote from the article says “teaching methods that include the use of video and audio will, in effect, reach more students and provide more opportunities for neural development and learning."³ To read the article that goes into more depth click here.

To show you how easy this digital technology is to use please check out my video.

Podcasts in teaching and leaning

Lastly I want to mention podcasts and audio as a technology for teaching and learning. I believe this is a great way to learn on the go. We live busy lives these days so having a tool which you can use to learn while moving from place to place. Think about it…. While catching the bus to work you could be listening to some educational material.⁴ With the technology these days we are able to download podcast to iphone, ipods, ipads and lots of other gadgets. A great way to use a podcast in a classroom is by playing motivation speeches or even just normal speech which makes students feel emotion and create images within their mind. There is also the possibility of doing podcast summaries after each class so if a student needs something repeated they are able to listen to it again. This kind of learning would appeal to auditory learners. I have attempted to make a podcast below.

Another week done and dusted! Hope you have all enjoyed what I have done this week. I had a lot of fun mucking around with it all. See you in week 5!

Reference

¹ Jason, Global grid for Learning.(2010). Using Images in Teaching: A Quick Guid. Retrieved 20^th March, 2013, from  http://www.globalgridforlearning.com/using-images-in-teaching-a-quick-guide

² Jodie, TeacherTube- Teach the World. (2007). Why Use Video in Education. Retrieved 20^th March, 2013, from http://teachertube.blogspot.com.au/2007/03/why-use-videos-in-education.html

³Library Video Company.(n.d).No Child Left Behind: Scientific Research Indicates that Using Video in the Classroom Improves Learning. Retrieved 20^th March, 2013, from http://www.libraryvideo.com/articles/article18.asp

⁴  Lengel., J. (n.d). Teaching with Technology. Retrieved 20^th March, 2013, from http://www.powertolearn.com/articles/teaching_with_technology/podcast.shtml