I am really intrigued by the Presentation Zen principles that we have been studying so far. At the beginning of our reading, I was essentially a blank slate when it came to presentations. As I have alluded to in previous writings, I have always avoided presentations because I thought they would bore the pants off my students, and be of little or no value concerning getting information where it needed to go. But now I am starting to understand how powerful and meaningful presentations, when done correctly, can be for the presenter and the viewer. I like the idea that Reynolds presents concerning amplification through simplification. I have seen many presentations that are a labyrinth of information, and Reynolds suggests that eliminating clutter (noise) can really make for a powerful message. I love the idea of less is more, and that time should be spent finding graphics that can really develop visual representations of ideas. That being said, I am a little frustrated at the price tag that accompanies many of these graphics. Fortunately, our book does offer some free sites that will help me find images without having to pay for the privilege.
Speaking of images, Animoto is awesome. I have known this for quite some time, but it is nice to be reminded about the power of this tool. I plan to have my students use Animoto to represent what is important to them concerning family and their lives in general. I think that this tool provides enough options for the user to have control of their presentation, or to simply let Animoto do all the work. However this tool is used, I think that it will be a wonderful addition to my students' technological arsenal.
I am most excited about the "This I Believe" site. I am never very good at providing my students with outlets to submit their written work, but this site will help me change that trend. I will be using this site for my advanced composition students by having them submit essays as a culminating activity toward the end of their time with me. I think the writing assignment challenges students to really examine what they believe and what helped forge their belief systems. I will be presenting this idea on the first day of class, and I hope it is met with enthusiasm by my students.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
CEdO530 Digital Storytelling-Entry #2
I find it rather ironic that my literature classroom is devoid of any digital stories. Perhaps I would go further and say that this fact is also pathetic, but my psychologist has told me to think only happy thoughts. I think that literature is rich with stories that need to be told, and that by experiencing them, readers will learn more about themselves. The problem with literature is twofold. The first issue involves the why does it matter factor. If a student is planning on attending a technical college, and probably never take another literature class after mine, then why does what Twain wrote have any significance to them? And the second issue involves Hamlet's response to Polonius when asked what Hamlet was reading; "words, words, words." Literature requires the reader to read words, then have those words become meaningful on the movie screens of our minds. With the advances in technology, information is received and digested in the visual form, and makes reading a difficult sell. So I have two choices on how to proceed with my dilemma. I could quit my job and go back to running a restaurant, or I can figure out a better way of selling literature to the masses.
The topic of digital storytelling has emerged at the right time in my career. With a classroom filled with visual learners, expecting students to voraciously read books without first selling the story will be as successful as trying to milk a bull. (I will not explain this comparison any further because I think you get the point) So I will do my best this year to make stories come to life through the use of digital storytelling.
The scary issue for me with using digital tools involves the amount of time needed to be successful. I know that Reynolds addresses the ideas of busy vs. busyness. Everyone is busy, but busyness is usually self-imposed. For me to be successful at digital storytelling, I will really have to be efficient at using my time. I can't waste time struggling with whether or not everything I do will be successful. Per the advice from Presentation Zen, I must identify my point and why does it matter. If I can focus on those two questions, I won't spend time being overwhelmed with self-doubt and other insecurities. At that point in our reading, I really felt like that was something that I could accomplish.
Since the stories in class are already written, I need to find ways to make the story come to life. Just because I love what we read doesn't make the class important to my students. The idea of stickiness will also help my plans to use digital storytelling in class. With storytelling being a natural and appealing method to share information, following the six characteristics concerning stickiness should really help my students be open to receiving the information.
I am really looking forward to getting to work on creating some digital stories. I know that not all of my efforts will be rewarded with students rushing to class to learn, but I do know that the tools we have been given so far will greatly improve the chances of my students wanting to read and participate intelligently in class.
The topic of digital storytelling has emerged at the right time in my career. With a classroom filled with visual learners, expecting students to voraciously read books without first selling the story will be as successful as trying to milk a bull. (I will not explain this comparison any further because I think you get the point) So I will do my best this year to make stories come to life through the use of digital storytelling.
The scary issue for me with using digital tools involves the amount of time needed to be successful. I know that Reynolds addresses the ideas of busy vs. busyness. Everyone is busy, but busyness is usually self-imposed. For me to be successful at digital storytelling, I will really have to be efficient at using my time. I can't waste time struggling with whether or not everything I do will be successful. Per the advice from Presentation Zen, I must identify my point and why does it matter. If I can focus on those two questions, I won't spend time being overwhelmed with self-doubt and other insecurities. At that point in our reading, I really felt like that was something that I could accomplish.
Since the stories in class are already written, I need to find ways to make the story come to life. Just because I love what we read doesn't make the class important to my students. The idea of stickiness will also help my plans to use digital storytelling in class. With storytelling being a natural and appealing method to share information, following the six characteristics concerning stickiness should really help my students be open to receiving the information.
I am really looking forward to getting to work on creating some digital stories. I know that not all of my efforts will be rewarded with students rushing to class to learn, but I do know that the tools we have been given so far will greatly improve the chances of my students wanting to read and participate intelligently in class.
Monday, August 10, 2009
CEdO530 Digital Storytelling-Entry #1
I have one predominant thought concerning the first lesson in this class. I am cautiously optimistic that what we will be studying will help open my eyes about the power of presentation through the use of electronic tools. This might be the first opportunity to take theory and make practical applications for the classroom. In literature, I try to let the work speak for itself, and let students do most of the talking. As I reflect on this philosophy, I know that I am cheating the students out of some wonderful learning opportunities by avoiding power point, or in my case, keynote presentations. To this point in my career, I have avoided using these presentation tools with the exception of as a review before tests. My main excuse for this avoidance involves what was covered in our reading of Presentation Zen. I never wanted to torture students with nauseating amounts of slides filled with data, and I didn't feel confident enough to use the presentation tools to make slides that were really meaningful. This class will hopefully help me overcome my reluctance to use presentation tools and provide me with ideas on how to be a more successful presenter.
As indicated in our reading of Digitales, everyone has a story to tell, and the oral tradition has been around longer than any other form of communication. That being said, it behooves us to extract the richness of our stories through the use of digital tools, and allow our stories to be stored for future generations to enjoy. But not every storyteller is created equally, and the same story told by two different individuals can yield remarkably different outcomes. Imagine a popular joke that you have heard in the past and recall the delivery of the punchline. In one case, the mastery of the delivery makes the joke funny for one, while intolerable for another. I think that Digitales will provide the tools needed to be, at the very least, a better storyteller, and allow me to better share experiences with my students.
Having a good story is a great opportunity to enlighten others, but deciding what is necessary and what is superfluous is a challenge to be addressed. Presentation Zen seems to address this challenge by providing, as the author indicates, and approach, rather than a method for presentations. Reynolds discusses that there is not a one size fits all approach to presentations, and that each situation requires a unique perspective. But by using the approach discussed in the book, the presenter seems to have a better chance to have a positive impact on his/her audience. I like the idea of simplicity, but it also scares me. We all probably think that the information we present is important, so being willing to thin out our material can be a daunting task. Perhaps less is really more, as long as we are willing to objectively let go of some of our materials in order to extract what is really meaningful.
Between the two readings I think that I will have a great approach to presentations, as described in Presentation Zen, and quality tools to present a story, as provided in DigiTales. My hope is that I will challenge some of the ways that I currently deliver information, and in the process, find ways to create quality presentations that can be used, and continually improved, throughout the years.
As indicated in our reading of Digitales, everyone has a story to tell, and the oral tradition has been around longer than any other form of communication. That being said, it behooves us to extract the richness of our stories through the use of digital tools, and allow our stories to be stored for future generations to enjoy. But not every storyteller is created equally, and the same story told by two different individuals can yield remarkably different outcomes. Imagine a popular joke that you have heard in the past and recall the delivery of the punchline. In one case, the mastery of the delivery makes the joke funny for one, while intolerable for another. I think that Digitales will provide the tools needed to be, at the very least, a better storyteller, and allow me to better share experiences with my students.
Having a good story is a great opportunity to enlighten others, but deciding what is necessary and what is superfluous is a challenge to be addressed. Presentation Zen seems to address this challenge by providing, as the author indicates, and approach, rather than a method for presentations. Reynolds discusses that there is not a one size fits all approach to presentations, and that each situation requires a unique perspective. But by using the approach discussed in the book, the presenter seems to have a better chance to have a positive impact on his/her audience. I like the idea of simplicity, but it also scares me. We all probably think that the information we present is important, so being willing to thin out our material can be a daunting task. Perhaps less is really more, as long as we are willing to objectively let go of some of our materials in order to extract what is really meaningful.
Between the two readings I think that I will have a great approach to presentations, as described in Presentation Zen, and quality tools to present a story, as provided in DigiTales. My hope is that I will challenge some of the ways that I currently deliver information, and in the process, find ways to create quality presentations that can be used, and continually improved, throughout the years.
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