Creating a MV Youtube channel - 7/25/12

REFLECTION:
This was so easy now that we're six activities into this course.   I was able to do it the same day as the screencast.  I did, however, need to be reminded that I could download my screencast to my computer before I could upload it to Youtube.  Then, I was having trouble embedding the video, but I think that was just a lack of patience on my part.

I'm just worried now that I may have infringed upon copyright laws.  Not sure where I got my examples I wrote in my Prezi, so I'll have to make sure I'm not breaking any laws here.

Screencasting - 7/25/12

REFLECTION:

This activity was harsh for a perfectionist.  I didn't use a script, so next time I will prepare one so that if I need to redo a recording it'll be easier.  Although, I think I have to make the recording in order, so I don't think I can go back and edit one segment, but all segments there after as well.  I find that to be a huge downfall.

Even with all my complaints, it was fairly easy to figure out.  I already had the prezi made, and all the tinkering took me less than an hour - quick I think.  I was just having more troubles than a normal person because I kept wanting to redo my recordings.

I will definitely use screencasting this year because I am teaching a Moodle class for level 2 Spanish students.  Being able to hear explanations will help the students learn the material at home and then perform in class better than if they just read notes or pages from the text.

Digital Storytelling - 7/16/12

REFLECTION:

This activity was a lot of fun.  I choose ZooBurst over Storybird because I was writing a personal narrative using the imperfect.

I liked that I could manipulate color, but that was about all I could do with the font - other than bold.  This time I had wanted to do italics, but it wasn't a deal breaker here.  It was simple, quick and I could use this with students just like I did here.  I also liked that you could upload your own photos and I'll have to teach students about using clip art because my last image has the copyright directly on the image.  I also liked that I could use special characters - again a piece of cake on a Mac.

I could also see myself using Storybird with students if I wanted them to practice creating descriptions of images.  It's much easier to think of what you know how to say in Spanish, then find a picture to match it.  It's somewhat trickier to have an image and then describe it in Spanish when you're at such a novice level of learning the language.  Still, it can be done and is good practice.

Pimp My Presentation - 7/12/12

REFLECTION:

To say I was frustrated throughout this whole activity is an understatement.  I was eagerly optimistic because I was already familiar with Prezi so I was super excited to try Popplet because of its drawing capabilities and it looked relatively easy to use.  

I had two things working against me from the start.  First, I'm using an ancient iMac in a remote area of MN - which means I don't have the most up-to-date software and the internet connection is SO SLOW.  It was intentional because if I try to do any activities at home, I instantly find 101 things to do instead.  The second thing working against me was that I thought Popplet was a simpler extension of Prezi, so I expected to be able to do a lot of what I've done in Prezi on Popplet.

As you can see, I didn't even finish the presentation because (technically) I had fulfilled the requirement and I knew after a couple of popplets I would not use this for what I thought I would use it for.  Instead, I would have students use this as a means of making fancy flash cards or as a way to do a presentation/report.

Likes: 

It is relatively easy to use.

It does special characters such as the accent marks easily - at least on a Mac.

Dislikes:

I couldn't manipulate the font other than the size.   I really needed bold and to change the color of the endings of the verbs to emphasize differences.

Any image/video I added automatically went to the top of the popplet.

I couldn't draw on the text - as you can see by my last attempt.