Assignment – Creating a Multimedia Enhanced Student Activity

Circle Geometry – Properties of Circles 

General Outcome

Use direct and indirect measurement to solve problems.

Specific Outcomes 

Solve problems and justify the solution strategy, using the following circle properties:
• the perpendicular from the centre of a circle to a chord bisects the chord
• the measure of the central angle is equal to twice the measure of the inscribed angle subtended by the same arc
• the inscribed angles subtended by the same arc are congruent
• a tangent to a circle is perpendicular to the radius at the point of tangency.

Your Task – Your group (3 or 4 students) will have to explain one of the properties of circles listed above in the specific outcomes.

You will need to include two of the following in your explanation:

1. a graphic, using layering, portraying your property
2. an audio file describing your property
3. a video explaining with visuals, your property
4. a piece of text describing your property

Your explanation should also include:

1. definitions of any difficult terminology
2. examples of questions including your property
3. practice questions and answers for your colleagues

You will be presenting your explanations to the class.  Each member of your group should have a speaking part, and each group member should be in charge of one of the multimedia or practice questions.  This does not mean that they are the only ones creating it, but they are the leader for that task.

You should also submit a plan before you go ahead with your multimedia.  You can do this on a Google doc if you like.

Here are some resources you can use to help you in creating your multimedia portions.

Graphics –

link to SumoPaint – a site used to create graphics with layering

YouTube video to help with layering

Microsoft Word – on computer, also can be used to create graphics

Audio – 

Audacity – on computer, can be used to record and edit audio

YouTube video to help with editing in Audacity

link to internet archives – audio that can be safely used from the internet

Video – 

Adobe Premier Pro – on computer, can be used to edit video

YouTube video to help with editing video

Discussion

This group activity is geared towards Grade 9 students and the Circle Geometry Unit in math.  The idea is for each group to focus on one of the specific outcomes, and then present their projects to the class so that everyone can get some insight into each of the four outcomes.  I would use this as a summative assignment after I had done some direct teaching and practice in circle geometry.  Sometimes group work can be difficult to organize, so I will choose the groups the students will be working in.  They are also to tell me who is in charge of which task and every group member will have a speaking role so that each member is contributing.  Ohler looks at assessment and notes to ‘(i)nclude self-assessment and peer review. Include these whenever possible and appropriate. Media development relies on risk taking and honest self-assessment of the outcome. It also relies on a community of learners sharing their skills and insights.’  (Ohler, J. 2016).  Creating this multimedia is a group effort and students need to be able to work and rely on each other as well as fairly assess one another.

I have used some YouTube videos to help with the tutorial process.  There are so many useful videos on YouTube where students can learn visually and pause and restart the video when needed.  I would like to look into creating some videos where I am walking through a ‘how to’ task on my computer.  This may be something I look into for the next assignment.

The students also need to submit a plan for their project.  Levine and Alexander say ‘Web 2.0 productivity tools are approaching mainstream use…For rich-media content creation, Web 2.0 tools have lowered the barriers by moving the process of (expensive) desktop video-editing software to (free) web-based applications and at the same time ostensibly moving the focus from using the tool to telling the story with the tool.’  (Alexander, B. and Levine, A. 2008).  They can use a Google doc where everyone can contribute and focus on the planning rather than on the tool.  This (Google docs and Google drive) have been a very successful means of groups working and communicating together in my classroom this year.  There are so many online tools and software programs for free now where students can focus on their teaching and learning and not solely on using the appropriate software.

References 

Alexander, B. and Levine, A. (2008) “Web 2.0 Storytelling: Emergence of a New Genre” Educause Review 43:6, November/December 2008
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2008/10/web-20-storytelling-emergence-of-a-new-genre

Ohler, J. (2016).  Art, Storytelling, Technology and Education
http://web.archive.org/web/20160517115321/http://www.jasonohler.com/storytelling/indexWIX.cfm

Assignment – Multimedia Enhanced Lesson

Science 9 Lesson Plan – Ohm’s Law

Tasks: 

Use graphics, audio and video to understand ohm’s law to calculate resistance

General Outcome: 

Describe technologies for transfer and control of electrical energy

Specific Outcomes: 

•  Apply Ohm’s law to calculate resistance, voltage and current in simple circuits

Prerequisite Knowledge:  

• Students should be familiar with a basic, 3 variable formula using multiplication.  Ex. Speed = Distance / Time
• Students should know that Voltage (V) is measured in Volts (V) and Current (I) is measured in Amps (A)

Plan For Diversity:

• Students will have a copy of the triangle formula they can refer to.
• There are different components to the lesson, ie. graphics, audio, video, readings, so that students who have various learning needs can be successful

Lesson:

Introduction (Time 5 min):

Students will look at the graphic.  They should be looking at the triangle, formula and example so that they can answer the following questions:

ohms law graphic

Practice (Time 15 min):

1. An alarm clock draws 0.5 A of current when connected to a 120 volt circuit. Calculate its resistance.
2. A subwoofer needs a household voltage of 110 V to push a current of 5.5 A through its coil. What is the resistance of the subwoofer?
3. Find the resistance of a bulb if a circuit contains a 1.5 volt battery and generates a current of 0.5 A

Ohm’s law practice answers

Explanation (Time 5 min):

Students will listen to the audio file where they are trying to gain a better understanding of resistance, the instruments used to measure them, and how voltage, current and resistance are related.

Review (Time 5 min)

Students will watch the video on Calculating Resistance Using Ohm’s Law.  This should reiterate the formula and also stress the importance of using the correct units.

calculating resistance powtoon

Discussion

This multimedia enhanced lesson incorporates graphics, audio and video and is completely deliverable online.  Mayer defines multimedia learning as ‘learning from words and pictures. The words can be printed text or spoken text. The pictures can be in static form, such as illustrations, photos, diagrams, charts, or maps, or in dynamic form, such as animation or video.’ (Mayer, R. 2008).  The idea is that students gain an understanding of Ohm’s Law and the fact that Resistance = Voltage / Current with the help of printed and spoken text, diagrams, and animation.  There are also some practice questions as these simple questions allow the students to get instant formative feedback and help them build the fundamentals in using Ohm’s Law.

There are graphics with colour and contrast so that they can look further into the Voltage and Current formulae as well.  The main format of the lesson plan is chunked into sections and I have incorporated the following strategies.

‘Strategies for chunking include:

• using paragraph breaks to signal changes in topic or sub-topic
• use headings to indicate meaningful chunks of your text
• putting your content in order, consider using numbering if the sequence is an important aspect of your content
• if your content is not sequential, putting important chunks first or last – but explicitly pointing out your strategy’ (Webster, K. 2014)

The audio is direct and to the point as Carter notes, ‘(g)ood practice has the information being presented in a “news-like style” (Ferrington, 1994a, p. 63). The information also needs to be delivered in a direct manner, and without inflections, unless emphasis on particular content is intended.’ (Carter, C. 2012).  The topic is specific and allows the learner to focus on resistance but also start looking at the relationships between voltage and current without having them stray too far from Ohm’s Law.

I had a little fun making the animation.  I hadn’t used PowToon before but had seen my students use it for some of their assignments so thought I would try it.  Familiarity tends to engage students more.  The animation is also at the end of the lesson purposefully.  Not only is it somewhat entertaining and light-hearted so that students should remember it better, but it reviews and summarizes the concepts taught throughout the lesson.  This last step of the lesson plan is sometimes forgotten as lessons can occasionally be rushed but it is extremely important to reiterate the outcomes and concepts taught at the end of the lesson to tie the lesson together.

References

Carter, C. (2012). Instructional Audio Guidelines: Four Design Principles to Consider for Every Instructional Audio Design Effort. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 56(6), 54-58.

Mayer, Richard E (2008). “Applying the Science of Learning: Evidence-Based Principles for the Design of Multimedia Instruction” American Psychologist, November 2008, pp. 760-769.

Webster, K.S. (2014). Text Design for Online Learning.
http://courses.olblogs.tru.ca/eddl5131-jan17/week-2-text/text-design-for-online-learning/

Digital Storytelling

Well here goes my first live-action short!  I decided to create a 5×5 movie.  This is a movie which has 5 scenes that are each 5 seconds long.  I watched the Airport 5×5 on Vimeo and thought that this is something I could create!  A simple video that tells a story. I titled my 5×5 movie ‘The Photocopier’.  I used Adobe Premier Pro to edit the short, and add a title.  This is a software program I have used with students but am not an expert with by any means.  I felt I was more of a facilitator when it came to allowing students to explore these software programs for editing videos.  I had some difficulty making the video less than 20 MB as that is the maximum for the media library but was able to make it work.  Enjoy!

Edit an Audio File

We are looking at biotechnology in our Biodiversity Unit and especially cloning and genetically modifying DNA.  This is something that the students are always very interested in as you can imagine.  I found this audio file in Internet Archive in this activity titled ‘Frankenstein’s Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech’s Brave New Beasts’ with journalist/author Emily Anthes.  The audio file is quite lengthy so using Audacity, I cut out a 1 minute 44 second clip where Emily is talking about some ways in which cloning is currently happening, especially in agriculture.  Some students are under the impression that scientists are still working on this idea however, cloning is a reality.

Record Some Audio

I chose to use an audio clip describing a task where the students will take a look at the Galapagos Islands finches.  They are to look at one of the various species of finches and go into detail regarding the structural and behavioural adaptations of their finch.  I cut an audio clip of a finch (from freesound, thanks Abbi!) and put it at the end of the audio.  I am hoping that students can think about not only the structure of the beak, but the sounds and patterns of sounds for their finch and possibly come up with an explanation as to why finches may sound different regarding behavioural adaptations.

Resize an Image to Create a Thumbnail

Here is a thumbnail of an image titled ‘Meet you under the clock at Clery’s’ from the National Library of Ireland.  I couldn’t find Clery’s on this thumbnail but if you look carefully on the original image, I am hopeful you will be successful!

Create an Educational Graphic Using Layers

Well I went back to Sumopaint to see if I could have more success!  I managed to layer a question and answer sheet but did still struggle with the colouring and borders and paint bucket as I was trying to add some colour for contrast.

I did find the move tool and rectangular select box easier to use this time so I could move different parts of the graphic around.  I also added hints.  I was going for the ‘callout’ look where the hints were in a different colour and at the side of the page, however I don’t think I was able to quite reach that goal!  I will definitely have to continue working with Sumopaint.  If anything, I am starting to appreciate the effort put into creating a graphic from scratch!

The struggling students could definitely benefit from the hints and I could create a more difficult linear equation for the students who are grasping the concepts much more quickly.  I could also look into creating more layers when it comes to solving equations and having each of the different steps in a different layer, similar to Abbi’s graphic last week but with layering.

Create an Educational Graphic

Well, I started working on my graphic using Sumopaint, and found it quite frustrating!  I was having difficulty copying images and the layering process and also found the help function not as user friendly as ones I’ve used in the pass.  Needless to say, I ended up going back to Microsoft Word and had much more success.  I hadn’t really worked with images in Word, especially creating your own images and found Word to be simple when it came to editing and placing the images where I wanted.  The graphic looks quite simple and took me far too long to create but I think it is effective.

The curriculum learning outcomes state:

Distinguish between sexual and asexual reproduction, and identify and interpret examples of asexual and sexual reproduction in different species, by:
− describing mechanisms of asexual reproduction including binary fission, budding and the production of spores

Sexual ReproductionAsexual Reproduction graphic

I am using both organizational and transformative graphics.  The bullet list and bold, larger fonts for the titles as well as italics for the subtitles, are organizational graphics.  I also used contrast to make these sections stand out to the learner.  My hope is that the images act as transformative graphics which make the content memorable.  The cognitive load theory states that ‘only so many elements can be simultaneously considered by a learner’ so I made sure to keep my text and visuals simple and to the point.  Once a learner has a basic understanding of the concepts, only then can they go deeper into the learning.

Crop a Photo

I chose to crop a photo of a bison as the new high school in our area is having a logo contest and one of the possible mascots is the bison.  I went on to wikimedia to find the photo so that there would be no copyright issues.  I wanted a picture of the head as that is one way a student could interpret the logo so after I found the picture of the whole body, I went on to SumoPaint and cropped the photo to fit the head nicely.

Photo of bison

Cropped photo of head of bison

The students can now use the cropped photo as inspiration in their logo design, or if they prefer, can use the whole body image of the bison as well.

Resource Analysis on Wikimedia

I was not familiar with wikimedia but the more I looked into it, the more interesting it became to me.  Basically, it is a platform where you can find, and use without any copyright issues, pictures, videos, sounds and other media files.  I found some pictures about sexual dimorphism right away that I could use in some of my science lessons.  Some images on Google should not be used as they are not user permitted, unless you search those options, as is said in the readings.  However, all media on wikimedia can be used without any problems.

• A list of the media used in the resource – what are the components?

pictures, videos, sounds

• What educational context could the media resource be used in?

lots of images for science terminology, math diagrams, pretty much anything (it’s wiki!)

• Note anything in the media resource that would limit the context that it could be used in.

some of the pictures are low quality and since pretty much anything can be posted, the teacher would really have to monitor what the students are looking at

• Describe what makes the media resource pedagogically sound.

visuals are always an added piece to student understanding and this is a resource for that

the search function is quite simple and effective which makes finding visuals related to curricular outcomes easy

• Describe the kind of software that is required to produce the media example you have chosen.

Inkscape, GIMP, hugin, Blender, Dia – all of which I know nothing about but will begin to look into!

• Describe the hardware items, beyond a multimedia capable computer, that are required to produce the resource.

camera with video and audio capabilities, anything used for sound effects

• Describe the skills needed to produce the resource.

an understanding and interest in software programs meant for creating pictures, sounds and videos

wikimedia commons – variation