The piece of media that I found to analyze comes from Annenberg Learner, who produces interactives for teachers and professional development. The specific piece that I looked at was an interactive called “Dynamic Earth”, which covers a lesson on the earth’s structure, plate tectonics, plates and boundaries.
Here are a few links that take you to some specific pages that show excellent media:
- http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/structure.html
- http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/plate.html
- http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/slip2.html
- http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/slip3.html
Here’s a quick breakdown of my analysis:
- A list of the media used in the resource – what are the components?
- Text
- Graphics
- Interactive graphics that display different information and do different things when you roll the mouse over them
- Interactive challenges that test what’s being learned
- Online test
- What educational context could the media resource be used in?
- A regular high school setting or online class teaching the content that it covers
- Used as a review or for an additional resource
- Note anything in the media resource that would limit the context that it could be used in.
- It’s very specific to learning about that particular science topic and wouldn’t be useful in other subject areas.
- It’s an online resource and therefore needs to be used where there’s access to a device and WiFi.
- Describe what makes the media resource pedagogically sound.
- Accurate information
- Engaging
- Visually pleasing
- multimedia used is linked to text in the lesson
- Describe the kind of software that is required to produce the media example you have chosen.
- Software to produce Adobe Flash files
- Website developing software
- Graphic editing software
- Perhaps others I can’t think of
- Describe the hardware items, beyond a multimedia capable computer, that are required to produce the resource.
- Camera
- Scanner
- Describe the skills needed to produce the resource.
- A science background.
- Able to produce Adobe Flash files
- Proficient using graphic editing and website developing software.
- An eye for web design.
- Other Notes
- Created by a reputable source.
- Free to use in K-12 education.
- Not Bias
- Current information
- Must be able to read and understand English
- Engaging and Interactive
