You can visit the website here. I designed a unit of 4 lessons about global warming for grade 7. I used this topic because we have been working on the group assignment from EDDL5141. I included a piece of audio that is the introduction of the unit, a presentation using graphics and a video.

I introduced the unit using a piece of audio which I recorded. I gave an outline of what the unit is going to be. I added some background music to the audio, which has a lower volume than the speech. The voice principle says to use human speech rather than machine speech.

I used a collection of graphics to show students what they can do at home in order to stop the global warming. I took pictures and then added some text to explain them. Students get the information from 2 different channels. It makes it easier to remember and it is more understandable. The multimedia principle says that it is better to present words and pictures rather than words alone (Halpern et al., 2007; Mayer, 2005; Pashler et al., 2007). This principle fosters generative processing, which makes students build connections between words and pictures. Another principle that fosters generative processing is the personalization, so words are in conversational style (Mayer, 2005). It is easier to understand, it is written using the second person, directed to the students.  The text I added is based on the principles that reduce extraneous processing. Coherence principle (Halpern et al., 2007; Mayer, 2005), I just added necessary words to understand the picture. The signaling principle (Mayer, 2005) is used so students can focus on the key words and buy changing the color of these words they know it is more important. And the expectation principle (Halpen et al., 2007) was used before they started with the presentation; they knew the questions they would have to answer after watching it.

I produced a video in order to teach students the actions they can do in their city in order to stop the global warming. I recorded several videos, then edited them and made one piece. It is just an example, because I think I could have included more actions, but I did not have the opportunity to record them. When the students watch the video they can remember better the information and they also pay more attention than if it was just text. In this video we can also see the principles of multimedia (Halpern et al., 2007; Mayer, 2005; Pashler et al., 2007) and personalization (Mayer, 2005), which foster generative processing. And also the text was designed following the principles of coherence (Halpern et al., 2007; Mayer, 2005) and signaling (Mayer, 2005).

Students are required to produce an assignment which includes graphics. They have to select pictures that represent the key concepts of their unit. They have to provide a description as well, but it does not have to be very long. They need to find an appropriate picture so they do not require too many words to express what they want to say. Therefore, they have to be concise and clear.

All the lessons are important for their assessment. Students can see exactly what they have to do at each lesson and the objectives they have to accomplish. They have rubrics in 3 out of the 4 lessons. In the last assignment, they have to include what they have learned during the rest of the unit. In each lesson, they have to use the knowledge learned from the previous ones. In this way, learning is more meaningful since they are putting into practice what they have just acquired.

References

http://www.galileo.org/research/publications/rubric.pdf

Mayer, R. E. (2014). Multimedia Instruction. Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (3rd ed., pp. 385-399). New York: Springer Science.

The objective of this group activity is to create a video that demonstrates all you have learnt about Global Warming during this last weeks, and think which measures you are going to take to go green. You will be working in groups of 3 or 4. In the video you must include at least:

• 3 facts you learnt about Global Warming. You can record yourselves speaking in front of camera and explaining the facts or you can use pictures including text on them with the proper explanation.
• 3 things you are already doing to preserve the environment. You have to record yourselves doing the action and explaining why is good for the environment. If it’s not possible to record, then use pictures with text.
• 3 new actions you are going to start doing so as not to enhance the Global Warming. If you can record them would be the best option. If you can’t, then use some pictures. In any case you have to explain why you decided to take that action and how you are going to contribute to the environment.
• 3 things you identify that are wrong and promote the Global Warming. Walk around your neighborhood and try to identify things that happen and are wrong. Decide what’s more appropriate in each case, weather to record a video or take a picture. You will have to explain what is wrong in each situation and say what the right thing to do is.

The roles you take in this activity are up to you. You could have a camera operator or take turns. But it’s better if you all appear in the video. Once you have you movie finished, you have to upload it to YouTube and send me the link. You can choose if you want this video to be public or private. If you decide that you want it private, you will have to include the email of all the students from your class. Remember to share it with your family, they will be happy to see what you have done.

The steps recommended for this activity are:

1. Identify the 3 things learnt about Global Warming and write the key points. Think how you are going to include it in your video. How are you going to explain it?
2. Make a list of what you are going to preserve the environment, and think why it helps. Think how you can record it and where. What would you say to the camera?
3. Think of the future action you are going to take. Can you record them? Why are they beneficial? If you can’t record them, can you take them pictures? Or do you have to find them online? How are you going to explain those actions?
4. How are you going to find the actions that don’t help the Global Warming? Are you going to record them or take pictures?
5. Watch some videos that you can find in YouTube, for example, about this topic that could inspire you. In resources, there are some videos that could help you.
6. Make an outline of the whole video, as you can see, you can divide it in 4 parts, so it’s easier to organize. Then do not need to be in this order.
7. Identify the roles of each of you. Who is going to record? You is going to speak? You is going to perform the actions?
8. Start recording, taking pictures, and get all the data you need to include in the movie.
9. Now you have to process all the information. You have to follow the outline you made for you movie.

 Resources:

• Video software: Windows Movie Maker download, tutorial & video tutorial, iMovie download, tutorial & video tutorial.
• Videos that could inspire you: Green tips, How to go green, How to go green 2.
• Here you have more videos to explore.
• Remember to use all the resources we used during this unit.
• If you still have problems, don’t hesitate to ask.

I created a lesson and published it online on this website. It’s a science lesson for students who are about in 5th grade. The study the density concept and the surface tension of a liquid. The lesson consists of 3 experiments they watch on videos, they have some time to think what happens on each case and then see the solution. They have a final quiz and they are encouraged to do these experiments at home. When students have to explain what they’ve learnt to their parents, they are reinforcing their learning. It’s the self-explanation principle, people learn better when they are prompted to explain lesson elements during learning (Johnson & Mayer, 2010; Roy & Chi, 2005).

I created 2 videos, which represented 2 of the 3 experiments. And 2 graphics, one is a solution and the other one is the quiz. The multimedia principle says that people learn better from words and pictures than from words alone (Halpern et al., 2007; Mayer, 2005; Pashler et al., 2007).

The 2 videos of the experiments (1 and 2), the third one is an existing video from YouTube, are created using images and video clips and then processed as a single video. First, I performed the experiments while taking photos and videos. Next, I added some text to the pictures explaining the process and asking questions for them to think. I adjusted the time of each picture allowing them to have enough time to think. Taking into account the signaling principle (Mayer, 2005), I used different colours for the text, I used big characters and bright colours so it stands out. When I made the first video I realized I could have emphasized even more the key words, but it was already finished. Although I did it in the second experiment, and in this way it’s easier for the students to focus on the important information. However, I didn’t add long sentences, just a few words so they can pay attention to the pictures as well. Besides, when there are more than one sentences on each slide, I added them step by step. So they first focus on one piece of information, and then on the next one. This is the segmenting principle (Halpern et al., 2007; Mayer, 2005). I combined the video recordings with the pictures, the video shows better what happens in the experiment, rather that if there were just pictures because there are no movements. Finally I added some background music.

I created 2 graphics, one is an explanation to the experiment with the egg. I tried to make it as clear as possible. Based on the coherence principle (Halpern et al., 2007; Mayer, 2005), I only included what is essential for the understanding of the concept. All the information presented is very visual and I used different colours to represent each part. The titles of what’s in each glass are in red and the explanation of each case is represented in a different colour. Instead of using words for the egg, water and salt I used images, so it’s easier to remember. I used the principle of spatial contiguity (Halpern et al., 2007; Mayer, 2005 ; Pashler et al., 2007), text is placed next to what’s representing.

The last one, is a quiz where there are 5 questions. Students have to choose in each situation which object has a higher density. Instead of using words for each object, I placed a very clear image so it represents the object. They can see it and it’s easier to imagine which has higher density. The testing principle is that people learn better when they take a practice test on the material have studied (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006).

References

Mayer, R. E. (2014). Multimedia Instruction. Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (3rd ed., pp. 385-399). New York: Springer Science.

Science Experiments. – Fun, Simple Experiments for Kids. Retrieved March 8, 2014, from http://www.schoolofdragons.com/how-to-train-your-dragon/science-experiments 

Steve Spangler Science. Experiments. Retrieved March 7, 2014, from https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments

Here is the link to my assignment 2.