I came to the last big assignment for our Integrating Technology into Curriculum class with great trepidation. I originally took this class because technology is one of my weaker areas and I would REALLY like to improve in it. When I looked at the syllabus my heart dropped into my stomach and my knees began to shake...an audio/video podcast was way above my limited ability. But guess what...I was wrong! I actually made a video, spliced two recordings together and edited an original twenty-seven-minute interview down to eleven minutes. I even managed to get some "slides" integrated into it. Then after all that was done, I almost cried because the file was too large to upload to my institution website. A little investigating on the web and I found an app that compressed it. And, Walah, I had actually completed an assignment that I had originally thought was beyond me! To say I was proud of myself would be an understatement. For those who can get behind the firewall of the university. here is the link to my interview with Mr. Crisler on integrating technology into curriculum. I want to start with my own personal pros and cons on audio/video podcasts for learning.
I see many more pros with this project than cons. This project made me stretch my limitations in two ways. First, the technology of making a video podcast was totally foreign to me. And secondly, recording myself for others to see made me extremely nervous. Now that I have actually done it though, I would like to do it again. I think with more time and practice, I can continue to improve. I not only learned from the process, I learned from my interviewee. Mr. Crisler has a wealth of practical knowledge in instructing, curriculum, use of technology in distance learning, and adult learning strategies. He retired from the military where he not only became the subject matter expert in his areas but learned pedagogy and andragogical concepts. He made a statement that really hit home, just because a technology is "shiny and new" does not mean it has a use as a teaching tool. His concepts really reminded me of the TPACK model (technological, pedagogical, content, knowledge) that I helped research for my Wiki project. Each area needs to intertwine within the context of the course to be an effective use of the technology.
I also found the following concept very similar to TPACK in the article written by Hobbs and Coiro,(2016) Everyone Learns from Everyone: Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Professional Development in Digital Literacy.
Digital Literacy Curriculum Framework
(Hobbs & Coiro, 2016)
In addition to learning the technology of an audio/video podcast. I learned a great deal from the subject of my interview. Without prompting, he hit on concepts of adult learning that I have learned throughout my master's program. Listening to him tie them all together validates what I have learned for the last two years. As far as the cons go... The frustration level was high when trying to find good editing software for a very amateur videographer (me). Then trying to make sure the assignment fit the length requested but still keeping all the "meat" of the interview was another challenge. All this I overcame though (after five different editing software downloads). And, I can truly say in hindsight I enjoyed the experience.
King and Cox (2011) devote several chapters in The Professor's Guide to Taming Technology to teaching with and using digital media in adult learning. In Chapter five, they mention some pros and cons. "Such projects can be designed as capstone projects that demonstrate not only the students' understanding of the course content but also its application to real-life situations (p.72)." They further go on to say audio/video podcasts give students a greater chance to synthesize learning, dig more into research, and demonstrate transfer of learning. And in the case of my project. I was able to collaborate with someone outside of my class see how what I have been learning is applied to real-world situations. Hobbs and Coiro (2016) explored curriculum professional development classes attended by teachers. They noted how by pairing up the attendees, they were able to collaborate and approach the curriculum development by using the "flower model" shown above: context, purpose, content, pedagogy, assessment, and task or activity all connect. One set of teachers from two different schools had their students create short video tutorials on how to use their cell phones for educational purposes, not just as social tools. The students then shared the videos with students from the other school allowing them to extend their audience. The con side is similar to Wikis and blogs. There is a lack of privacy unless completed behind firewalls. If set up behind firewalls, the institution must have the infrastructure to handle the large files. Additionally, students must have the tools and apps to create the product. Lastly, Instructors must create valid rubrics to accurately set expectations for the podcasts and grading standards.
For a project I dreaded so much, it turned into being something I would do again. In an article that a fellow student shared, MacPhail (2019) mentions how much writing and work is still put into these projects. Just because I did not write a 15-page paper, does not mean I did not write and script my part of the project. Then the time it took to edit the final product, a paper may have been easier. But, I really think I have enjoyed doing it this way more.
King, K. P.. & Cox, T. D. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Hobbs, R., & Coiro, J. (2016). Everyone learns from everyone: Collaborative and interdisciplinary professional development in digital literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy: A Journal from the International Reading Association., 59(6), 623. Retrieved from https://ila-onlinelibrary-wiley-com.er.lib.k-state.edu/doi/full/10.1002/jaal.502?sid=vendor%3Adatabase
MacPhail, T. (2019, April 9). Tell me a smart story: On podcasts, videos, and websites as writing assignments. Retrieved from https://chroniclevitae.com/news/2183-tell-me-a-smart-story-on-podcasts-videos-and-websites-as-writing-assignments?cid=VTEVPMSED1
TPACK.Org Image retrieved from https://matt-koehler.com/tpack2/tpack-explained/
Mr. Crisler said something really well that "don't put the cart before the horse". That's unfortunately what I've seen quite often. A lot of people use technology because of all the bells and whistles that come with technology but not because of real learning need.
ReplyDeleteNicely done interview podcast, Vee Williams!
Kang
HK,
DeleteI had a large pool of potential interviewees due to working in a Distance Learning environment. I chose Mr. Crisler because he is a person with not only experience within curriculum and using technology for adult learners, but is also full of common sense wisdom. He graciously consented to the interview and I learned so much more about how he arrived in the position he had. If it was not so large, his full interview was full of great information, I would have loved to have shared the whole thing. It was very difficult to figure out what to cut out. I have seen the "cart before the horse many times even in my limited experience. It is why investigative models like Rockart's Critical Success Factors of Technological Innovation (Dennison, 2014) are so important to use.
His comment also reminded me of a thread in class where we were talking about how some of the technologies we were learning about are older. Through the class I have found these "older technologies" effective in learning new principles. So just because a technology has been around for a while, it does not mean you have to find something new and shiny to replace it.
Thank you for your kind words.
Vee
Dennison, T. W. (2014). Critical Success Factors of Technological Innovation. EDUCAUSE Review. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2014/6/critical-success-factors-of-technological-innovation
Hi Vee - Congratulations! I found your video very valuable and you should be proud of what you created for all of the challenges that you described above in your post. I started this assignment with many sentiments that you shared above. I found the biggest cons of video/audio podcasts to be 1) ensuring privacy of interviewee, 2) getting over the "learning curve" of learning the recording and editing software, and 3) uploading large files. You described these very nicely in your post. I really appreciate your honesty and it helps me relate to another classmate that had similar reservations and had to overcome obstacles/challenges to complete the assignment. I agree that it would have been MUCH easier for me to just write a paper. I also agree that overall the experience was very worthwhile, and I would also like to do this again.
ReplyDeleteWell done!
Wildcat Blogging Newbie,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your kind words. I think I am glad I went through the frustrations with this project. This way if I decide to use a project like an audio/video podcast in the future, I will know how the "technologically challenged" students feel and be able to share my own experience. Relating to others is a great way to learn and not feel alone in your efforts. Learning is a social affair and the more information that is shared, the more learning can occur. Emotions play a large part in the learning process and knowing you are not the "only one" trying to find a solutions helps build connections and confidence.
Vee
Good afternoon Vee,
ReplyDeleteI think the interview you did with Mr. Crisler was very well done. I agree that Mr. Crisler had a wealth of information to share about integrating technology into curriculum. I appreciate your honesty about the struggles and frustrations you experienced while doing working on this project. I agree there are more advantages to using podcasts than disadvantages. Three advantages to using podcasts are 1) the student's ability to be flexible when they study; 2) the ability to watch podcasts online or download the podcasts; 3) podcasts are an effective way to teach new materials ( Evans, 2008). I agree there are two disadvantages to using podcasting: ensuring privacy of the person you are interviewing and having an awareness of the Fair Use principles ( King & Cox, 2011).
References
Evans, C. (2008). The effectiveness of m-learning in form of podcast revision lectures in higher education. Computers & Education. 50 (2008), 491-498. DOI:10.1016/jcompedu.2007.09.016
King, K. P. & Cox, T. D. (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology: Leveraging digital media, web 2.0, and more for learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
Colleen,
DeleteThank you for your comments. The audio/video podcast assignment was very interesting and helped shaped my views on the subject. I personally found it a great learning experience even with the challenges (or maybe because of the challenges). It is always good to feel you have succeeded at something you did not think you could do. Not only that, but the subject of the podcast was a great learning experience. Mr. Crisler validated so many things I have learned over the last couple of years. He spoke of learning theories, technology, and curriculum development usage in almost the exact words I have learned them through my courses, and he has been doing this for 30 years. It was an eye-opening experience.
Thank you for your thoughts!
Vee,
ReplyDeleteExcellent job making the connection between your wiki framework and this assignment. You bring up a good point about defining expectations and grading criteria with valid rubrics. Attaching a technological portion (wiki, blog, podcast, etc) to an assignment can be initially daunting and the instructor plays a major role in determining how successful the overall project will turn out. By deciding on the learning outcomes beforehand and and using them as a framework for the rubric will make it easier for the teacher to grade and for the student to follow. When implementing new technology, how do you think you should grade the technological portion of the assignment? By giving it a too high of a grade percentage, the students will be prone to work too hard on the technology and skimp on the main idea. But by putting too low of a percentage on the technology the students may not place enough emphasis on it to achieve the learning objective.
Chaser,
ReplyDeleteIt is an interesting conundrum on how to grade. It is am Mr. Crisler said sometimes people put the cart before the horse and just want to use the shiny new objects. New technologies and projects need time to be thought out and worked into the curriculum. Then they need to be evaluated to see it the outcomes were reached or if the project needs to be reworked. Thank you for helping me to reflect even more.
Vee
Reference
Personal Interview with Patrick Crisler (2019, April)