EDLD5363+Course+Reflections

 **As I read and answered these reflection questions, I realized how much I learned about me in addition to multimedia and video production and how much I will be able to use on my campus. ** The outcomes I had envisioned for this course based on the course title and description were to learn more about different types of multimedia. I though the course might include creating different projects tied to the multimedia resources. I achieved my outcomes throughout the course. I participated in a web conference session where I gained a lot of information from other students and Dr. Abernathy. I learned how to do a personal video using digital images and putting them together on Photo Story 3 for Windows where I put my photos in the order that best matched my story and I added my narration. I created a video using video clips that I found online about Texas Destination Imagination using Windows Movie Maker where I determined the length of each individual video, added different types of video transitions and effects that I thought would enhance my video without distracting, added narration and an audio clip that I found online using Creative Commons. I worked with a team to create video clips that were edited into a PSA using narration and music. The narration and music were not my part of the group project so I didn't get to work with Audacity but I did get to play with it on my own. The actual course outcomes were similar to mine with more detail. I did not envision the detail I would learn or be able to accomplish. This was a course that I had very little background in and it took me out of my comfort zone. The extent to which I achieved the outcomes are more relevant to the work I do in my school than I envisioned originally. I will be working with all the teachers on my campus next year as the Campus Technologist. I am very excited to share what I have learned and work with the teachers to do various multimedia projects that relate to the subject they teach. I already met with my department to work on ideas for next year’s fall and spring interdisciplinary projects. These interdisciplinary projects are linking the following classes: Career Investigations, Video Technology, and AVID. We are already planning for the storyboarding that will lead to great products about careers and colleges/universities. I envision so many different projects that the Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and possibly even Math classes can do. I will be meeting with teachers to discuss possible multimedia projects. I want to share with them about Photo Story 3 for Windows, Windows Movie Maker and Creative Commons. I also would like to introduce the classes to Windows Live so the students have a place to "meet" and work together. We just received 28 desktops from a grant and I cannot wait to use them for some of these projects.  The outcome that I feel I did not achieve was being able to work with all parts of the PSA. For example, my portion of the PSA was to create all of the videos that would be edited based on our shot list that was based on the script. I didn’t get to work on the music or narration. I will work with Audacity on my own so that I am better prepared to use it in my classes. I worked as a team member meaning that I couldn’t and didn’t have to do everything! I also made a mistake on Week 1, Assignment 2. When I posted the URL for my wikispaces posting of my digital story, I left out the wikispaces portion of the URL. I corrected that mistake after my web conference and Dr. Abernathy asked us to check our URL links to make sure they were correct. I feel like I didn't get to try out more of the different perspectives on the videos but when I did the vides, I was excited to be able to stand over the produce in one video and to lay flat on the floor with the video games. I think they both added to the group project. #4 Were you successful in completing the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you? I was successful in completing my course assignments. Though the partner and teamwork portions presented some difficulties, it also allowed for some great teamwork and collaboration. I also feel that by participating in the one web conference I could “attend”, it provided a positive, encouraging, friendly environment. It was a great experience and after the web conference, I felt that I was on the right track and that I had received a lot of positive encouragement. Also, as mentioned in #3, I made a mistake on the Week 1, Assignment 2 but I corrected the assignment and notified my academic coach of the error. I do feel that I was not successful in the “final word” on the discussion boards as I would post my final word and then another student would post a comment after that. That was very discouraging but I sent an e-mail to Dr. Abernathy about it and explained the situation. We completed our group assignment but we did have some difficulties. After I made the videos, I tried to send them to Amanda. She couldn't get them to download on her end. I went to [|www.zamzar.com] and did conversions of all of the videos which I sent to a Yahoo account that we created for our group. That way we all had access and could share the information. I think our group should have worked toward having a "chat room" where we could have discussed things more. We spent a lot of time e-mailing each other and even spent time on the phone but that wasn't real time for the entire team. I don't think we had any concerns about where to share our video. I believe that we all wanted to use [|www.youtube.com] because our audience is parents and children to inform them of the danges of childhood obesity. #5 What did you learn from this course: about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes? I learned that I can do anything with guidance, support, and encouragement. I learned that I had to be willing to take a leap and try new things. It was empowering as I learned and completed the projects/assignments in this class. I learned about technology that I didn’t know existed. I had never heard of Audacity or Creative Commons. My leadership skills helped to get our team project completed but I also had to remember that leadership was not trying to do it all. I had to be more patient and know that everyone in the group would complete their work and we would all work together. My attitude at the beginning was apprehensive. I was out of my comfort zone in this class but I followed the instructions, took my time, practiced having patience and found that I could accomplish so much. Without realizing it, I had already been doing pre-production, production and post production of projects that I worked on with my students and on my own. I like that I could set up all the information including dates of different phases of the project, a script, and a shot list. My group and I worked together. Although we each did different parts, we received so much input from everyone along the way. I documented the dates of everything on my blog. We didn't complete one step until we all approved it and went on to the next. It may have been a little more time consuming but it made sure that we were all actively involved in every step. It was exciting learning something new that can be implemented in many of the classes that I will be working with next year. 
 * 1) 1 What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve these outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?
 * 1) 2 To the extent that you achieve the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?
 * 1) 3 What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?