What I liked most about this class (Multimedia & Web Design) was the number of new skills I developed. From graphic design to screencasting to handcoding to creating original audio and video, I developed many new technology skills that could certainly be employed when designing technology tools to promote student learning. Many of these skills were directly implemented in my multimedia webquest, and I hope to integrate them, as well, into my classroom, possibly using Audacity as a means of providing students with feedback on their essays and using Jing’s screencasting tools and the movie-making software to create tutorials for a flipped classroom approach to instruction.
Aside from skills, I also developed a more thorough understanding of copyright and fair use which I think will be critical when assuming the role of technology coach. Technology leaders must not simply model technology use, but must also model legal and ethical technology use, and I realized that some of my instructional practices, namely use of music in student’s multimedia projects, constituted violations of fair use guidelines. I will certainly rectify these infringements in the future by teaching my students about copyright and fair use and where to find royalty free images and music, as well as be a proponent for copyright and fair use adherence in my school.
Finally, I appreciated the emphasis on Universal Design for Learning and assistive technologies in this course. I feel like I as a teacher tend to forget about students with learning disabilities because I typically teach honors and AP students; however, a technology coach must work with students of all grade levels and abilities, so I enjoyed the opportunity this semester to work with an elementary school student with vision impairments to design an iPad learning program that would assist him with reading. I think many of the resources I discovered can even be used with upper level high school students, and I intend on sharing these tools with my colleagues upon returning to school for pre-planning.
Aside from skills, I also developed a more thorough understanding of copyright and fair use which I think will be critical when assuming the role of technology coach. Technology leaders must not simply model technology use, but must also model legal and ethical technology use, and I realized that some of my instructional practices, namely use of music in student’s multimedia projects, constituted violations of fair use guidelines. I will certainly rectify these infringements in the future by teaching my students about copyright and fair use and where to find royalty free images and music, as well as be a proponent for copyright and fair use adherence in my school.
Finally, I appreciated the emphasis on Universal Design for Learning and assistive technologies in this course. I feel like I as a teacher tend to forget about students with learning disabilities because I typically teach honors and AP students; however, a technology coach must work with students of all grade levels and abilities, so I enjoyed the opportunity this semester to work with an elementary school student with vision impairments to design an iPad learning program that would assist him with reading. I think many of the resources I discovered can even be used with upper level high school students, and I intend on sharing these tools with my colleagues upon returning to school for pre-planning.