Media Debate

   After reading the summary on The Media Debate , it appears as though many were anticipating the power of media in the future, in instruction, and in the learning process. Although Clark had a sound argument, as far as his stand on media, I'd have to side more with Kozma's arguments. Living in the day and age we live in, it's almost a given that instruction must consist of a certain media. Because 21st century students, or rather digital natives, were introduced to technology at such an early age, that is all they know, which means doing anything different from their norm would probably render ineffective.  I have personally witnessed how my own students are restless when I present instruction based solely on printed text. On the other hand, I have also witnessed how the incorporation of technology into my instruction has helped my students process information a lot better as opposed to simply a lecture. They are less fidgety and antsy when I deliver instruction that incorporates various forms of media, thus accommodating all students with various styles.  Personal connections are made, students are better able to comprehend the material at hand, and are engaged with the integration of technology.

  It is evident that they need to be stimulated in order to learn and be productive. I like that Kozma goes further and rephrases the question :  " How, do media affect learning?" and instead focuses on the question, ".....what are the actual and potential relationships between media and learning?"

   This again proves that media is more than just a tool and can render profound effects on learning. Our earlier reading in the course, Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, also confirms that media assists and goes hand in hand with the learning process. Furthermore, this is yet another reason why such media literacy standards exist in the curriculum that I must teach. 

Anderson, L.W., and D.R. Krathwohl. 2000. A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

The media debate. (2012, August 30). Retrieved November 20, 2016, from                  http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/The_media_debate 

Podcasts

Looking for a new way for your students to learn or to assess their learning. Look no further...podcasts are a great and fun way to do that!! Podcasts are digital, audio files that you can record or simply listen to podcasters speak about various topics. Podcasting will help your students become better listeners and will definitely accommodate the auditory learners in your classroom. ReadWriteThink offers great tips and lesson plans for using podcasting in the classroom. Podcasting in Education also offers various ways to use and implement podcasting in the classroom, which was very helpful in understanding what podcasting is and how it' s used in education.

 After stumbling upon (http://www.appsinclass.com/audioboo.html)apps in the classroom, I also learned various ways to utilize podcasts and am very excited about using and assigning podcasts for the following purposes:

• Sharing my weekly agenda with the students
• Students will use podcast to summarize the day's lesson
• Digital storytelling
• Language/pronunciation skills practice or ELL's

I have reviewed 3 different Podcasting websites for you and hope that you venture out and offer other creative ways to teach and assess your students.

PODOMATIC
This particular podcasting website allows you to follow certain channels, create a feed, user friendly interface, no background music offered. One downfall in publishing a podcast was you could only add a file for upload and not record on the site directly.

AUDIOBOOM
This site was the most difficult for me to navigate through. I searched and searched for the create a podcast tab/option, I found none. I then proceeded to download the app on my iphone and after I created a sample to test it out, I couldn't find it on the full site on my laptop. It wasn't until I looked under profile that I was able to find it and then see an option to record a new one. After multiple attempts, it would not upload my podcast and indicated a "fail" message.

SOUNDCLOUD
I had much luck with soundcloud and was able to successfully record directly from the site. The interface was simple and easy to navigate. You're able to listen to various podcasts, search by genre, attach photos, stream music and you're also allowed 180 min. of podcasting with the free account. Personally this was the best podcasting tool to use. I gave it a two thumbs up!!

**Check out an assignment I plan on assigning through this podcast. Exit Ticket-Malala Yousafazai

Cartoons & Comics

I just recently learned about pretty cool websites and apps that allow you to make teaching,just about anything, more fun and engaging for students! In the article "25 Ways to Use Makebeliefs.com in the Classroom" Zimmerman offers ways to bring vocabulary, autobiographies, diaries and many more things to life with makebeliefscomix! He also has a plethora of resources and ways to implement and incorporate comix in homeschool lessons,  for different student populations such as autistic children, deaf and hearing impaired, special needs, and resources for parents as well. You will absolutely love it and so will your students!!

Just another way to change things up in your day-to-day teaching. I will definitely be implementing these practical, yet genius ideas in my classroom. I plan on using and assigning  comic strips based on their SAT voc. word lists, explaining the plot of a story, and definitely writing a mini-autobiography or memoir, as I am currently teaching about expository texts.

You will definitely appreciate these alternative ways of teaching, learning, and creating as opposed to the traditional methods of delivering instruction and assessing their knowledge on a particular topic! Check out the comic strips I created and learn about their pros and cons, and don't forget to give one a try! ***Click on the hyperlinks for a larger view of my comic strips.

My Toondoo Comic Strip

I found Toondoo to be a bit self explanatory. With its limited features due to a basic, free account wasn't to bad. It had a limited variety of characters and features you could do in each panel. Some difficulties I ran into was the text size and trying to get all the text to fit in without overlapping the characters in the scene. I also had a bit of a problem getting to the Home page and retrieving my saved Toondoo. Student might encounter difficulty as well. Overall, it was ok and not too shabby considering the options in creating a basic one. I'm assuming purchasing an upgraded version will allow for more of an elaborate cartoon strip.

My Pixton Comic Strip

Pixtoon was a lot better for creating a comic strip. It had a lot more options and features than Toondoo did. Although it took some practice, trial & error I was soon able to create a really net comic strip with multiple character offerings, props, backdrops, and editing features that Toondoo did not have. Students would definitely be able to use this one. Choosing between Toondoo and this one, I would definitely pick this one. Great website! I give it a big thumbs up!

My Makebeliefs Comic Strip

This one was rather easy to create after some playing around with the features and some tinkering. I loved that it had several options and features to add in order to create awesome animated comic strips! Students would enjoy using this site.The only downfall...you can't save, but you can email or print it. If I assigned one to my students, they'd have to email me theirs.

References

 Zimmerman, B. (n.d.). How to Play with MakeBeliefsComix.com. Retrieved November 06, 2016, from http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/How-to-Play/Educators/