Final Reflection

When I first signed up for the fall semester, I was a little nervous because this would be the first time that I was working and going to grad school at the same time. At the beginning of the semester, I was a bit overwhelmed with the amount of work I had from both of my classes; once I was able to get into a routine, things seemed to finally fall into place.  In retrospect, I am glad that most of the projects in this class were in the beginning and middle rather than all at the end.

My favorite projects were the digital stories. I had always heard the term being used by educators around me, but it wasn't until I took this class that I really learned what they were.  I really enjoyed creating two digital stories, one on my favorite person in the world - my Godson and the second on my Portuguese culture.  After I completed my first digital story, I embedded it into a post on my cousin Rita's (my Godson's mother) wall.  She was so surprised and happy to see that I created a story about her family - she even cried - that made me feel so good! It also opened my eyes to see how powerful a digital story can be - visuals and auditory really do go hand in hand to make an impact on the reader/learner, such as the Mayer's Cognitive Theory states.

I also really enjoyed the visual vocabulary powerpoint as well as creating our own clipart.  Like digital stories - I had seen other colleagues work who had created clipart - I just didn't know how.  This class really seemed to bring together the pieces of the puzzle that I had already acquired.  The podcasts were also fun - I enjoyed reading to an "audience" as well as planning what I was going to say, and acting out "Romeo and Juliet" with my boyfriend. 

I really feel that I will be able to use the tools I learned in this class in my classroom someday.  I don't know where I will be teaching or what grade I will be in, but all of these tools can be watered down to any grade level - students working independently and/or dependently on the teacher.

Overall, I am looking forward to being able to one day incorporate all of these wonderful tools in my classroom.  For now, I am excited to take Production II in the Spring so that I can be more technologically savvy by learning more about the SmartBoard and all the amazing things it can do!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

TeacherTube is Awesome!

I decided to do my poster on TeacherTube because I have always heard and read so many negative things about YouTube in education.  I have to say that I am pleasantly pleased with the information I have gathered and learned about regarding TeacherTube.  It is definitely a website and tool I will incorporate into my future classroom.


Here are the visual learning theories I incorporated into my poster:


Visual Literacy: I used visual literacy in my poster by incorporating pictures.  For those individuals who are familiar with TeacherTube, they will recognize the logo and make a connection.  The other two pictures I have on my poster will alert readers that the poster may be about children, computers, teachers, and children in the student role.


Information Processing: In this theory, I tried to keep the length of phrases on the shorter side, as well as, listing information - chunking information helps the reader to remember it.  I also made sure to use a darker font on a lighter background so that the information is readable.  I used two different styles of text that were simple and complimented each other - I didn't want the font or colors to be distracting to the reader.  I also incorporated graphics for those who are visual learners - they can make connections from the words to the pictures.


Dual Coding Theory: Although my pictures do not relate directly to the main topic, TeacherTube, they are relative.  Pictures and words together help the reader to remember the information that has been read or taught.


Gestalt Principles: 

• Closure: Because the background of my poster is white, when it is uploaded onto a white screen, the viewer will automatically close the rectangular shape of the poster and close in on the information.

• Order/Symmetry: The information is portrayed into three columns that are equal in space. The text in the poster is also consistently black and the title headings are beige. The text in the two exterior columns are both center aligned.

• Similarity: Similarity is present because the font and colors are all similar. The poster has a simple aesthetic appeal.

• Proximity: The single letters that form words create information that a viewer is able to understand and read.

• Figure/Ground:  The view must distinguish the title headings black font from its beige background.

Last but not least, the Gestalt theory is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In this poster, we are viewing it as a whole rather than a single image or single letter. The poster as a whole will create an impact on the reader.

References

Apple with teacher and students. (2010). [Graphic]. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from, http://www.educationalleader.com/images/home-center.jpg

Google. (2010). TeacherTube. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from, www.teachertube.com

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.

TeacherTube. (2010). [Graphic]. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from, www.teachertube.com

Romeo and Juliet United

Hi!
Sit back, relax, and listen to some "olde" English! :]



References:
Clayderman, Richard. (n.d.) "Love theme from Romeo and Juliet." Music. 08 November 2010. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMq-ku0dQ1A


MIT Education Online. (n.d.) Romeo and Juliet Play. 08 November 2010. Retrieved from http://shakespeare.mit.edu/romeo_juliet/full.html


Romeo and Juliet. (1996) Image. 08 November 2010. Retrieved from http://tv.burrp.com/images/s/a/q/aqxxxh0g_9ju_2_300.jpg

Colors of the World

Hi! This is my first podcast episode. I chose to read an excerpt from the book "Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Color" by Mary O'Neill.  In an elementary classroom, this book could be used for various topics and lesson plans. Some ideas are: character/social/emotional development, poem writing, colors, and critical/abstract thinking. I hope you enjoy listening and find it to be useful. Thanks!

Reference:

O'Neill, Mary. Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Color. New York: Delacorte Press, 1961.

An Overseas Attraction

Questions for Will Richardson

Hi!

Being in the Instructional Design masters program at Seton Hall has shown and taught me about many different effective technology tools that can be incorporated into the classroom. Some of these tools include webquests, Smart Boards, digital stories, web 2.0 tools,  etc...  My first question for Will Richardson is: have you found any technology tool that you felt was not beneficial or useful in the classroom?

I work in a private special education school within a first grade classroom. My second question is: what types of technology do you feel are best to be used with students with disabilities; particularly, students who are non-verbal and are at the elementary level.

My final question is: If you had to choose your top five favorite educational-technology tools, which would you choose and why?

Thank you!

From a Caterpillar to a Butterfly

A Rainbow of Colors for Young Children

This PowerPoint was created for teaching colors to first grade students with disabilities within a self-contained classroom. However, this PPT can surely be used with children of various ages. Enjoy!
 

View more presentations from Alexandra.

Gestalt Principles

The visual theory: Gestalt Principles originated in Germany during the 1920s.  Gestalt is German word applied in psychology, which means, "unified whole". As humans, we tend to group objects together.  Gestalt encompasses five different principles that describe these objects. The five principles are: Similarity, Continuation, Closure, Proximity, and Figure/Ground.  The five principles are briefly described below:

Similarity

When particular objects or elements that are close together, we perceive them as a unified whole; however, they really are individual parts. In this figure below, each similar and individual triangle is perceived to be a part of the whole - the whole being the sun and part of the eagle.

Continuation

Continuation in Gestalt is simply that - continuation. One particular object allows us to continue looking through it and onto another object.  In the figure below, each square shape is individual, but as we follow the line, we continue through the objects.

Closure

Though this principal is called 'closure', it focuses on the incomplete and open spaces.  Even though some of the shape is missing or incomplete, we are able to understand what the figure is. When we perceive the shape as a whole, that is when 'closure' happens. In the figure below, though the hands and faces are not connected, we are able to see that this shows two faces and hands holding one another.

Proximity

Proximity is when individual shapes are placed near one another, and they are perceived to be a unified whole.  As shown below, several squares are shown, but they do not create a figure.  Next, they are placed in proximity of one another and are now perceived to be a whole, or cube.

Figure and Ground

In figure and ground, our eye perceives an object within its surrounding. The figure is the object and its ground is the surrounding. Balancing the two together allows the image to be clearer.  In the figure below, the tree is the figure and the ground is the stream in the back.

Webliography


The Gestalt Principles. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2010, from:
     http://graphicdesign.spokanefalls.edu/tutorials/process/gestaltprinciples/gestaltprinc.htm


Gestalt Continuation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2010, from:
     http://www.musiccog.ohio-state.edu/Music829D/Notes/gestalt.continuation.gif


Gestalt Theory Closure. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2010, from:
     http://www.softducks.com/Gestalt-Theory-Software-Tool-soft-90585/

Piclit

See the full PicLit at PicLits.com