Just as I was thinking how user friendly and seamless (relatively) my journey had been with regards to online learning I hit a hurdle. My little Apple Macbook is operating at OS X 10.5.8. The requirements for Screenr and Jing are much later and there has been a second upgrade since the one I need, which means I can only buy my upgrade online. It is still in the post. As such, part 1 of this final submission (small instructional video for Slideshare) remains incomplete. The frustrating thing is that this task was of particular interest to me as I think that small instructional videos would be an economical and user-friendly way to engage and educate our library users. So, I will learn how to use both Jing and Screenr, but it will have to wait until my upgrade arrives.
In the meantime, I have completed the reflection part of this unit via Storybird. What a wonderful tool this is. Initially I intended to use GoAnimate, however I think my lack of upgrades failed me again as it would not let me review my scenes. I’m glad this happened as otherwise I would not have discovered the beautiful illustrations on Storybird. It took me a while to choose my illustrator, but what a wonderful way to spend a few hours. Though my character’s expressions are a little morose, hopefully the feelings I have about this course do some across. The story can be found here:
So thank you again to Cameron, Kelly and the rest of the team behind this wonderful program. I have really learnt a lot and will submit the final assignment with both links as soon as this upgrade arrives!
Technological effects
So after all this research and discussion of new technologies, the question as to how technology has affected my professional practice is an important one. At work my day-to-day tasks do not really require the use of the innovative online tools out there. However on a professional development level my progression with technology continues to make me feel more linked in to the information management profession than I thought possible. I find that I now learn more effectively not through text books (still falling asleep trying to get through a Legal Research text) but through podcasts, librarian blogs, websites and wonderful programs like this VicPLN that uses Edmodo, videoclips and reflective blogs to engage and inspire the use of online tools. The more I learn the more my professional practice will be improved, sometimes directly but more often than not indirectly, by keeping me interested and engaged in my profession.
I think that technology has a huge impact on us as citizens, the Internet is a whole new world and wireless technology is just the start to accessing it. Money, houses and food are all affected. I don’t remember the last time I used a bank cashier; automatic payroll, scheduled debits, online statements. They are all governed by technology. Whether it searching for a house to buy or rent we go straight to the internet, renovations ideas are posted on Pinterest, design blogs saved to delicious. Not sure what to cook? Check an Epicurious app while in the supermarket. Even better, check it while ordering the weekly groceries online. I think that this side of technology is brilliant but yes, like a lot of really fun, easy and enjoyable things, it comes with risk that we need to be aware of. I had no idea about the HTTP vs HTTPS thing. Absolutely none. And I shop online all the time. How did I not know about this? I just checked Etsy, it’s not HTTPS and I love Etsy. And then there’s my passwords, my devices, they should all be updated more often. I need to be more vigilant. And this explains why I have such mixed feelings about technology, I love it, it can have a wonderful, engaging, ever expanding effect on citizens, but it also requires each citizen to be careful with it, maintain their little part in it, and I know that I am not really maintaining my digital world very well.
I like the idea of the digital citizen, fostering respect and understanding in the online world and I hope kids today all become wonderful digital citizens, thanks to their parents, teachers and peers. I am no educator but after completing this unit I really do think that this is the most important aspect of the digital realm that should be taught in schools. Online tools will come and go but our behaviour when using them will always be important.
Based on my own experiences I have chosen the following five characteristics as integral to an effective learner:
Open
Organised
Questioning
Problem solver
Determined
To be truly effective I think you have to be all five, there is not point being open to new ideas if you don’t also question them. Likewise there is no point in engaging in a class if you are not determined to do the work and finish the coursework. While an unorganised person may absorb information and finish the course (eventually) it will be much more stressful than it could have been if they were more organised (I’ve learnt that on many occasion). And finally, to really engage in learning, complex elements must be tackled and this requires a degree of problem solving.
Finally, the future. It can only be exciting. Much is already almost here, televisions just won’t exist, screens without cables, streaming all required information, music, radio, film, Internet sites etc. These can already be accessed with the wave of a hand and will probably be utilised in schools instead of the interactive whiteboards. Today, so much learning is done online, my online university subjects felt a bit clunky but I imagine that will become less so in the future. This VicPLVN course, with its mix of media to engage and communicate with participants, is a good indicator of online learning’s potential into the future.
And I suppose out will go laptops and in will come ever smaller tablets, not much bigger than the old fashioned slate and more powerful than imaginable. All the screen reading is still an issue for me, reading content and writing notes on the same device, have students really stopped printing? I’m excited about the Internet and it seems difficult to think that anything will ever replace it. Maybe teachers and students will stop using devices such as computers and tablets and just head straight for their glasses instead…
I have just attempted to read the Terms of Service and Privacy sections of Delicious. While the language used is fairly informal, both sections are long, convoluted and repetitive. No wonder I have never read them before. I think the crux of the message is that every effort is made to use my details in as many ways as possible to simply improve the service’s service to me. How very selfless of them. With something like Delicious I understand that my links are public and there is very little information about me on my profile, so I’ve never been too worried about it. But it was a good reminder to read the terms and privacy pages, bit disconcerting but not at all surprising to find out that they and a lot of other sites I use plant cookies on my hard drive.
With regards to exporting or deleting data, both were help topics with straightforward instructions. Deleting links and deactivating the account also seemed straightforward, though none of this has been tested. I still really like Delicious and would be happy to recommend it to others.
Ok, so now a review of my free tool. I chose Animoto, which is a simple video-editing program that enables users to import their photos onto a storyboard, add some music from the program’s catalogue, write some blurbs and quite quickly, create a 30 second film. I chose to review this free web tool as I imagined it could be a quick, entertaining way for students to get involved in storytelling using words, images and music. Log in only required an email address and password (it’s the file sharing afterwards that is more of a concern) and there is extensive information on how students and teachers could use Animoto in the classroom, including the protection of privacy and copyright. While I used it for a short personal narrative, in the end I realised that it’s not really a substitute for the pen and paper method of personal reflection through storytelling. It is however a great improvement on the old fashioned photos on a piece of cardboard presentation. Using Animoto students would still learn to gather and present information on a given topic to the class, but in such a new and engaging way that the task, and also its outcomes could be completely redefined. In this sense it has the potential to fit into the redefinition category of the SAMR model. An example of this is on the site’s page within their education section.
To get the most out of the program schools would have to sign up for a more advanced version than the free one I have used, simply because of the time limit of 30 seconds on the free version. However, it is simple to sign up to the free version and once I had created the video I was able to share it on Facebook (amongst other sites) and copy its html link location. Photos can also be imported not only from a hard drive but also from Facebook, Instagram and Flickr, amongst others.
Interestingly despite all this file sharing, Animotos’s privacy page is not easy to find. However, once retrieved I found its policies clearly written and there is a comprehensive section on the program’s use in schools. Users can also opt out of targeted advertising from their “ad network partner.” At least they admit they have one.
In terms of professional learning, I am really glad that I now know about this software. It could be a wonderful way to create 30 second instructional videos to our library users. In the meantime I think I’ll keep playing around with it personally.
gemmaplvn 