Reflection 3

 

Visual literacy is an important literacy skill as students need the thinking level to analyse and understand the meaning of pictures.  We live in world where people can make memes and alter pictures to make them express opinions.  But I have always wondered how images can be used as a multimodal form of literacy to engage students.  Pictures have the ability to install emotion and trigger responses.  Thiabalt and Walbert (TW) suggest that the first level of visual literacy is basic identification of the subject matter in the picture.  an example of this is the picture below, it is a cow in a field.  A pretty simple observation with no level of critical thinking.   Even though this is an accurate observation can we analyse the picture me and comprehend a higher level of thinking to notice something interesting about the picture.  If you look closer it is actually 2 faces looking at each other. This is  mind illusion and is a clever way to promote critical thinking with students.  IT DID NOT EMBED FOR SOME REASON.
 http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=optical+cow+or+face&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=optical+cow+or+face&sc=0-11&sp=-1&sk=#view=detail&id=C58A0A017C94DCCC39ADF79101B3F371FF110854&selectedIndex=3

 

I also had a look at the befunky website which allows users to alter pictures.  It is simple to use and it is free.   I have altered the Simpsons lawyer by using some simple effects.  I had a lot of fun with it and it was interesting the amount of effects.  The only issue I have is I am unsure what looks good and what does not, but I suppose I will learn from experience.

I have also used a variety of images on my website for http://calljusticeleague.weebly.com/round-1.html I have used pictures which the target audience can associate with to get there attention.  I have trialled this with the school I work for with some of the students and they say that they love the pictures as it invokes curiosity.  If I was going to incorporate images into a lesson (legal studies) I would choose a picture which has something happening in it, such as a person breaking into a car.  I would then incorporate the See, Think and Wonder strategy.  I trialled this with a few students with the image below and here were the interesting answers.

WHAT DO YOU SEE-A CRIMINAL BREAKING INTO A CAR
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING ON- THE CRIMINAL IS COMMITING A CRIME AND HE WANTS TO STEAL THE CAR AS A GETAWAY
WHAT DOES IT MAKE YOU WONDER- WHY IS HE COMMTING THE PREVIOUS CRIME AND WILL HE GET CAUGHT.

I then explained to them that they are looking but they are not really seeing. I also said that how do you know he is a criminal, do all criminals look the same.  Maybe it is cold where he is from.  is it possible he is just a person.  He could have locked his keys in his car and trying to get into his car to get out.  Assumptions should not be made so easily.  This exercise worked really well as it allowed students to understand perspectives and contexts.

The next thing I looked at was Digital video, one quote i appreciated from the readings (Schwartz and Hartman), was

"A signature quality of video is that it can help people see things they could not see

before."  This is quite true as we live in a digital world we some students prefer the content to be more visual.  On my website I used a variety of different videos to get different learning outcomes, http://calljusticeleague.weebly.com/round-2.html  The videos on this page portray key court cases in civil law but they are different styles of videos.  the first video is made using GO ANIMATE, it is a clever site which enables you to make little movies to help students learn, or just for fun, the site itself is really easy to use but I recommend following the tutorial first. You can embed this into any document, your blog, wiki or even your internet page.  The next video is made using a program which i am unsure about but it a simple video which uses an old style feel to it.  I think it was made from students for one of their legal studies classes, they did a fantastic job as the explain a difficult case so simply.  The next video is a parody of a sting song but it talks about a famous case.  I thought the other two videos would help the students learn more but I have received more feedback from the parody as students seem to respond well to it and recall the information. One thing I have learnt from this experience is that sometimes fun videos or silly videos can help students learn, perhaps it is the silliness which makes them focus their higher level thinking.  But every student is different which is why I hav tried to use so many different types of multimodal resources.  To quote Merrisa Staansbury (http://www.eschoolnews.com/2008/03/26/analysis-how-multimedia-can-improve-learning/2/) multimedia is one modality of learning that can help students learn more efficiently when applied properly.  This is the biggest issue which I am having of what is appropriate and what not, i have the video below in my website, it is show what would happen if the rules of literacy would not apply.  I cannot tell yet if it is appropriate for my target audience (senior legal studies).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e-qB062bz0

In addition I made my own short video with goanimate.com, it was actually really simply and also really fun.  There is so much you can do on this site but it is free.  be careful with what type of video you choose because you may not be able to save as you will need to be a business member.  but there are still heaps of options.  I made this video below to help students with  what beyond reasonable doubt meant,
http://goanimate.com/videos/0QdEwdzPftf4

If I was going to use this in a lesson I would think out of the box, you could simply make your own video explaining a term.  But I would take it one step further, I would allow the students to make a short video showing or explaining terms or cases.  The students will learn because it is fun but they need to know the content to make the video.  I actually may do this in my website.  where I would ask the students to choose from the cases in a table on the website and make a short video outlining the key principle. 

The other digital technology is podcasts or sound files.  Sadly due to my computer being ancient, I have been unable to really experiment with making my own but I have had a lot of experiences with podcasts.  The combination of both auditory and visual literacy is a great combination.  The issue which I have with podcasts is I do not know how to use them properly.  I think they are boring, I need more than just sound.  Students will listen if the content is interesting but what about if it is not.  Relying on it alone is an idea which scares me a bit.  I would be more comfortable with other visual aids to help it get its point across.  I have been reading that podcasts are great to have in pedagogical content.  I see the argument as it would help auditory learners but what about those who have a hearing difficulty? What about if the podcast is in English language and some students do not have it as their first language? I think also there is a bit of technical skill involves with making a podcast and also the plagiarism that has to be considered.  I know I may have jumped the gun as I have not made and fiddled with podcasts this week, am hoping to do it at the university next week.  But there seems to be a lot of negatives and better alternatives. 

However, If I were to incorporate podcasts into a lesson, I would find parodies or funny podcasts f cases to help students learn.  There needs to be that element of attraction to just listening to something.  I remember listening to lecture podcasts, and I love them, but deep down I loathed how boring it was, and I am more a visual learner.  I struggled a lot with external classes because of it.  I would also let the students make there own podcasts when they read legal submissions, to show them how to pronounce an annunciate key words. 

BELOW ARE A SAMS MODEL AND PMI TABLE TO SHOW THE DIFFERNENCES BETWEEN THE TECHNOLOGIES THIS WEEK.

	SUBSTITUITION	AUGMENTATION	MODFICATON	REDEFINITION
IMAGES	TEACHER GIVES STUDENT AN IMAGE TO OBSERVE	STUDENT ANALYSES IMAGE AND FORM GROUPS TO DISCUSS WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SEE	STUDENTS CAN NOW MAKE IMAGES AND ALTER THEM TO SUIT THERE ARGUMENTS	TEACHER CAN POST AN IMAGE ON THE STUDENTS WIKI AND STUDENTS CAN ALL ALTER IT UNTIL COMPLETE
DIGITAL VIDEO	STUDENTS WATCH A VIDEO FROM YOUTUBE	STUDENTS NOW EMBED VIDEOS INTO THEIR BLOGS	STUDENTS MAKE THERE OWN VIDEOS	STUDENTS EDIT AND MAKE SPECIAL EFFECTS TO THEIR VIDEOS AND ADD IT TO THEIR WIKI
PODCAST	PODCAST IS PLAYED IN THE LESSON	STUDENTS DOWNLOAD PODCASTS FROM OTHER SOURCES	TEACHER  UPLOADS A PODCAST TO A BLOG AND STUDENTS MUST COMMENT ON IT	STUDENTS MAKE THEIR OWN PODCASTS TO PRESENT INFORMATION

 
   

 

	PLUS	MINUS	IMPLICATIONS
IMAGES	EASY TO ACCESS, GOOD FORM OF ICT, CAN BE MADE BY STUDENTS OR TEACHERS,	PICTURES NEED TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS, PEOPLE MAY HAVE VISUAL IMPAIRMENT, COULD BECOME DISTRACTING	RESEARCHERS BELIEVE STUDENTS CVAN LEARN MORE FROM PICTURES, IF YOUR NOT A STRONG READER, PICTURES CAN BE USED.
DIGITAL VIDEO	EASIER TO USE AND MAKE, STUDENTS LOVE VIDEOS, CAN FIND VIDEOS ON ALMOST EVERY TOPIC, VERY ENGAGING	HAS TO REACH THE TARGET AUDIENCE, OPEN FOR ABUSE OF TECHNOLOGY, POSSIBLE VISUAL IMPAIRMENT	VIDEOS ARE EVERYWHERE, VIDEOS CAN BE REWATCHED AND SAVED, CHEAPER THAN TEXTBOOKS.
PODCAST	ENGAGES STUDENTS, YOU CAN RECORD ANYTHING, STUDENTS LEARN FROM LISTENING	HARD TO USE, PLAYGERISM RULES, SOMETIMES BORING, A  BIT OUTDATED	CAN OBTAIN PODCASTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, SBS ETC.  YOU CAN LISTEN TO PODCASTS FROM OVER DECASED AGO, BEFORE THE INTERNET WAS MADE