Unit 3

How can my students use multimedia for their projects?

Students can use multimedia in a variety of ways from enhancing a PowerPoint to include a video they find on the internet or adding a sound bite from a song that can add to their presentation, this also allows them to make their presentation more unique and specific to them further allowing each student to be creative.

What applications are available for creating a multimedia presentation?

Apple’s iMovie, Windows move maker and power point to name a few there are many options when creating a multimedia project. Each software has its pros and cons with Power Point a student can print he power point as a handout and simply use it as talking points for a presentation using video clips and sounds bites to reinforce their points.

Should I place limits on how my students use multimedia?

Limits should me placed on a student’s use of multimedia, for one the research needs to be from any sources not just the web. Showing that old-fashioned book research is still a skill that is needed in education also the use of primary source discovered in a library are an important part of education and one that I highly value (history major). Multimedia should be used to enhance and reinforce what the student has already learned.

How do you know that students understand a concept?

When they can apply what they have learned to a real life situation. Being able to apply skills in the real world is part of what education is about. My goal is for a student to not only learn the information but also be able use the information and skills learned outside of the classroom and hopefully are able to remember the skills in years to come and even perhaps trouble shoot problems before they become problems.

How can you depict student misconceptions of key information?

The obvious answer is when they get the answer wrong. But normally what I have found is when this occurs a student missed a step either in the directions from moving to quickly or did not fully grasp a concept from the beginning. Not grasping a concept is not something the student discovers normally until they are asked to use the concept in order to complete a task. Also Having different ways of explaining concepts can assist in the transition of concept to real life application, this is due to the fact that each child learns differently and that should be taken into consideration when a new concept is taught.

How can students capture and transfer brainstorming ideas into written thoughts?

Many drafts, just getting the basic idea on paper then asking thought provoking questions to encourage the student to go past their initial thought and as a teacher your goal is to guide them into higher thinking. Most people think in short ideas and need questions in order to guide their thought process to higher-level thinking.