ETC Final Project

Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario

Kimberly Riffle

Brief Overview: In this scenario, learners use previous knowledge and basic computer skills to create a short video with a Web 2.0 tool called Go Animate. This scenario was conducted with teachers during an alternative certification course (Classroom Management).

1. Target Audience- My target audience consisted of 20 teachers who were attending an alternative certification course. Some of them taught elementary school, some middle school, and some high school.

2. Materials–
• Computers
• Internet access
• Classroom Management textbook
• Previously compiled list of classroom rules/procedures
• Creativity

3. Objectives– By the end of the presentation, learners should be able to:
• recall how to access the site, their videos, and the general procedure of creating a video, (knowledge)
• demonstrate their knowledge of the site tools by (comprehension)
• preparing a short video about their classroom rules and procedures, (application)
• distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate uses for this tool in their classroom, and (analysis)
• choose the best lesson to incorporate this tool into. (evaluation)

4. Procedure–

• Introduce Web 2.0 tools, define and explain with a PowerPoint presentation (I will use a short video, which can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc0oDIEbYFc)
• Present information that justifies using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.
• Describe the tool and give a tutorial using an overhead projector, and students were in a classroom with computers, so access will not be an issue.
• Give the audience possible scenarios for implementing this tool into their classroom.
• Prime the audience’s background knowledge. They are going to make a video about the classroom rules/procedures they want to implement, so they need to review their list.
• Give the audience a dialogue minimum and maximum for their videos.
• Set them free to create their video, and monitor their progress by floating around the room, giving help where it is needed.
• Learners must share their video with at least one other person, and give feedback on one other person’s video. The videos can be found on the Google spreadsheet that will be compiled prior to the audience filling out the survey and providing the link to their video.
• Learners must complete the online survey provided by the instructor, providing a working link to their video.


5. Web 2.0 Tool– The tool I am working with is called Go Animate. This is a tool that allows users to create dialogue and animated content using setting and character templates. The link is http://www.goanimate.com.

6. Social Participation/Social Learning– This site is all about social interactions. Learners can publish their videos to You Tube, embed them on blogs, or email them to friends and classmates. Like You Tube, Go Animate users can post comments on another student’s video, and even use a unique system to rate other videos. With this lesson, learners must share their video with at least one other student, and post a comment on at least one other student’s video.

7. Making Connections– Forming Connections:

a) Learners must connect with previous knowledge regarding classroom rules and procedures in order to make an appropriate video.
b) Learners will connect with the content because information about rules and procedures is relevant and pertinent to these educators. They will connect with the site because the tool itself is relevant to the digital natives found in classrooms of today.
c) The sharing options of the tool can make a global connection. By publishing the created content to You Tube or to a blog, and using strategic tags to reach the desired audience, a person could connect with educators and learners all over the world.


8. Create/Produce – The student must create a video showcasing their classroom rules/procedures. The student produces every aspect of the video. He/she chooses the setting, characters, content, and creates the dialogue strategically.

9. Assessment –Assessment will come in the form of peer reviews of videos and comments left on videos. I will view each video and complete a rubric for each. I will give feedback in the form of comments on the videos. Self-assessment occurs when the student completes the survey. I will also assess if each of the objectives has been met through reading the feedback left on the survey.

10. Reflection –
a. Learners have the opportunity to reflect on and analyze their success through filling out an online survey created by the trainer. Learners reflect on the tool’s usefulness and relevance in their classrooms, with their students. Learners also reflect on whether or not the tool helped to reinforce their knowledge of classroom rules/procedures.

b. The survey also provides the trainer with valuable feedback that can be read and charted for analysis. The trainer is afforded the opportunity to reflect on the amount of direction and priming given to the students. Viewing the learners’ videos provides feedback as well. If the majority of student videos included what the directions specified, the trainer knows the presentation was successful. If there was content that was lacking, the trainer knows there is a need to adjust the directions/presentation accordingly.

PE4_GoAnimate

In a previous blog post I introduced you to the Web 2.0 tool Go Animate.  Now I have been set to the task of becoming proficient in using this tool.  For my RILS (Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario) project I had to teach a group of educators how to use this tool well enough to be able to introduce it to their students.  So, in this case, I learned the tool by teaching the tool.  Naturally, there were some instances where I had to act quick on my toes to figure out a problem a student was having.  Actually, about three people had the same problem.  So, I did some troubleshooting to figure out why their home page did not look like everyone else's. 
The screen you see upon clicking on the link should look like this picture to the left.  As I try to get the screen some of the other teachers were seeing, I still cannot figure out where they were or how they were seeing the screen.  Nonetheless, I helped them navigate the screen they did see to reach the templates page where they could start creating a video. 

I showed them some of the sample templates the site has to offer, and I showed them the difference between a basic membership and an upgraded membership.  In fact, several of the teachers upgraded right then and there because they too wanted to become experts enough to use the tool flawlessly and successfully in their classrooms come August. 

For our purposes here, I will continue to use my basic membership.  However, I do think that a year's membership will be on my to-do list at the start of the next school year.  The drawback to using only the basic membership is the lack of exporting options.  I circumvented that problem using the Screenflow software on my computer, but I can see how sharing might be difficult and frustrating for someone else. 

Some of the interesting (free) features I found while exploring this site prior to my teaching the tool is as follows:

This site has a messaging component, making it even more interactive.  Students can stay in touch through this site if they are working in a group to create a video. This site allows users to sign in via Facebook, making the tool that much more relevant and interesting to our digital natives.  Users can also use their email contacts to find friends who use Go Animate, and they can "friend" other users, similar to Facebook. 

If a student's work gets a lot of attention from other Go Animate members, the student can earn different badges.  This would be a great motivator for certain age groups.  I can see my 6th grade students loving this, my 7th grade students liking it but not showing their affection, and my 8th grade students hating it like they hate everything else.  Okay, I give them way too much credit here.  They don't have the passion to hate things.  They are far too apathetic for that.  ;)

The site allows users to choose from an array of different templates.  The basic membership does come with fewer choices than that paid membership, but the basic templates get the job done well. 





This site also allows users to create a video from scratch, where the end product is, as the site proclaims, "100% you." 

Check back for my next installment where I attempt to create something that is "100% me."