Journal 4: "Finding Students Who Learn Through Media"- NETS 3 and 5

Bull, Glenn, Alexander, Curby, & Ferster, Bill. (2010). Finding Students Who Learn Through Media. International Society for Technology in Education, 37(5), 1-4. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=February_No_5_4&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4495&ContentID=25255&DirectListComboInd=D

Summary: This article explained how student-created media can offer significant opportunities for engagement and learning. One example of a web-based authoring tool students can used is called Primary Access Movie Maker (www.primaryaccess.org) and it allows students to create short online documentary films about social studies. Besides getting students used to using media in the classroom, it is also effective from the teacher’s perspective because the teacher is able to monitor and analyze student actions throughout the entire time the students are using the media. So far more than 10,000 students worldwide have created more than 20,000 short digital documentaries using Primary Access Movie Maker, and the authors of this article hope that number will continue to grow.

What factors can affect how much a student will find completing certain assignments as engaging? The article mentions that teachers have the responsibility to identify the quality of academic work that students will find engaging. Their level of engagement could be affected by its authenticity, its alignment with student interests, its real-world importance, and the degree of student choice. Thus, every time a teacher assigns a project that involves technology, they have to recognize that some students will find the assignment easy and others may struggle just to learn how to use the technology. Also, students’ level of interest in the content of the assignment may affect their capacity to use technology. For example, students who were engaged by both content and technological media would demonstrate more critical thinking and creativity in their work than a student who didn’t find either aspect engaging.

What example cited in the article from Virginia shows the importance of budgeting class time when using technology in the classroom? The article gave the example of schools in Virginia who designate three class periods to U.S. history of the 1930s. The challenge was how do they incorporate a student-authored movie assignment (like using (www.primaryaccess.org) which would double the class time to six classes? The way that Virginia schoolteachers addressed this problem was by only requiring students to create a visual historical narrative using Primary Access Storyboard (www.primaryaccess.org/story). This proved effective because it only took a single class period and students were able to use technological media and learn about important events in history. This example shows how important it is for teachers to use technology in the classroom efficiently; do not spend too much time explaining how to use the technology that the purpose of the assignment and content information is lost. Teachers have to be constantly be aware of how they can incorporate student-authored media into a formal classroom setting without increasing the amount of class time required to complete the projects.