EDID 6505/89858360

Assignment 2 New Media

By

Christian Prentice

A Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements of EDID 6506 Issues, Trends, Innovations and Research in Instructional Design, Instructional Technology and Distance Education Trimester III, 2012-2013

Email: University: eTutor: Course Coordinator

christian.prentice@my.open.uwi.edu University of the West Indies Open Campus Camille Dickson-Deane Camille Dickson-Deane

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THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES

Graduate Coursework Accountability Statement (To be completed by student)

ACADEMIC YEAR: 2013-2014

SEMESTER: Trimester III

COURSE CODE: EDID 6506

TITLE: Issues, Trends, Innovations and Research in Instructional Design, Instructional Technology and Distance Education ID: 89858360

NAME: Christian Prentice

1. I hereby certify that I am the author of the attached item of coursework and that all materials from reference sources have been properly acknowledged. 2. I understand what plagiarism is and what penalties may be imposed on students found guilty of plagiarism. 3. I certify that this paper contains no plagiarised material. 4. I certify that this is my own work and that I did not receive any unfair assistance from others (including unauthorized collaboration) in its preparation. 5. I certify that this paper has not previously been submitted either in its entirety or in part within the UWI system or to any other educational institution. 6. In the case of group work: a. I certify that the individual work of each member of the group has been clearly indicated; b. that where no such indication has been given, I take the responsibility for the work as if it were the section of the paper for which I am solely responsible; and c. that I have not collaborated with any members of the group to breach the Universitys regulations.

Signature: Christian Prentice

Date: 2013-10-23

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New Media - Camtasia Studio

Verbiage Describing: The Lesson Many students tend to ignore punctuation marks while reading. They do not fully understand what the marks mean; as such they tend to ignore their use in the passages. Consequently, they are unaware of where to pause, breathe or change intonation. This results in the reader being unable to fully comprehend the writers message.

In addition, this is transferred to students writing. For example, when students are asked a question, many, in their replies punctuate with a question mark. (Since that was the last punctuation mark used, they followed the pattern) Moreover, students write an entire essay which appears like an extremely long sentence. They ignore the importance of punctuation thus their audiences find difficulty in understanding what these writers are trying to convey.

Considering these trends, this lesson was developed primarily for the Standard One class (7 year olds) and as a remedial tutorial for struggling readers and writers. This Punctuation lesson which applies Merrills First Principles, introduces and differentiates the use of the full stop or period and the question mark. It was designed in a story format as students at this age love being read to. The lesson utilises a familiar excerpt from their reading text, where students are shown punctuation in context, in action. The excerpt is then taken apart, demonstrating that the period is used at the end of a statement or telling sentence and the question mark at the end of a question or asking sentence. After the demonstration stage, pupils will be given a number of sentences to read and punctuate correctly. Finally, pupils

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will create asking and telling sentences and punctuate same correctly. This lesson should encourage students to edit and read material correctly.

Objectives: At the end of the lesson pupils will be able to: Edit or punctuate by using a question mark and a full stop accurately when given a number of sentences Create four telling and asking sentences each.

Media Description: Camtasia Studio, published by TechSmith, is a software application for creating video and/or video tutorials. The video can be recorded on the application itself using the computer screen as a backdrop, or from another source and imported into the studio. Along with video, Camtasia imports images, photographs and music. An individual can also superimpose himself into the production creating a more realistic and professional movie. Camtasia also offers the option of producing PowerPoint presentations. It makes use of its animations to which a voice narration can be added.

This application offers editing facilities. It permits the user to add captions, animations, quizzes, and audio along any point of the timeline of the video. Not only can the user add features, he can also take them away as well. Its editing tool removes unwanted videos, background noise and images from the presentation.

As a result of Camtasia screen recording and video editing software, many interactive videos can be created and viewed on several media for example, mobile devices. In addition, videos
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are easy to create. Indeed, this application can be an ideal tool for training/instruction as it caters to the different types of learners. Consequently it was a simple decision for me to choose Camtasia as the ideal learning tool to deliver lessons.

This tool was very user friendly. The recording software was easy to learn and there were many basic online tutorials available. With this application I was able to create videos that catered to the multiple intelligences within the classroom. This has encouraged students to learn independently, at their own pace and has utilised the technology with which they are most familiar.

In addition, this video recording software gave me the opportunity to make many of my PowerPoint lessons interactive. Many students could rewind the videos so they would not miss any parts of the lesson. Finally, these videos encourage the flipped classroom. Students and parents can view the classes online and homework or problem areas can be discussed in the classroom.

The Media Lesson: The lesson, Punctuation using full stops and question marks can be located
http://www.screencast.com/t/mh0WY8uFK

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Reflection: Reading this assignment, I was not intimidated but excited. This promised to be quite interactive and for yet another time, I would be exposed to an application that I can use frequently in my profession. Being exposed to these applications, I realised how many tools were in cyberspace to which I was unaware. I felt like a newbie/native and had to remove myself from my comfort zone to create a project.

Selecting the software application was indeed an arduous task. Researching these tools was time consuming, especially in light of the fact that I had to attempt several applications to decide the best fit. Camtasia was chosen, simply because of the numerous step by step tutorials I was able to easily utilise. Also being able to bring life to my library of PowerPoint lessons secured my decision.

During the process of preparing the lesson my initial, enthusiasm started to wane. This was a result of the many hiccups I had while recording my presentation. I had planned a lesson for the Standard One level (7year old) where I would have superimposed my image onto my PowerPoint presentation. My plan veered off course, when the video camera which I borrowed from work, refused to record which meant I had to resort to my backup plan. This entailed importing video content from the Web but this material did not match the learning concept I wished to portray.

Nevertheless, I persevered and created a simple yet effective video (I think) which describes how full stops and question marks are used. I was able to use the editing tools (after viewing the editing video at least five times) to include an introductory page and a flash quiz.

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This project highlighted how inexperienced I am when it comes to using applications on the Web. Although I believe this assignment was designed to make us aware of these existing media and to encourage us to use same, it has also shown how ignorant I am with respect to these innovations.

This was indeed a sobering experience as it demonstrates that as an educator I have not done enough research in order to widen my students experiences. I am always looking for creative and interactive lessons on the internet for my students but have never (until this course) decided to create these lessons for myself.

I have also realised that these software applications that seem new to me have been in existence for some time. In fact these are no longer innovations as newer trends now exist and more continue to emerge.

Finally, experiencing this post graduate level course (which entailed no spoon feeding from our eminent facilitators and co-ordinators), has vastly improved my creative skills. Although I felt insecure, I am better able to visualise and develop more interactive lessons. These combinations of skills (first learning a variety of teaching strategies, then the use of several software applications) serve to specifically prepare me for the challenges of my teaching and instructional designing career.

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References: Add a Flash Quiz to a Camtasia Studio Video Recording http://facultynet.matc.edu/frc/pdf/Camtasia_Quiz.pdf

Angelillo J, (n.d.), A Study Guide for A Fresh Approach to Teaching Punctuation, retrieved from, http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/scholasticprofessional/authors/pdfs/SG_Fresh_Punctua tion.pdf

Camtasia Studio, retrieved from, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camtasia_Studio

TechSmith, Camtasia Studio, retrieved from, http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html