EDED20491 Embedded Task 1.6... Digital Tools 2 - Digital Media 1I am staring down the barrel of a cyclone, so why on google earth am I writing this blog? Actually, google earth is the whole point. Huh? You see, I've been wrapped up in all this cyclone business, looking at radar images, comparing tracking maps and listening to news reports. Ah ha!! Why couldn't I use this analytical data in my blog and link it to my pedagogy? One of the HASS strands is geography - wouldn't this make a great classroom activity? I'll need to explore this idea later... first I need to implement my disaster preparedness plan. I started this blog on Saturday, during the few moments of internet connectivity I had that day. I wanted to get my brilliant ideas down before I forgot them in all the chaos. Actually, the chaos had more to do with the three days of cyclone preparation than the cyclone itself! If I was to compare my readiness for the cyclone and link back to Reflection 1.1 (How prepared am I?) our family scored 7 on the scale for disaster preparedness. On Wednesday, we had done the weekly grocery shopping. Our pantry and fridge were full, but I made a dash to the supermarket on Friday to retrieve some more supplies. BIG mistake! Empty shelves everywhere - no torches, bread or UHT milk to be found anywhere. Luckily, I keep a disaster kit in the shed. We often have blackouts up here, so we have plenty of candles and battery-operated lamps, and purchased a generator after cyclone Yasi. What we weren't prepared for was the outdoor mess we had to deal with. Two days later and our house and cyclone-rated shed are jam packed with furniture, plants, bicycles, weight benches, and so many more items - even the old kitchen sink! After a mad rush to the dump late Sunday afternoon, we could rest easy regarding the outdoor component of our preparedness. Hearing the news that cyclone Debbie had moved further south, complacency set in for most Townsvillians. Monday afternoon - time to fill water buckets and glad-wrap the louvred windows - just in case! We were prepared, but not ready. It is now Tuesday evening and the eye of the storm has passed through the Whitsundays and crossed the mainland at Airlie Beach. We escaped the fury of Debbie in Townsville, but understand only too well the devastation that the cyclone will leave behind. Our thoughts and prayers are with those in the impact zone. With limited time this week, I decided not to reinvent the wheel. As a museum curator, I have created many interpretive text panels and backgrounds for displays. Microsoft Office tools were supplied by my employer, so I found ways to use the programs to enhance exhibitions. Images make up a large portion of the museum's collection. Volunteers have spent many hours digitising photos and documents, scanning them as TIFFs for safe keeping and referencing. There always seems to be a problem naming the image and being able to add all of the information required for referencing. There is a really neat feature that allows you to add as much information as you would like via properties. Right click on the selected image, before opening it, select Properties, then go to the Details tab. Within this tab are several categories where you can add information. The Title and Subject fields allow you to type or paste information. This information becomes embedded metadata that can help with searches. It is also useful when you find an image on the web that you would like to copy and need to remember the source or add information. This little tip is worth teaching to your students! Microsoft Publisher is my go-to application for creating text panels. Publisher offers a similar screen layout to other MS programs such as Word and PowerPoint. Novice Publisher users shouldn't have too much trouble with navigation if they have used Word or PowerPoint previously. Often promoted as a marketing tool, MS Publisher allows you to do so much more. Publisher allows the user to create documents from a wide range of templates: brochures, posters, banners, greeting cards, business cards, invoices, labels, flyers and the list goes on. You can open a blank page and create your own template, or import entire word documents as well as photographs and graphics. Publications can be saved in a variety of formats, such as: pdf, jpg, png, gif, web page, word doc or simply as a Publisher file (pub). The ability to access images stored in your own files or directly from the web makes importing them a simple process. Once the photos are inserted, there are many manipulation features available. I love the picture effects such as shadow, reflection, glow, soft edges, bevel and 3-D rotation. Word art is easy to insert and fill effects are endless. The sizing and print feature of Publisher allows you to create very large documents, dependent on the dimensions of the paper available. I use a large format printer at the museum, so I am able to create text panels up to 140 cm wide and 30 m long. The file can be saved on your own device, or saved to the printer for access at a later date. I have saved many Publisher files to my Google Docs and accessed them from different devices. From the Share button in the File menu of Publisher, you can directly share your publication via email as: the current page, PDF, XPS or an attachment. If you email a publisher (pub) file to someone, you must be sure that they have the program installed on their own device, or they won't be able to open it. Alternatively, the recipient could convert the Publisher file to a PDF when they receive it using a conversion tool. I usually send a PDF copy via email for viewing or editing. You can also save a page as a photo (jpg) at different resolutions (96 dpi is a suitable resolution for uploading to the web). The document could also be uploaded to the web by exporting it as an html file. My favourite aspect of Publisher is layering. Inserting text boxes and having the option to overlap images and text, bringing objects forward or sending them backward, enables the user to be very creative. There are many fonts to choose from and you can add text to inserted shapes which may also be altered. Changing the page background is simply done by clicking a button and selecting the appropriate colour, pattern, file picture or online image. There are too many features to list in this blog, so I have provided a link to the Publisher help page if you are interested in learning more. There are many ways to take a photograph, such as on a camera, phone, by screenshot or clipping tool. I use Microsoft Paint for basic image cropping and adjustment, but sometimes the program is just not powerful enough. MS Office doesn't have everything, so I seek additional software that is free to use and to download. I discovered GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) about 2 years ago as a wonderful alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Gimp works across several platforms, including Linux, Os X and Windows. According to the website, Gimp is free software, and you can change its source code and distribute your changes. I have yet to explore all of the features, but I have a few skills under my belt and enjoy playing with the features, although connecting to the help feature can be problematic. After manipulating images with Gimp, they are saved by default as an xcf file (GIMP image). If you want to save them as photos, choose the export tool. I can insert the exported images into my Publisher documents (see example below), or print them independently as exhibition backdrops. If Queensland students download the education suite of Microsoft Office, Publisher is included and GIMP is free, so I think the combination of these programs would allow for creative exploration of ICT in the classroom. Now to implement the use of these tools according to SAMR and Blooms Cognitive Taxonomy, referring to the pic I created in an earlier blog (Blooming Taxes), to see how these two models interrelate. I am going to use this for modelling a geography lesson, linking to my learning area of Humanities and Social Sciences. In Year 7, students study ‘Water in the world’ and ‘Place and liveability’, examining the classification of environmental resources and the forms that water takes as a resource (ACHGK037). Amongst other things, students look at the causes, impacts and responses to an atmospheric or hydrological hazard (ACHGK042). A quick search on Scootle provided a resource link to cyclones. The plan has an external resource embedded and you will be redirected to another site. Understanding cyclones using MS Publisher as a learning toolFor comparative purposes, I have created another exercise using MS Publisher and images as learning tools in my post Mysterious Imaginings. SUBSTITUTION: We could keep a track of a cyclone's progress by updating and following links on our blog and posting images of the cyclone's progress or effects. I could create a Publisher document for the students, using information gathered from my own research into cyclones, and present it to them as a substitution. AUGMENTATION: Looking at different models generated by several sources, I would provide a link to the standard Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) website as the go-to point of information. Students would be required to save the cyclone identification map as an image and save images from other sites which may contain cyclone activity information. They would then be asked to place the images side-by-side in a Publisher document for comparison. The next step would be to upload the comparative image created onto the blog page. Students would be encouraged to take their own photographs of waterways and weather (providing they don't stand outside in the middle of a cyclone with their camera). Applying and remembering what they have learnt, students may then examine each others' photos and come up with solutions for problems gleaned from the images, such as blocked drains affecting run-off, resulting in possible flooding. MODIFICATION: Students could find other resources that contradict the BOM cyclone track model. The lesson could be expanded to explain the difference between cyclones and hurricanes - we could create a diagram in Publisher to explain the differences. This involves the thinking processes of analysis and evaluation. Students could create a table or an info-graphic in Publisher, showing the effects of storm surge, or design their own cyclone category table. Publisher documents, saved as web pages or html files, could be uploaded to the blog for collaborative discussion. REDEFINITION: Create a brochure in publisher explaining cyclones. For numeracy: look at measurement tools of distance and air pressure. Look at weather patterns and tracking maps. Students will need to locate resources and develop their own models based on research. They could look at the effects of climate change on weather patterns and develop rainfall distribution graphs. How do Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders traditionally read weather patterns? Students could create their own track map - inserting a map of the pacific region, drawing lines, work out timings and linking tabulated data. Students could then look at generating an info brochure for the general public. This brochure could also be designed as a web page for embedding in the blog. Looking at ethical, legal and safety protocols, students would need to ensure that the images they use and access are appropriate. Images of other students or children should NOT be published without permission and a release form must be signed by the parents. They would also need to ensure that the images are able to be freely used under Creative Commons or referenced accordingly. By accessing information in the properties of images, we could also identify ownership, enabling an element of transparency. Students would need to look at duplication, particularly if we are going to design something for publication - has a very similar product been developed before? We must be sure that all information provided is not plagiarised and is referenced when required. These aspects and more could be raised in the classroom prior to the commencement of work as an inclusive exercise, allowing students to develop their own framework and the rules could be placed on our blog page as an image created with Publisher. Engaging students through imagery is not limited to the teacher providing an information sheet or showing the class a few photos. Allowing students to be actively involved in the creation of the media provides a much better learning experience. I see this every day at the museum. Volunteers who had previously only thought of printing a word document sheet for display now search for images that may be incorporated. They have started to design their own Publisher templates and each time they create a new document, their understanding of the media and the subject matter improves. When visitors find a text panel visually appealing, they tend to become more engrossed in the exhibition, spending more time studying the information, walking away not only enjoying their experience, but learning something from their visit. Using Publisher, I created the infographic below for the museum. The image imparts information in a visually appealing manner. This type of info-graphic is something that the students could easily replicate. Not only does it require ICT skills, but its creation also covers the learning areas of literacy and numeracy (note there are also several different forms of measurement and calculation used). If you can't tell by now, I LOVE using Microsoft Publisher. The 2016 version has super cool features, but develops a glitch when designing very complex publications - an issue involving lag and images jumping around the page which hasn't been resolved yet. Older versions don't seem to have this problem, but the design features aren't as flexible as the latest version.
Publisher has many possibilities as a learning tool in the classroom, especially when combined with other media. Employing numeracy skills, students could even calculate documents' sizes and how much paper on the roll would be used with each publication. I hope my students enjoy using Microsoft Publisher - will you?
6 Comments
Vicky Carroll
31/3/2017 16:11:09
What an excellent blog post, such an interesting and informative read.
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Amanda
31/3/2017 17:26:22
Thank you for reading Vicki, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
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jo gardiner
1/4/2017 11:47:36
Great post, Amanda - your writing is so vivid I feel like I'm there with you.
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Amanda
1/4/2017 12:40:31
Thanks Jo :) Not as much rain here!
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Hi Amanda,
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Amanda
1/4/2017 12:39:42
Thanks David,
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AuthorAmanda is a museum curator and pre-service teacher, learning how to integrate technology with education to design creative learning tools for secondary school students. Archives
May 2017
Topic 6: Growing your pedagogy
Embedded Task 3 Embedded Task 2 Reflections 4.1-4.3 Embedded Task 1 Reflections 3.1-3.3 Reflections 2.1-2.2 Refelections 1.1-1.3 Categories |