I never really thought in depth about the term "multimedia" until taking a multimedia class this summer. Why couldn't the many electronic, computing, and social tools be referred to as "technology for the classroom, business, and individual" or "advanced computing tools" or "21st Century media skills" or something similar? I think "multimedia" sums up what I've learned in a simplistic yet encompassing term. I learned this summer that there is an infinite amount of information, tools, technology, programs, resources, websites and more that is available in the area of "multimedia" and there is always more being created by the hour...a "multi"tude of media. I know I didn't learn about it all in 5 short weeks, although we did cover a lot :), but I think I was provided with the basics and a spring board with which to start exploring the world of multimedia.
The best way for me to continue my personal journey with and my professional use of multimedia will be with blogging, "tweeting," and utilizing iGoogle and Google Reader with RSS feeds to my favorite blogs, to locate information about topics of interest, and to follow several experts in education, library science, and multimedia. I am relatively new to this experience but the opportunities it presents and the amount of learning it is capable of providing is amazing. I think it is going to take time to adapt to the lifestyle as I am still getting used to and trying to get into the routine of spending a small amount of time daily to "catch up" with my blog, others', and absorb a tidbit of information with each sitting. I plan to follow several experts such as Valenza, Warlick, Richardson, and of course Steingreaber! Some of the best advice I received the past five weeks on how to manage these new tools without devoting hours on end to them was in an email from Kristin:
Managing work - here's one scenario. To start the day, I check Google Reader -
click on folder with your blogs to see if there is a new posting. From
there, check on gmail - some items arrive there. Check my AEA email which is my
main email and the one I recommend you use. Set the buzzer for one hour...
Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, is a practical and invaluable resource that I think will see a lot of use in my classroom/library, personal, and professional lives and that I plan to just keep in my computer bag "just in case!" Not only does Richardson provide great advice and tips on how to keep up with technology in the 21st Century, he points his reader in the direction of other experts, articles, and websites. His book isn't just reading...it is interaction with the web simultaneously! I suppose I don't need to carry the book - how 20th Century is that?! - all I need is an RSS from his blog to my Reader, duh! :)
As for learning tools for the classroom...how fun! Once I got past the frustration of working with multiple layers of technology at once and the technological problems and glitches, these electronic projects were a blast to complete. i really was proud of myself like my students will be after completing them, senign links to my mom so she could see what I was doing. :) She was impressed and actually learned some thing from having completed grphic arts school a few years ago, there are several new tools that even she can use. It's nice to be as up to date as my mom in the area of technology and to be able to share my own educational perspective with her just as she can share her professional use of multimedia for her photography and graphic arts business with me. We finally speak the same language. Very cool.
Some of my favorite programs to develop electronic projects were Podomatic, Voicethread, and Audacity.
http://www.podomatic.com/
http://voicethread.com/
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
After completing several projects with the above tools, I really feel like I can teach others how to use them! I never thought I would be saying this when I first began using them, but they are fairly easy to use and get used to with practice. With each completed practice, I learned something new I could apply to the project and tweak it to make it better such as the volume setting on Voicethread to make the microphone record your voice louder. (Sorry if the audio of my projects below are kinda quiet, but the ones to come will be louder I promise!)
That's the beauty of all of this...the tools, the options, the products, and the experiences working with them just keeps getting better.
Wow! You have shared a really nice summary of so many parts to this class. It is "multi" in many ways.
ReplyDeleteIt struck me too, that I was starting with books (as 20th century as they seem!) but they help with the foundation I hoped to build.
From there to their blogs, to the widgets and gadgets and possibilites, we've come a long way!
Thanks for your enthusiasm and yes, remember the buzzer. It does come in handy :-)