Embedded Task 3 - Reflection on Audio, Images and Video

Digital tool: Images

In current times teachers are incorporating the use of images in classroom activities to assist their students’ learning. After completing this week’s tutorial and reflective task I have seen just how useful they can be within the classroom.  From the tutorial I gathered that students are more likely to retain information with the use of an image or visual. Furthermore, this presented to me the importance of inputting this into my pedagogy and making sure I have plenty of visuals to assist students in retaining information. After completing the activity I now view the use of images as a powerful classroom educational tool.

 

1.   An overview of the technical aspects:

·         What can this technology do (image applications)? What you can do with images?

-          Resize and upload images

-          Add alterations to images

-          Download images

-          Share images

-          Make images private or public

-          Save images for educational use

-          Low level technological skill needed – basic computer skills needed

-          Personalise images

-          Add captions

·         What learning outcomes can they support in a classroom?

-          Student engagement – students will respond better to images than to text as they find this disengaging and “boring”.

-          Student comprehension – students are more likely to retain information if an image or visual is presented with it.

-          Student creativity – students can use images to do design tasks – this allows them to be creative.

-          Student individuality – students have the ability to personalise images.

·         What sorts of materials/activities will they support?

-          Creative tasks – students can use images to enhance their work.

-          Multimedia activities – students can use images to enhance presentations.

-          Research activities – students will have access to primary sources through images taken at the time of the event.

2.   Images applied to my own teaching context

The use of images can be applied to my own teaching context in a number of ways. Being a history teacher, using images would give me access to sharing primary sources with the students through providing images from the time of the event. Also, as students are more likely to retain information with the use of an image or visual I would input this into my pedagogy and make sure I have plenty of visuals during these lessons. Also, with my second discipline being English, images could be used for character development in novel study. For example, this could be achieved through getting students to create/design the major characters in the novel to develop their character understanding.  

 

Images using the SAMR model

Substitution

Teacher gets students to design images using computer program. Therefore, at first it is just a basic substitution for students drawing in their notebooks.

Augmentation:

Students have the ability to edit their images while keeping previous versions. The functional benefit here is that teachers can track student progress. 

Modification:

Students have the ability to look at images from the time an event occurred and thus, have easy access to primary sources. Students no longer have to specifically rely on text recounts. 

Redefinition:

Students have the ability to edit, create, personalise, download, upload and share images with their peers and teacher. The use of images in the classroom becomes central to student comprehension with the gaining of student engagement.