Pedagogy and Technology

This week I was able to create an info-graphic using the Chrome app "Venngage." The app provided plenty of pre-made layouts and templates which made the process of creating an info-graphic fairly painless and simple. My only concern was that the template that I chose was titled "fact or fiction" and attempted to pass off climate change as fiction. Perhaps if I paid for premium their templates would not come with conservative propaganda.

supporting technology in the sciencesInfographic

The info-graphic which I developed lists instructional strategies and a specific activity falling within that strategy. Another column provides a technology which can complement the strategy and activity at hand. When searching for technologies to implement in the different activities, it was important to find technologies that supported the activity instead of supplementing it to ensure meaningful technology integration. The technology used should be one tool for students to utilize in order to complete the activity and reach the goals set by the lesson. The technology should not replace student interaction and learning.

 For example, under the instructional strategy "Share ideas and opinions,"
I listed Kahoot! as an appropriate technology to use for a modified four side activity. This technology provides users the ability to create quizzes and answer them via computer or smartphone. Instead of me creating the quiz and having students take it online, I would have the students work in pairs to create quizzes and implement them in class for their classmates. This way students have to research and comprehend the material prior to creating the quiz and their quiz provides me an assessment of their classmate's understanding of the material as well as the quiz maker's understanding.

The History of Technology in Teaching Biology

Creating a Powtoon has certainly been an interesting feat. The app is really simple to use, resembling a mashup of Power Point and Windows Movie Maker. And the cartoon itself is certainly more entertaining than a regular Power Point presentation. The time constraint it puts on assembling a short video is a fallback though. My video was a little over two minutes and yet it took me almost 4 hours to make. While the layout concept is easy enough to follow, the way the program functions is incredibly inefficient. For example, I had to scroll between "styles" every time I wanted a simple rectangle if I was on a different style layout. A combined master layout would have made the process much easier of assembling characters and props. I also felt like it would be a bit difficult to come up with a science themed cartoon as their props were definitely geared more towards business than a Science classroom.  

Because of the ridiculous amount of time the very short cartoon took to make, I probably wouldn't frequently use Powtoons in my classroom. The app could be used once in a while to make mundane or dry topics a bit more interesting with the animation and added humor. I do feel that the cartoon would be better suited for younger students, maybe fifth and sixth graders rather than high school students who might see it as insulting to their age. Another way the app could be used is if I had my students use the app in school to present a project in place of power point. This scenario would play out much better in a school who's students have internet access at home rather than a lower socioeconomic status community. 

All in all the app is creative and fun to play around with albeit very time consuming. I enjoyed my finished cartoon product and I hope you do too!

PowToon Link:

https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/dAxzfnwX7oj/history-of-technology-in-biology/