Reflection For Third Week

I realized in writing this that, in the past, when I've put together a lesson for my students that all these phases are there in my process. Of course, the steps are not clearly defined and they mix together and overlap a little bit. I also might skip a few things, but the outline is there. Granted I never specified this is the analysis stage and this is the design phase, but the idea was there. So it's interesting to start to see the formal process and really consider the steps I should take.

This week we started the looking at the development phase. This can be a really fun phase and I can see why it is easy to want to skip to this point. This phase puts all the information gathered previously together to create the instruction. Following the plan created in the design phase the instruction is developed. It is important to remember to not overwhelm the learner when creating the instruction. The instruction needs to be presented clearly and simply, but in a manner that draws in the learner. Another important consideration is whether or not the instruction is meeting the intended goals. Then the instruction is tested to check its effectiveness and look for any kinks.

In class this week we learned Photo Story. I enjoyed learning how to use the program, but I found it limiting in some ways. I've used iMovie on the Mac and Windows Movie Maker on the PC. I like these because those programs tend to give a little more freedom. For example, putting in the music. In iMovie and Movie Maker it really gives you freedom in placing the music where you want and cutting where you want. In my group's digital story we wanted pieces of a song. We managed to bring in what we wanted so it worked out, but it did make it a little more complicated. What is nice about Photo Story is that it is more simple and easier to use than other programs. I think even my fourth graders could use this program. Photo Story would be great to show and use with my students because it does have that simpler, easy to follow format. It just takes you right through the steps. Unfortunately, at my school we only have Macs. I could use iMovie with my students, but it feels a little daunting trying to do that.

Our group has worked on finishing the analysis and design phases. We have also started on the development phase. We created our digital story and have nearly finished it.