Reflection - Educational Philosophy Video

My educational philosophy video can be seen on youtube.

I really enjoyed this project. I have wanted to learn simple video editing for a long time, but have never put together a project. The process was fairly straightforward, and I have already been talking with students and colleagues about what kind of video projects might be worth pursuing. One possibility is the use of videos to create user guides for the software we are using in the PHSgeek project. The use of video screen capture programs, rather than just screenshots, would make this work interesting to students.

I completed this project using entirely open source software. I used kdenlive for the video editing, and found it easy to use after reading one tutorial. The program was not as polished as something like iMovie, but after reflecting on the question of which software to use with students I come back to the principles of open source. It's not about price, it's about access. If we can make high-quality video projects with programs like kdenlive, we can install the software on any computer in the school without any concerns about licensing issues. Even more important, anyone with a computer at home can make videos on their own time. This is a huge benefit of open source software, and the field of video editing is one where this is likely to be significant. Not many students are going to write a paper at home for fun because they can use an open source word processor, but many students might try their hand at video editing if they have unlimited access to the technology.



There are technical aspects of this video that I could improve, but they are easy details to address in subsequent projects. For the purposes of this project, having simply put all the pieces together to make an edited video was a significant step forward for me, and one that I will use with students shortly.

Reflection - Energy Project Presentation Video

The video recording of my Energy Project slideshow presentation can be seen on youtube.

After twelve years of teaching,I am quite comfortable speaking to groups of almost any size, and any age. That said, it is always good to reflect critically on presentation style.

I feel my presentation focuses on clear communication. I always strive to be honest about my level of understanding of the current subject, understand who my audience is, and gauge their ongoing level of understanding and interest in the subject. I use tools such as slideshow software to facilitate a two-way conversation, rather than simply perform a one-way delivery of information. I try to set up presentations that allow for flexible delivery; every slide in the presentation does not need to be shown, and every section of the slideshow does not need to be presented. The structure of the presentation, particularly the use of a navigation bar on every slide, means these decisions can be made during a presentation with no interruption of delivery by right-click menus or by returning to the design mode to find a particular slide or section of the presentation. This also means that one slideshow can be used for many different audiences, for different levels of depth and different presentation lengths. One presentation can be used in front of students, colleagues, the school board, and the public, always choosing to share appropriate sections for the current audience, and easily skipping over levels of detail that are not appropriate to the current audience. This also means that questions can be taken mid-presentation, without causing any difficulty by taking a nonlinear path through the material being presented.

I have found two things most valuable in preparing this presentation. The first is the chance to focus on this particular material. We have been so focused on the technical work of refurbishing computers and learning new software programs, that we have not dug too deeply into the specific environmental benefits of the project. The research for this presentation helped lay the groundwork for a deeper understanding of this work, and will lead into some independent study opportunities for students, or an entire science or social studies class focused on these issues. The second thing I gained is a better understanding of how to share files online. It was frustrating to sort out file format issues among the different sites. I found I had to convert my files to PDF format in order to post them effectively. I will sort out some of these technical issues and begin to use these file sharing sites with students and colleagues. I look forward to the way these services can enhance the collaborative atmosphere we foster at our school.

Energy Project Sideshow

My energy project is about PHSgeek, a program I have started at Pacific High School this fall. We accept donations of old computers, and students learn to refurbish them by installing the Ubuntu Linux operating system and a suite of open source software. The project is causing students and a number of adults to rethink the role of technology and school in everyone's lives. For some students, the concept that any program we use in the project at school is fully available to them at home is eye-opening. Students who have not done homework in years have started to do "school work" at home because technological barriers have been taken down, and school and computers have been made fun again.

The project and slideshow presentation focus on the environmental benefits of this project. The spreadsheet that I made for the project examines the impact of scaling up the PHSgeek project, examining the amount of hazardous materials that can be removed from the waste stream or disposed of properly. The project could expand by processing a higher volume of computers, or by serving as a model program that other schools can replicate.

The presentation includes one feature I feel all slideshows should have a website-style navigation system. This is simple to implement, and breaks the presenter out of the linear-presentation mode that slideshows tend pull people into. For example, it is easy for a presenter to respond to questions if there is a navigation system on-screen that does not require a right click menu to access, and it is easier for audience members to see the overall structure of the presentation.

I have had some trouble getting the slideshow and spreadsheet posted with proper formatting online, so I will sort that out shortly and post the links. The spreadsheet should now be visible, but you will probably need to play with the zoom buttons on the right side of Google's pdf viewer. The slideshow is also visible now, although the navigation bar at the bottom does not work in Google's pdf viewer. If you want to see how the navigation bar works, you can download the pdf file and the links should work.