Digital Images

make action GIFs like this at MakeaGif

Use in the classroom or learning environment:

I really like the infographic creator and I think I’m going to use it in my French III class. There’s a unit where we discuss French actors and actresses and I’m going to include making an infographic. Students will have to create an infographic on an actor or actress of their choosing and create an infographic. This will be a prewriting activity before they write a formal biography paper.

At Ford we provide access to computers for students in several different ways. The media center is open after school, students can use them before school, and we’ve actually started opening the school up on Sunday evenings so students and come in and use the computers.

Application:

For my lesson plan, I’m using the infographic following the pre-training principle. They will create their infographic with basic, simple information about their actor or actress and then they will create their formal paper. Hopefully that once they created their infographic they will be able to better remember the information. I think that when creating the infographic, you must adhere to the spatial contiguity principle. The reader must build connections between the images being shown and the information that you’re trying to convey.

Reflection:

It was cool to go and create the meme, gif, and infographic. Although I’ve known about them and seen them for years, I’ve never actually sat down and created any of the three. I really liked using pixlr. I thought that was a effortless way to edit pictures especially with it being free. I know I’ll be using that site in the future for personal pictures or maybe when designing logos and images for our tennis uniforms or spirit wear.

We do have to think about how and if our students access the internet. With more and more materials like books, test, quizzes, homework, being online we have to consider that not every one of our students could have access to it. The area that I teach in is a mix of lower middle class to upper middle class. So, I see both spectrum and the differences between them. It is getting extremely costly to have broadband internet. It’s an expensive bill to have. I always try to provide language lab time to allow students enough in class time to complete assignments.

Meme

Copyright Padlet

During the unit on school in France, I am going to give my students the link to my Padlet and they will use the links provided to compare and contract the American school system and the French school system in a variety of topics. Students will have to fill in a Venn Diagram to visually illustrate their ideas. For a culminating project, the students will then prepare a debate on which system is better.

In the future I will make sure that I document the multimedia materials that I use in class. I can use them when I discuss plagiarism with my students. It is essential that my students are aware of the school’s plagiarism’s policy since many students will often use web-based translation resources.

I noticed that my natural train of thought was to find resources that incorporated several types of media. This aligns with The Modality Principle. Students can watch the videos I included to get the information to complete the assignment or they can use the written materials I included. I also think that using Padlet as I did, I have incorporated The Coherence Principle and The Signaling Principle. I have found the relevant sites that I would the students to use.  I have already done the research and collected it in one place for them. This would be that the students realize that I chose them for a reason and their importance.

I have a new perspective on the depth of the copyright laws. I was not even aware of creative commons or the distinct types of attributions.

I found that I enjoyed finding new materials to use in an actual unit that I will be teaching in a few weeks. Lesson planning and researching new material normally is not my preferred part of teaching. Although they are related, I prefer the execution part. This assignment pushed me to find new and useful materials for a real unit.

I enjoyed learning about Padlet. It reminded me a little bit of Pinterest in the way it was organized. I think that Padlet could be used better in an education setting.

Now I know that as I create multimedia materials that I have a choice as to what attributions I would like to have on the content. As we incorporate more and more materials in our classroom, teachers need to be aware that they protect their creations under the copyright and creative commons laws. 

Introduction

Hello everyone!

My name's Steve Nellis and I live in Macomb, Michigan. I'm a French teacher at Henry Ford II High School and Bemis Junior High School in Sterling Heights Michigan. I'm currently teaching French I and French III. I have 9th to 12th graders all mixed in throughout my classes and at the junior high I have all 8th graders.

I earned my BA in French Language and Literature at Oakland University and my teaching certificate through Saginaw Valley State University.

My only concern with this course is just having a general sense of trying to balance everything going on, teaching, assignments, coaching, and attempting to have a semblance of a social life.

I think I have an above average grasp with technology but I'm learning new and exciting things all the time, which is great!! But it can also be over whelming.

I'm looking forward to learning many new and awesome things in this class!

Steve