Participant: Mitch Fowler
Session title: Design Matters
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What were the main points made during this session, the "takeaways?" |
| Dean did a great job of making the point that a student presentation requires several aspects; transition, white space, meaning, and simplicity. Above all I was really impressed with the topic because I have never thought about student presentations through the lens of a designer. It is interesting because I regularly watch design shows on TLC or HGTV and never thought about applying some of the same principals to student work.
As mentioned, transitions were discussed as a main emphasis for student project creation. Dean made a great point when he mentioned that he wasn't just talking about default transitions on PowerPoint or movie maker, he was talking about using audio and pictures too.
Next, Dean noted that the use of white space is a topic that students need to learn to wrestle with. He used great, overdone, PowerPoint slides to illustrate the point that it is alright to leave a little blank space on one's presentation. He also mentioned that the use of white or "negative" space is important to use when highlighting an image within an image.
Finally, he really drove home the point that presentations and projects can be simple. He likened asking students to create a 5 minute video for a first project is similar to asking an 8 year old to write a novel. Dean really made good points about asking kids to cut and edit their work in order to determine what is really essential to their message. |
What questions did you have after this presentation? |
| One main question I still have is how to learn about the thirds rule and elementary photography lessons. Dean mentioned in his presentation that he felt that every student should lean at least some rudimentary photography lessons in order to incorporate them with digital stories. I wonder what these lessons would be and where to find them.
I am also interested in the Flickrstorm program that he mentioned. I haven't heard of or used it before. |
In terms of your own professional development, what did you gain from the session? |
| I really liked the piece on planning. Dean had some great visuals for storyboards that I would like to try out. He also mentioned how students shouldn't pick up a piece of software or equipment unless they have planned. He likened this practice to planning before writing, which we always do anyway.
I also feel like I have a little more direction when it comes to planning meaningful project. In his presentation, Dean noted that there are so many web 2.0 artifacts that are pointless, yeah they were fun to make, but what's the point? He provided some ideas that could help motivate and focus kids towards producing meaningful projects. I think that I sometimes can get wrapped up in wowing the kids with new technology and the focus become the technology, not the learning. We tend to position ourselves around the technology, instead of using the technology to produce meaningful artifacts. I am glad that Dean could provide this much needed meaningful lens for me to view my current technology projects. |
How will you apply the learning to your professional situation? |
| One major project that Dean was pushing was a project that the kids do that uses 4 slides. Dean was trying to drive home the idea of simplicity and identifying important topics. As a result, he suggested that students create a 4 slide presentation that best describes them. By having to describe themselves in a short presentation, the kids will (ideally) have to plan and think about what is most important about them. Dean mentioned that this project can really get the kids thinking about what topics, images, and phrases can best describe them.
Another situation that I can see myself altering due to Dean's presentation is podcasting. This year I have begun to do more podcasting with the kids. The kids are making monthly podcasts and I am putting them together. However, after seeing Dean's presentation I am interested in backing off on the length of the shows and then having the kids do the editing.
I have never realized that the editing part of a show could be construed as a learning opportunity until this presentation. However, it makes absolute sense that I should go through and have the kids pick out the most important ideas and get rid of the rest. After all, I ask them to read a section in science, pick out the main ideas, and discuss!
Finally, after seeing this presentation, I will be using Flickr next year with students. Dean made a great point, "Only use clip art if you want to make something look cheesy." I use clip art all the time and ask my kids to do the same! My class needs to get better with finding real images that convey their point. |
What other resources (including reading material) are relevant to this session? |
| I think folks who like this presentation would be served well by visiting creativecommons.org in order to understand some of the creative commons laws out there. Dean mentions these briefly when discussing adding images. I also think that tutorial sites like atomic learning would be beneficial in order to learn more about the advanced features of presentation software. Dean mentions that learning how to use these, even a little, with personalize one's presentation. |
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