677Y Module 8 Discussion and Course Reflection

Module 8:

 When it comes to augmented and virtual reality in the classroom, I have had no experience. That being said, I have come in to contact with both elements outside of school. I use Snapchat frequently, and most of the filters are augmented reality. While I don’t have a virtual reality system, I have used them and can see the excitement over the experience. After reviewing the article “Virtual Reality vs Augmented Reality” by Augment, I think the use of augmented reality would be more easily inserted into the classroom. It seems like devices that are readily available, such as iPhones and iPads, possess the ability to enhance the classroom with augmented reality; whereas, virtual reality would require entirely different devices. The learning commons in our school has a section where students can access augmented reality. Patricia Brown speaks about this capability in her article, “How to Transform Your classroom with Augmented Reality.” She says, “There are practical examples for Augmented Reality being used in classrooms around the world, as the ability to overlay digital content and information onto the real world--using triggers like images and locations--opens up a whole new world of learning opportunities.” Students can download an app and scan different pictures posted in the learning commons. This brings the pictures to life with more information about the student that created the work and other pertinent information. I could see myself using this kind of feature as another way of doing a standard presentation. Rather than only having students present in front of the class, I could have them create these augmented reality presentations. I think doing presentations this way would help engage both the speaker and the audience member. This does seem like it would take a great deal of planning and trial and error. 

Course reflection:

Overall in this class, the article that stuck with me the most is Jonna Mae Magno’s article about using graphics to engage middle school students. While nothing in this article was particularly surprising to me, it did reiterate the importance of using graphics in the classroom. It made me think about using graphic design as a means of assessment, rather than just something I create to hold my students’ attention. It also made me think about the fact that while you don’t see anchor charts in most high school classrooms, maybe there should be more of a wide spread use of these at this level. I have considered adopting the use of anchor charts to begin the year next year, especially as I begin planning with a new co-teacher. 

When it comes to the discussions, I liked our discussion on screencasts. I liked getting to see how other people are using screencasts in their classroom. One element that I liked reading about in our classmates’ posts was whether or not screencasts could be used in lieu of sub plans. Our classmates brought up some valid points and concerns with using screencasts when you are absent. It made me really think about using these when I have a planned absence. It was also interesting to see that most people record their screencast multiple times before being happy with it. It was comforting to see that I’m not the only one who does this. 

 I enjoyed this class, as it challenged me as an educator. I am not comfortable doing things like recording my voice or making videos. Having to do those uncomfortable things in this course, has made me realize that it’s not as bad as I had originally believed it to be. I feel much more comfortable with screencasting, and have even used this in my classroom already. I still really do not enjoy having my face on camera, but I think there are other tools available that I don’t really need to do this. I think what’s important, is that I teach the tools to my students, so that they know how to access these and use them in their own learning. After taking this course, I feel I am prepared to start transferring some of this knowledge to my students.