I enjoyed the Vyew teleconference much more than I enjoyed the "babycakes" conference. The president was much more personable and explained things much more easily. I also feel that his product is MUCH more useful, particularly in the field of education. While I can't see myself subscribing to "babycakes," I definitely can see myself using Vyew for a group project with my class or for an online presentation. The man we spoke with did a great job of explaining and describing his product, while we were expected to already know most of the information about "babycakes." He took the time to specifically explain the educational uses of Vyew, which is most applicable to the class with whom he was speaking. I really enjoyed the medical example he gave, asking us to diagnose the patient based on the pictures and sound waves. I could see how this would be really useful for any type of class. I also noticed how during this part of the tutorial, he addressed some of us individually, inviting us to give our opinions. I compared this to calling on someone in class. This adds a very real element to the conference, making it extremely similar to being in an actual classroom presentation. He also gave us the quiz at the end to demonstrate how assessment could be administered through Vyew as well. We have looked at numerous products and online sources in this class, and with some of them I have definitely questioned their relevance to education. However, most likely because it was developed by a University, this product can definitely add a lot to an educational experience, and be very useful to both students and teachers.
Of the lesson plan websites shown in class, I was VERY disappointed to find that only 2 out of the 6 sites had a foreign language section for lesson plans. Of these two sites, Thinkfinity and Educator's Reference Guide, the lesson plans for French were extremely limited and not very useful. I looked through each one thoroughly and found only a few that were usable. The most useful website I have found on my own searches for French lesson plans has been Education World. Altogether, the resources for French lesson plans are unfortunately rather limited, but they are available if you look hard enough.
Chapter 6 was interesting, but personally not very relevant. I liked the explanations of how graphic design, screen design, audio and video can be programmed and used. I have many friends in the film and music areas, and have seen some of the software they use to complete projects. Programs such as Final Cut and Photoshop are interesting and fun to play around with. However, the actual authoring of programs and products that do these things is way over my head. I don't see myself personally writing any programs in the near future! Overall, however, it was at least interesting, and a nice change from the over-detailed explanations about things I already know.
2 comments:
It really seems that you enjoyed the Vyew conference. Yes, I would have to agree with you that the presentation was done exceptionally well from beginning to end. Imagine, you can actually contact a class in France. I don't think the free teleconference number will work for France, but you can at least use the online desktop with the chat session for free.
All the students enjoyed the lesson plans. However, I apologize that they did not fulfill your needs for French. As I mentioned before, your book will more than likely incorporate lesson plans built into all the chapters...I can almost promise you.
Chapter 6 truly can be used easily. I am sure you will have a teacher at your school who will be a specialist in video who can work with your class. Also, Colin mentioned in his blog that the new software for video editing is so easy to use now. The ones mentioned in your book were advanced ones.
I forgot to mention that your blog was much better this week than the past 2 weeks. It really improved with content.
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