March 25th 2008
Chapter 9 p.204-216 visualizing with Technologies

Chapter questions
1.Is it ever possible to learn from television alone-that is learn how to do something merely from watching television instruction? What meaning will it have after only watching the show?
If the instructions are clear and the person giving the instructions gives them in an understandable manner, I think that I can learn how to do something from watching television instruction alone. I watch programs such as decorating houses or the food network and when the person is giving me instructions, I’m able to cook the meal the same way and go out and buy the stuff to decorate my house in the same way the host did

2. Video production is constructivist; that is, students are learning by constructing an artifact. What other kinds of constructionist activities can you think of (using technologies or not)?
A drama play is an example of a constructionist activity. I create the dialogue with the students, then we make the setting, the costumes, and finally we act the play out. Another great one is creating a collective book. First we brainstorm, then we write the story, then we make the drawings, and finally we put the book together!

3.Video feedback has been called a ‘’mirror with a memory’’. Why is seeing yourself on television such a compelling and incisive experience? How do you see yourself? Why is it so powerful?
Seeing myself on a screen allows me to view myself as another person. I can judge myself from another perspective. Whereas seeing my instantaneous reflection on the mirror doesn’t have the same effect on me. I remember watching my engagement party video and I couldn’t believe what I looked like. I didn’t realize how much weight I had gained. Even though I saw my reflection in the mirror everyday, watching myself on screen has an awakening effect on me; that’s so powerful!

Journal entry and chapter review

I never knew how simple it is to create a collage using movie maker! I have to use still images and sound to create a short story. Ours actually turned out looking like a commercial. It was about stress at work and then we added a funny twist at the end with hakuna matata from the lion king.
When relating this to the readings I think that it would be great to ‘’produce a documentary about themselves’’ (Jonassen et al. p. 205). Students would use their digital cameras and camcorders to take images and videos. As Jonassen mentions, using video will engage students in meaningful learning; in order to do that students need to use imagination, take chances and obviously equipments such as cameras, camcorder, and a computer (p.207).
In order to create a good movie with all the scenes and images they have taken, students need to edit their shots using softwares such as iMovie (p.208). The textbook gives a great explanation about the use but we will be learning how to use it in our next class.