This session was changed at the last moment, again as a direct result of the previous sessions CIQ feedback. I had originally intended to cover evidence gathering, with specific focus on digital gathering e.g. hyperlinking, converting and embedding media etc… Reading the students responses over the last two sessions, it became evident that we needed to slow down and actually allow time for reflection to happen, especially during these introductory sessions. I can foresee this being a major problem in the future, knowing the content of the Production strand and the curriculum in which it’s embedded. There is simply not enough time for the students or staff to effectively reflect. As part of my 3 year PDP I intend to tackle this problem head on, perhaps using the Curriculum Reform process as a vehicle to solve this perennial issue. After all, there is little point in embedding reflection if there is no time in which to reflect. Last years cohort was a good example of how reflective practice was dropped as soon as the production throughput rolled into action. Out of a dozen or so keen reflective practitioners, only 3 now remain and they aren’t reflecting at the same consistent level as before.
The class was simple, without much planning required. I was in attendance as the students worked on their ePortfolio’s. We worked together, solving problems that they had come across between sessions. It was hoped by taking this approach, the slower members of the class would catch up with their peers. It was great to see the students helping each other and not always coming directly to me for advice, this seemed to enforce the belief that you should always plan your IT classes around one PC to 2 students, as it encourages collaborative learning. It is a method I witness every day when my two sons collaborate on a video game (the Lego Star Wars games in particular), they achieve much more when working together, though in the early days this wasn’t always the case! This approach allows frustrations to be shared and eventually dispelled through working the problem in a methodical manner, I believe that this is the same for young adults at varying levels of IT competency.
I opened up a Moodle chat room on the front page of the VLE, so students could go elsewhere and work if they feel that they needed a workstation of their own. They could then be in direct contact with me or their peers and in turn ask questions. It seemed to be a success, so I left the Chat room up on Moodle, to add an extra level of support to any student having problems with either Mahara and the VLE. I shall monitor this over the next few weeks to evaluate it’s effectiveness and my work load!
I finished the session with a final assignment for the students to complete, which was:
Pecha Kucha Assignment
“You have 6 minutes, 40 seconds and 20 slides and your time starts NOW!
It’s a game.
The rules are simple. Anybody can present but you’re allowed 20 images that you show for 20 seconds each giving you a total of 6 minutes and 40 seconds before the next presenter is up.You can’t spend 6:40 on one image/slide or 2:20 or any other denomination you can only spend 20 seconds on each image/slide. It’s all part of the fun and keeps presentations concise. If the facilitator decides then the presentation may be open for discussion with the audience otherwise it’s straight on to the next presenter.
Each presentation is pre-loaded onto a laptop (Powerpoint or Keynote) and then is ready to go. The facilitator will make a brief introduction of the presenter and then the talk begins. Each presentation must be configured to advance every 20 seconds, so it’s up to the speaker to keep pace with their slides.”
Pecha Kucha is a style of presentation with rules governing the focus, time and content. Your assignment is as follows:
For Wednesday 11th November in the Fyffe Lecture Hall.
Select an element (or elements) of your learning so far i.e. during Creative Beginnings and/or PP1a. You may decide to present all or some of the processes you have experienced so far. These may be a mixture of sessions you enjoyed, didn’t enjoy or were confused about.
Using your reflections so far, summarise your thoughts by selecting 20 still images (no text) that are relevant to your experiences. You should then prepare a script for your presentation giving 20 seconds to each slide.
During your presentation you may use your script (no need to memorise it!) and the slides will run in the background (with fixed timings), emphasising your words. The key to Pecha Kucha is to rehearse beforehand as 20 seconds can feel like 2 minutes. You will be presenting on your own with the remainder of the class as your audience.
Please research Pecha Kucha online to familiarise yourself with the concept.
The entire presentation should last 6 minutes and 40 seconds exactly.
Pecha Kucha helps you to; build self-confidence, focus on the content you are presenting, summarise data, present concise reflections, evidence your learning and build on public speaking skills.
Each session will be recorded for you to use on your ePortfolio.
I wanted to end these Introductory sessions with a completely non-IT method of reflection and a way in which the students could summarise their learning achievements and issues in as concise a way as possible (bearing in mind the size of the group). Pecha Kucha is an ideal vehicle to end, not just a series of sessions, but also a module.
How Pecha Kucha could be integrated in project-based learning (PBL)? | BlogfolioExp said,
January 18, 2010 at 3:34 am
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