Lesson 18: Roles and functions of an Educational Media Center

Mission/Vision - The Education Media Center functions as a vital instrument as well as a basic requirement for quality education by enriching all parts of the school’s educational process.

EDUCATIONAL MEDIA CENTER SERVICES 

   

1.      Orientation 

•   All new teachers are given an orientation on the EMC, its program, role in the total Ateneo academic organization, services, facilities, guidelines and procedures during their in-service program.

2.     Selection of print and non-print materials

•    The librarians continually select and acquire print and non-print materials that suit the needs, interest and special abilities of the students and teachers.

3.   Organization of print and non-print materials 

•    A technical librarian organizes all the purchased print and non-print materials for easy retrieval.

4.     Circulation of print and non-print materials

•   The EMC lends out various types of materials to students and teachers.

5.     Reference

•    The EMC attends to request such bibliographic information from the card catalog, search through books, periodicals, pamphlets, documents and non-print materials.

6.     Bibliographic Service 

•    There are listings of materials and periodical articles to publicize the new materials and periodical articles in the EMC.

7.     Media Instruction Program 

•    The Media Instruction Program (MIP) aims to teach students to be skillful and discriminating users of print and non-print.

8.     Class Supervised Research 

•    It is a scheduled program of activity particularly in Science and Social Studies.

9.     Grade Level Newspaper 

•    Each grade level is given a subscription to a newspaper of their choice.

10.  Mags-on-wheels 

•    Selected professional and general interest journals are routed in the different grade levels and service area.
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11.   Photocopying Service 

•   A self-service photocopying machine is available for the faculty to Xerox materials needed.

12.  Video and Sound Production

•   Simple productions for class instruction, program and school wide presentations are put together in the Audio-Visual area.

13. Multi-media Services

•   Different non-print media materials are acquired. Teachers are encouraged to maximized use of their materials.   

                                                                            

Lesson 17: Assessment in a Constructivist, Technology Supported Learning

• Constructivist theory is a theory to explain on how knowledge is constructed in the human being when b information comes into contact with existing   knowledge that has been developed    by experiences.  
• Constructivism  as  a  theory  of  learning  has   existed  for  over  one  hundred years but has not been widely accepted or applied in public schools. This theory is just a posed of behavioral theory.

Technology-Supported Learning

• It is used to encourage students especially in facilitating student centered learning activities.
• It is more than  technology enhance instruction. It recognizes that learning is supported in many different ways, even if there is no formal teaching involve.
• Students study and learn based on the way they are tested. The type of assessment anticipated appears to influence how and what they learn. Therefore, the quickest way to change the way students learn is to change the way learning is assessed.

In a technology-supported classroom, the student learns from and with the technology. Technology is seen as a source of information that the students learn from in the same ay  that  the teacher  are  the  source of information.. the students master facts from the concepts from technology and with the aid of technology.

For example, when a teacher is engaging students in a learning opportunity, the instructor begins to question. The process of questioning not only interests students in a topic, but also gives the instructor an idea of the amount of prior knowledge a learner will bring to the experience.

During the exploring stage, "...students’ inquiry process drives instruction during an exploration." Driving instruction is one purpose of assessment, whether in a traditional or constructivist classroom.

During the explain stage, communication occurs between student and teacher. At this point, an instructor can input more information or points of inquiry as needed; again they are actively assessing. Also during the explain stage, artifacts become available that demonstrate concrete evidence of student understanding.

When students begin to elaborate on their ideas and observations, possible avenues of future research can develop.

Therefore, evaluation as a stage is not meant to be solitary and final, but a constant in each stage of constructivist learning (Miami Museum of Science, 2001).

 Principle Tools and Methods Used in Constructivist Assessment

Similarities and Differences Between Constructivist and Traditional Assessment

a.  Similarities

• Both types of assessment can take on a variety of formats: paper and pencil, physical hands on experience, or some type of exchange.
• The phrasing and use of critical thinking terminology in questioning can also be similar.
• Instructors in traditional classroom also use assessments in order to plan lessons and develop activities.

b. Differences

• Responses to traditional questions will also require more than a 'yes' or 'no' answer. However, the idea that interactive feedback occurs between evaluators and learners as well as the concept of judging the active construction of thinking as well as the outcome are greater priorities to the constructivist assessor than a traditional method of evaluation.
• Another difference lies in the support of standardized testing. Traditional learning environments support standardized testing and make many educational decisions off of those scores. The types of assessment preferred by constructivists would be: authentic, performance, or portfolio assessment. These types of assessment, according to Reeves & Okey, require more genuine thought from the learner and provide a more stimulating form of evaluation than traditional classroom testing.

Lesson 16- Using the Project Based Learning Multi-media as a Teaching-

• A project based learning method is a comprehensive approach to instruction.
• Project-based multimedia learning is a method of teaching in which students acquire new knowledge and skills in the course of designing, planning, and producing a multimedia product.

The effective use of multimedia learning project requires:

• Clarifying goals and objectives
• Determining how much time is needed
• Extent of students’ involvement in decision making
• Setting up forms of collaboration
• Identifying and determining what resources are needed Learning

Another important thing is to determine the resources available from:

• Library Materials

• Community Resources both material and human

• Internet

• News Media

To trim down time devoted to a multi-media project, Simkins et al (2002) suggest the following:

• Use technology students already know.
• Use time outside of class wherever possible.
• Assign skills, practice, as homework.
• Use “special” classes as extra time.
• Let students compose text and

Various Phases of the Project

1.     Create project description and milestone.

    ·       Describe your project in forty (40) words or less

    ·        Include instructional goals and objectives

    ·      Include the project components students will be responsible for and         their due date.

  2. Work with the real - world connection.

    ·      If you have people outside the classroom involved as clients or assessors    (evaluators) work with them to make an appropriate schedule and         include their ideas for activities.

  3. Prepare Resources.

    ·     Seek the assistance of your librarian or school media specialist.

 4.  Prepare software and peripherals such as microphones

  ·       Ask the help of technical people.

 5. Organize Computer Files 

      ·      Finding files eats most of your time if you are not organized.

• Naming files and folders after their file type and section title helps to keep things organized and makes it easier to merge elements later on.

6. Prepare the Classroom. 

     ·      Organize books, printer papers and any other resources so students can     access them independently.

    ·    Make room on the bulletin boards for hanging printouts of student work, schedules, and organizational charts.

Introducing The Project (One or Two Days)

     Help the students develop a “big picture” to understand the work ahead. Make sure what they will be making, who their audience will be and what you expect them to learn and demonstrate in terms of the K to 12 Standards and Competencies.

1. Review project documents. You can ask students to work with the project documents you have produced. Encourage your students to ask questions about the project to clarify what you have written.

2. Perform Pre-Assessments. Your students can write pre-assessment questions based on your learning goals to further clarify expectations.

3. Perform Relevant Activities. You can show students anything you can find that is similar to what they  will be producing such as a Web site or your own mini project you did to learn the technology. You can also brainstorm for topics, organizational ideas and design ideas.

4. Group Students. Form small student groups from three to five students per group. Here are some grouping strategies:

•          By topic interest
•          By student talent and expertise - This works for a balance of talents and skills in the groups.
•          By student choice
•          Randomly - This is fine to enable them to develop the skills to work with others.
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   5.    Organize Materials. Give each group a folder that stays in the classroom. All their group work such as storyboards, group journals, and research notes goes in that folder.

Learning The Technology (One to Three Days)

• Give a chance for the students to work with whatever software and technology they will be using. If some students are already familiar with the tools and processes, ask them to help you train the others. If students are new to multimedia, then begin with lessons that involve using the different media types. Remember, you and your students are colearners and you both learn as you go.

Preliminary Research and Planning (Three Days to Three Weeks, depending on Project Size)

•          At this stage, students should immerse themselves in the content or subject matter they need to understand to create their presentations.
•          Students can tag and collect information they think might be valuable for their presentations: compelling photographs, quotes, sounds and other media they encounter in their research.

Concept Design and Story boarding

•     Process of organizing a presentation that is useful to the audience. Storyboard: is a paper-and-pencil sketch of the entire presentation, screen by screen, or in the case of video, shot by shot.

Here are a few design tips to keep in mind throughout story boarding and production:

•          Use scanned , handmade artwork to make a project look personal and to manage scarce technology resources
•          Keep navigation
•          Organize information similarly throughout so users can find what they are looking for
•          Care for collaboration
•          Organize manageable steps
•          Check and asses often

Assessing, testing and finalizing presentations (one to three weeks)- There are two kinds of testing to think about

Functional Testing- Trying all the buttons, taking all possible paths thru the presentation, checking for errors, missing images and the like

User- Testing- Showing the presentation to members of the target audience and finding out if they can successfully navigate it and understand it.

* Assessment means critical evaluation of your presentation.

Concluding activities (one to three days)

Allow time for students to present and show off their hard work.Often there is an obvious, authentic concluding activity related to your real- world connection.Remember to take time to review the ups and downs of the project with students and anyone else who participated.

Lesson 15: Project-Based Learning and Multimedia”

• Project-based learning is not a new educational method.
• The use of multimedia is a dynamic new form of communication.
• The merging of project-based learning and multimedia represents an extraordinary teaching strategy that we call project-based multimedia learning.
• Guidelines for Implementing and developing your own units based on this strategy.
• By project-based learning – we mean a teaching method in which students acquire new knowledge and skills in the course of designing, planning, and producing some product or performance.

• By multimedia – we mean the integration of media objects such as text, graphics, video, animation and sound to represent and convey information.

• Project-based multimedia learning – is a method of teaching in which students acquire new knowledge and skills in the course of designing, planning, and producing a multimedia product.

Dimensions of Project-Based Multimedia Learning Project

Core Curriculum – at the foundation of any unit of this type is a clear set of learning goals drawn from whatever curriculum or set of standards is in use.

Real-World Connection – project-based multimedia learning strives to be real. It seeks to connect students’ work in school with the wider world in which students live.

Extended Time Frame ­– a good project is not a one-shot lesson; it extends over a significant period of time. It may be days, weeks or months.

The actual length of a project may vary with the age of the students and the nature of the project.

Students Decision Making – students have an opinion.

• Divide them into “Teacher” and “Students” based on clear rationale (decisions).
• The teacher can allow students to determine what substantive content would be included in their projects.
• Students can make decisions about the form and content to their final products, as well as the process for producing them.

Collaboration – we define collaboration as working together jointly to accomplish a common intellectual purpose in a manner superior to what might have been accomplished working alone. Students may work in pairs or in teams of as many as five or six. Whole-class collaborations are also possible.

Assessment – regardless of the teaching method used, data must be gathered on what students have learned.

     When using project-based multimedia learning, teachers face additional assessment challenges because multimedia products by themselves do not represent a full picture of student learning.

Assessments have Three Difference Roles in the Project-based Multimedia Context;

• Activities for developing expectations.
• Activities for improving the media products; and
• Activities for compiling and disseminating evidence of learning.

Multimedia – as students design and research their projects, instead of gathering only written notes, they also gather – and create – pictures, video clips, recordings and other media objects that will later serve as the raw material for their final product.

Why Use Project-Based Multimedia Learning

• Identifying, organizing, planning and allocating time, money, materials, and workers.
• Negotiating, exercising leadership, working with diversity, teaching others new skills, serving clients and customers, and participating as a team member.
• Selecting technology, applying technology to a task and maintaining and troubleshooting technology.

Teaching the New Basic Skills, Richard Murname and Frank Levy (1996) describe three sets of skills that students need to be competitive for today’s job.

• Hard Skills (math, reading, and problem-solving mastered at a higher level than previously expected of high school graduates);
• Soft Skills (for example, the ability to work in a group and to make effective oral and written presentations); and the ability to use a personal computer to carry out routine tasks (for example, word processing, data management, and creating multimedia presentation).