A branched narrative like twine gives learners the ability to try different options and learn from their mistakes. In a trial and error type of learning, twine allows users to see what works and what doesn’t when reaching a solution. While not necessarily a “branched narrative”, I can apply the same logic to when I am doing coding in computer science. If I take one route and code a certain way that is wrong, my output from the computer will be “error” and I will have to go back and choose a different “path”. This type of learning can be applied to many subjects, like math when solving an equation, or mechanics when figuring out the best dimensions for a project.
Script
Video Reflection
My video was originally going to be how to do back squats at the gym using a bar but I realised that my background setting would cause too much extraneous load on the viewer. With other people lifting in the background and different machines everywhere, there is a lot for learners to get distracted by. After coming to this realisation I decided to switch to at home workouts where I can control the background setting and reduce extraneous load. In my video I also used signalling and segmenting by chunking the information into 3 colour coded sections for each different overall body section. Also I used the weeding technique and eliminated irrelevant information or visuals by controlling the setting and only focusing on relevant details. The easiest part of the process for me was actually filming the video and talking to the camera, I have made many videos in my life and these aspects I am very comfortable with. A part I struggled with was modality and temporal contiguity, in my video my audio matches what is happening in the video but it could be lined up better. For example, if I am saying “bend your knees” I shouldn’t already have bent my knees. The timing of each action I make should line up perfectly with my voiceover, which I think I could have done better and will do differently next time. Finally, in my video I used Merril’s first principle of instruction being problem-centered. To do this I used H5P to make the video interactive and have a question and true or false interaction pop up in the video for learners to interact with.
Simple Story Board
Story Telling Reflection
I remember learning all about Mesopotamia in my grade 7 class and specifically about Hammurabi’s laws. Even now, 9 years later, I can remember all the different stories my teacher told us about Hammurabi’s oddly specific laws. For example, she would tell stories about the laws and what would happen if they were broken. For example if anyone brings accusation against another person, and that accused person sinks in the river, then the accuser gets possession of the accused’s house. The stories were impactful because the concepts were so different and new from the laws we have now. My teacher getting in depth and giving examples grew my interest in Hammurabi’s law and in result it made me more interested in everything we were learning at the time. These stories she told used the techniques of immersing the audience, creating suspense, and bringing characters to life.
When I ran the WAVE accessibility report on my blog I was not so surprised to see so many contrast errors because, while I have explored changing my blogs appearances, I have not done much changing of the color palette or bolding. Moving forward I am going to adjust my blog’s appearance to fix the contrast and bolding to make it easier to read. I also noticed missing alternative text errors, like on my movie photo collage, which I think could be beneficial in giving deeper insight into any creations I include in my blog.
Trying a text to speech tool!
Text-to-speech Tool Reflection
The only text to speech tool I have used before is google translate when I get it to say the translated word out loud so I can hear the pronunciation. In my exploration with NaturalReader I found that there are many ways you can approach text to speech. My version of exploration consisted of trying to find the best voice for a news report. Many of the voices were too bland or sounded slightly robotic, but a few options worked great. A big thing I found was that the talking speed was slightly slow, which made it hard to engage with. Luckily, the speed adjustment function allowed me to speed it up and it sounded a lot better. When I think of the ability to absorb information, I believe the speed that one is talking matters strongly and will differ across what is trying to be said. By this I mean there are cases when slower talking would be beneficial, like when introducing a fully new concept or speaking to a child. Another big thing this makes me think of is cross cultural differences in pragmatics and dialect. When it comes to having meaning in your speech and getting a point across, there is different emphasis on certain words or phrases across the world. Also, when it comes to speed, for example, Spanish speaking countries differ, and what is the normal talking speed for one person could be different for the next. When I think of inclusive design, if a blind person were to hear something produced by these tools, how accurate will their interpretation be if what they hear follows different pragmatics then their own? What I am getting at is that text to speech tools are good tools, but have a long way to go as pragmatics and cross-cultural differences in language are very complex.
Infographic from scratch ^
Infographic starting with template ^
Infographic Reflection
I created two infographics, one from scratch, and one with a template. When creating my infographic from scratch, I really focused on color, contrast, and alignment. I wanted to use colors that relate to nature and gardening, like green and brown, and through the use of the evenly aligned circles, I used contrast with emphasis on the title of the overall stage of the yard transformation. When I finished my infographic from scratch I was unsatisfied as it failed to follow some of the good elements, like proximity and hierarchy. There is not necessarily a hierarchy in my stages but I found that reading the content from circle to circle back and forth caused a bit of extraneous load. I also found that I could not get enough content into each circle and so I decided to try editing a template. My infographic, with the help of a template, turned out much better as it flows nicely from top to bottom and there is a good amount of information within each heading that can clearly set out the steps needed to achieve a perfect yard. A principle that I considered, when making both infographics, was really with optimizing color and using a palette that relates directly to the information being expressed.
Where I spotted Mayer’s principle’s in the guidelines for effective and accessible design:
When reading the guidelines for effective and accessible design I noticed that Mayers principle of segmenting related to the universal design for learning’s representation guidelines. The biggest part of the segmenting principle that I found was that learning outcomes are achieved when information is segmented, but specifically the part where “students have control over the pace”. The representation guidelines state that “providing user controls such as speed, rewind, and next buttons…” will give students more of a chance to be in control of their own learning. This relates directly to the segmenting principle as content is organised in a way that the students can be in control and build their learning gradually.
I am really liking the virtual tour! Try turning on the music for this one!
Lesson Planning Template
Big Idea Students will be able to create a properly structured/formatted University level APA style paper, as well as understand the importance of properly giving credit to other authors and researchers. This ability is greatly important when it comes to University assignments and effectively communicating ideas, with scientific evidence.
Learning Outcomes By the end of the lesson the learner will be able to find journal articles relevant to their topic and properly reference/cite the information in their paper. Also, they will understand the importance of giving proper citations and how to avoid plagiarism, while creating a properly formatted, structured, and cited APA style paper.
Evidence of Learning Evidence of learning consists of students finding proper, peer reviewed journal articles, correctly citing and referencing the articles in a paper, and correctly identifying the reasons why giving credit to authors and having proper citations is important when writing an academic APA style paper.
Assessments Students will find good scientific journal articles to include in their papers, by creating drafts and templates. Also, students will properly find errors within APA style papers. The final project will consist of a APA style paper review of a topic of their choosing, which includes peer reviewed, scientific articles.
Learning Activities Students will complete learning activities with citing different articles, reading sample papers and picking out the errors, and completing mini quizzes that demonstrate their learning across each step. We will start with understanding why we use peer reviewed journal articles in academic papers and progress into writing papers of their own, practicing different steps along the way (In-text citations, reference list, having paragraphs flow nicely into each other)
Reflection
I really enjoyed using H5P, I found the download to be straight forward, and there is an awesome range of different tools that are generally easy to use and put into my blog. The virtual tour is by far my favorite because it allows you to turn a single photo into so much more. I would use the virtual tour for many reasons. I could see myself turning an image of a trip or an event into a tour and labeling all the cool things I saw or did. I could then send the link to my parents or friends and they could get a deeper look into my experience. When it comes to education and learning, I see many good uses for the virtual tour. For example, in biology, showing a diagram of parts of the brain or of muscles in the body. For engineering, it could be used as a way to see where things are located in specific machines, which may not be physically accessible to the class.
Throughout my blog I have referenced APA style academic writing because it is something I do a lot of in university. As I reflect on my experience with APA I can see a clear use of the scaffolding technique but in a broader sense, almost like it’s a technique used by the university, instead of a specific teacher. When I first started learning APA in first year, there were clear, descriptive instructions and examples for every step of the way. I could look through a large amount of different papers and citations to easily follow along like a template as I completed my own work. After completing my first year, in my second and third years, whenever we wrote a paper there were brief APA reminders and more broad explanations of how the paper is expected to be written. This is because we are expected to be learning and so they can remove a level of scaffolding, which is the intensive explanation of the concept as a whole. Now in my fourth year, whenever writing a paper, they simply state that it is in APA style and any more knowledge on the matter should be already learned and essentially all scaffolding has been removed at this point. As a personal reflection, I feel confident in my APA style writing ability and feel I could execute a good paper without having to use any external resources. This shows a good example of the scaffolding technique, as each step of the way I have less and less resources and have to rely more and more on actually understanding the content.
I find the balance of passive and active learning in this course to be great because in each module there is a clear to-do list and a good amount of information/resources relevant to the module. When reading the modules and watching the videos, it is more passive learning, just taking in information, but when we start to explore the information, like H5P tools, or creating our own backward design, we are actively engaged in the information. As a psychology student the whole concept of active learning is very interesting to me because one of the biggest things I’ve learned is that we remember more about something or an event, based on the amount we attend to what is in front of us. When learning has students actively engaged in the material, they will be giving that much more brain power to the content and better solidifying the material in their brain. In this course If I was just to read the modules and not create anything, I would most likely retain a lot less of the information as I would not have to apply it to anything.
A final reflection I would like to add is regarding Merrill’s 1st principle that, “Learning is promoted when learners are engaged in solving real-world problems”. When it comes to learning and actually retaining information, applying the content to real world situations can allow learners to assimilate the information and make connections to previous learned information. I found myself thinking about this, while having a relaxing sauna, and thought of a type of learning that could be very efficient. I imagine a scenario where a class is learning about relationship fighting styles, a teacher could simply explain each style and situation, but how well will it stay with the student? This brings me to the idea of using a virtual reality headset mixed with a video version of the H5P virtual tour. Imagine within this virtual tour, you can click different segments and see real world examples of a couple displaying each fighting technique (cross-complaining, kitchen-sinking). This could allow students to see the content first hand and understand it based on a real world situation, as opposed to solely hearing their teacher talk or reading about it.
To explore a generative AI, I used Craiyon to see how accurate its image output would be, based on my inputs. I found that it gave me multiple images to choose from, with some straying away from the prompt and some coming out really good. For example, with the cats, some of the images have 2 or 4 cats even though I prompted it for 3. Although, the middle image of all the cat outputs captures the prompt perfectly as we see 3 cats, who appear to be different, and distinct from eachother.
Prompt: “3 cats that are friends and have distinct personalities”
Citation: “3 cats that are friends and have distinct personalities” prompt, Craiyon, version 4 beta, 15 Oct. 2024, https://www.craiyon.com/.
Prompt: “A bright man with a dark shadow figure following him”
Citation: : “A bright man with a dark shadow figure following him” prompt, Craiyon, version 4 beta, 15 Oct. 2024, https://www.craiyon.com/.
TPACK analysis of Craiyon
To create a TPACK analysis of Craiyon, I prompted Chat-GPT with, “Create a TPACK analysis of the use of the Craiyon AI tool for learning”. The response I received from Chat-GPT described the following:
1. Content Knowledge (CK)
Understanding the Subject Matter: Craiyon can be used across various subjects (e.g., art, history, science) by generating images based on textual prompts. Educators must ensure that students understand the content they wish to visualize.
Concept Visualization: Students can use Craiyon to create visual representations of complex concepts, aiding in comprehension and retention.
2. Pedagogical Knowledge (PK)
Instructional Strategies: Educators can incorporate Craiyon into project-based learning, where students create visuals to enhance their understanding of topics.
Differentiation: The tool allows for differentiated instruction, as students can choose to visualize their understanding in ways that resonate with their learning styles (visual learners may benefit greatly).
Collaborative Learning: Teachers can facilitate group projects where students use Craiyon to collaboratively create images, fostering teamwork and communication.
3. Technological Knowledge (TK)
Using the Tool: Familiarity with how to navigate Craiyon and effectively utilize its features is essential. Educators need to guide students in using the tool to ensure they can generate the desired outputs.
Access and Equity: Considerations around access to technology (devices and internet connectivity) are crucial, as not all students may have the same opportunities to use Craiyon.
Intersections of TPACK Components
Technological Content Knowledge (TCK)
Using AI in Content Creation: Understanding how Craiyon’s AI interprets prompts to generate relevant content enhances teachers’ ability to teach effectively. Educators need to grasp how the tool can be used to produce content that accurately reflects the subject matter.
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)
Effective Integration of Visuals: Educators must know how to combine visual content with their teaching methods, ensuring that generated images serve as effective learning aids. This includes discussions around the accuracy and relevance of AI-generated images.
Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK)
Teaching with Technology: Understanding how to incorporate Craiyon into pedagogical practices, such as flipped classrooms or blended learning environments, can enhance student engagement. Teachers must be aware of the best practices for integrating technology into their teaching.
Citation: “Create a TPACK analysis of the use of the Craiyon AI tool for learning” prompt, Chat-GPT, version 4.0, OpenAI, 15 October.2024, https://chatgpt.com/.
Reflections
What Generative AI applications have you found useful? What apps have you used that are not in the Explore section?
I have found ChatGPT to be a very useful tool for expanding ideas. Many times if I have a creative idea, like a short film concept, I can use Chat GPT to create a plethora of different character types and settings that I can choose from, which would have taken a tremendous amount of brain power and thinking to come up with all on my own. This process is collaboration and helps guide my creative process.
What guidelines do you think should be in place to guide the use of Generative AI in an educational institution? What factors should be considered?
I think it should be considered with Generative AI that there is a spectrum of how much assistance it may give a student. One student could use generative AI for 100% of their responses and work, while one student may have used it simply to find more descriptive words for their topic. If generative AI is allowed in an assignment it should require a clear citation for every piece of the assignment that has been created with AI. As well, if a class does allow Chat-GPT, there should be tests/non-Chat-GPT assignments that can display the students real understanding of the course concepts. Through this we can see if a student has just been prompting AI with the material and assignments for the entirety of the class.
How accurate or successful were the learning objects you created using the AI tools?
After using Chat-GPT to create a TPACK model, the model tells me that Craiyon is a great tool for teachers as it allows them to give a way for students to visualize their work and show their understanding. I would say this is a pretty accurate assessment and accounts for the fact that students will also themselves need to learn how to properly prompt AI image generators. Using Craiyon to display their learning, accurate prompting is highly important because every word and combination of words will change the output and if a student cannot effectively prompt the AI, then the image results will be a poor demonstration of their understanding.Â
What might you use AI tools for moving forward?
I will continue to use Chat GPT for what I like to call “creative expansion” because the range/amount of outputs it can give you, almost instantly, helps the creative process, as well as broadens the content of whatever I may be creating.
The most intuitive principle of this module to me is the coherence principle because when it comes to teaching someone something with means of instrumental use, what good does pointless information or “fun facts” do for the viewer? I would not say any of the principles surprised me, but, if I were to choose one, it would be the modality principle because it makes me wonder how big of a difference in cognitive processing does it make when hearing the words or just reading them? When creating my screencast I really tried to reduce extraneous load. To do this I used coherence and signalling by avoiding any unnecessary text or irrelevant information, as well as adding arrows to direct the viewer to the correct area. To increase Germane load I use segmenting, specifically with colour coding, to break the process into steps, which allows the user to understand which part of the process they are at. As well my video includes the voice principle, and dual coding theory as I give specific explanations with each step. A challenging principle to follow was temporal contiguity and this is because of my editing process. I was using CapCut on my phone to edit the video and the playback within the editor was slightly messing up the timing of my voiceovers and the duration of my arrows. It was only after downloading/rendering the video that I would get the exact timing and even after multiple adjustments, I still wish the timing was a bit clearer. In the past If I had to make a video for school I never really had to think of any principles but looking back I definitely had a lot of extraneous load because I would add many random photos and visuals that add to the overall creativity but take away focus on the content.
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