Category: Student posts

Where I’m From – Kluonie Frey


i am a lake – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

I always enjoy projects that allow for creativity, both in visually artistic ways or utilizing the written word. I also know from personal experience how bogged down I can get in choosing exactly the right picture out of hundreds, so I love the limitations implemented by this program–in building the slides I never felt like I didn’t have enough choices, only that I’d used the wrong search term. This also helped in knowing which words should wind up on the slides.

I think Haikudeck is a really good introductory tool, and might help students understand how easy it should be to create a visually appealing slideshow that conveys simple ideas in an easy-to-read format. It might also be good for presenting small projects, where you don’t need to convey as much information as an average powerpoint.

Reign, Matt Smith

During this assignment, I learned how easy it can be for students to design a power point that looks professional in an easy manner. When I was in school, I had a tough time trying to write dialogue while implementing photos in the same slide. That is something that Haiku Deck basically eliminates. I want my students to become familiar with a product such as this because it should help them in the future whether it be for another class or in a more professional environment. This website coud be used in an individual and a group project setting. I liked how we were given the chance to use it too with a lot of freedom because it was not only allowed them to express themselves, but also to play with the website.

Haiku Deck teaches problem solving as they should learn how to use it on their own, just as we did today. I would most likely use this website to have kids give a report on a reading, or with their own poetry. I will be in a high school english class for my placement  and so I want students to be able to use it to describe what they learned about a story or a character, and explain it to the class. I would also like for them to use the pictures to show what they imagine, and what they feel about the story, character, or poem. Overall it is a great website and I will definitely use it to expose them to a tool they could use for projects and presentations as well as to help them practice problem solving and troubleshooting something that are not familiar with.


Reign – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Telling a Story Through Images

Place is very complex and dynamic. It is always changing because the essence of place has a lot to do with our relationship to that place. Even if two people are from the same place, their collection of objects or memories will tell a different story about their experience with that place. In reflecting on my own sense of place, I found myself gravitating towards experiences I could have had anywhere in the world as well as unique characteristics of my home town. As I have moved away from home, I have used many of the elements of “where I’m from,” such as campfire or gardening as a source of comfort in times of homesickness. My sense of place in my home town has also changed with time, since I have mostly memories instead of current experiences in that place. My presentation below represents my childhood experiences of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, though most of my words and images represent the relational and experiential sense of place, instead of the geographical or physical.


Where I’m From – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Between experiences, memories, and concrete items, it can be very difficult to describe what “home” or “place” means to any one individual or group of people. I found it incredibly hard to find phrases to represent my relationship with place, so I found the visual elements of Haiku Deck to be very helpful as I tried to convey the meaning of my poem. For some categories or phrases, I wished there were more image options, and some images lent themselves to needing smaller texts due to the limited text placement options. However, I think the simplicity of the tool is very accessible to students in a classroom, so that not so much time is spent learning the technology, but more time can be focused on developing the content. The limited templates force students to use few words on each slide, which is a great skill for developing conciseness and word choice. There is also great value in choosing images with purpose, as they add meaning to words in different ways. For example, I chose a picture of a parent with a child at the piano for “I am from musicians” because my dad would sit at the piano with me as I learned. I would use this tool with my students as a presentation aid or review tool for students to create meaning using short phrases, buzz words, and images. I may even have my students explore place and identity with this tool!

Treasure Map for Open Ears

Treasure Map for Open Ears provides places I found interesting to go and meditate. Some of these are places I’ve lived, others I’ve just visited. Although many of these are far away (you can’t walk, for sure) they encompass the idea that sounds all around us is intriguing and often ignored. Even the sounds of a city are interesting – as much are the sounds of trees, birds, and the wind.

Even if you cannot visit these places, I hope the brief descriptions give you the slightest hint of intrigue or mystery about what sounds and experiences you can find in places otherwise normal or mundane. Some of these places are unique, fascinating, and unlike anything else in the world – they, too, offer something unique to listen to (obviously…).

I added some videos for certain places that are… hard to describe. Take a trip with me.

Happy listening.

 

 

Update! (June 15 2016)

I decided to add some recordings from these various places, so now I don’t feel so bad! 🙂

Visit my AlaskanCabbage SoundCloud to read the descriptions!

I suppose its silly to do an audio adventure (of sorts) that covers thousands of miles and has no snippets of audio… but they say the imagination is powerful.

I found this fun to make, and I rewrote my descriptions for the places many, many times. Just typing that a place is interesting or has fascinating sounds doesn’t make it a vibrant thing to think about – putting that place on my map and giving it a sense of time and breath of culture makes it alive and interesting. Thinking about those trips to those places reminds me of what sounds I would hear there, and what feelings those places evoked. Maybe, just maybe, I gave someone a thread of that experience.

I am from

Learning to use Haiku Deck:


I am From… – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

Here are my reflections from the experience:

Something surprising that I learned from this activity is that the use of technology can be a very touching and emotional process. Somehow the juxtaposition of my childhood memories and current life seems to fit into the simple format of Haiku Deck. I can see how the use of Haiku Deck could be both practical and relevant with students, especially because it is so visual. Since the process is very simplified, the student spends more time focusing on their poetry than choosing a fancy font. Next year I will be in an elementary music position and I look forward to integrating technology into all of my music classes. I particularly resonated with the discussion about the “flipped classroom,” because the use technology, in appropriate situations, is an important part of teaching more effectively so that we can spend more time on the important stuff; playing music!

My Juneau Map; My life generally revolves around music and my kids.

This map highlights what Juneau from the viewpoint of a mother and a musician. The two sometimes overlap; I am a music teacher at the same school my children attend, and my children often accompany me to rehearsal….The outdoors play a big role in the lives of most Juneau residents; as a mom, the outdoors are less about trekking mountains and boating in the bay. The outdoors for my family are more about lakes and parks and playgrounds..

Where I’m From: Shaun

 


Where I’m from… – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

 

Reflections:

What have I learned from this activity and how might I use the learning strategies and / or technology in my teaching placement?

The learning strategy of HaikuDeck, to me, as it applies to foreign-language instruction, is to take available information from the individual and transmute it into a simple slideshow presentation that may be used as an aid to an oral presentation.

The learning strategy of WordPress, to me, is to create an open-access databank available for students, in which students can collaborate and share their developments and projects with the class on an online platform.

To use HaikuDeck in the French classroom:

It could used for simple presentations of a similar manner (sampling a piece of work, maybe not necessarily an “I am from”), it could be used for a book review/synopsis, talking about parts of an individual’s life, or for presentations on locations in the francophone world.

It is a simple presentation tool, albeit with some mildly-infuriating restrictions (namely, unmovable, and non-resizable text boxes), but a project could be done at home as part of homework.

It would be a more applicable tool in the classroom if the students used their own photos for the presentations, so they are more authentic to the student.

Photo credit.

css.php