Category: Where

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

Haiku Deck is a technology that is new to me.  Although similar to PowerPoint, it is a shortcut that accomplishes simplicity and relevancy.  This assignment incorporated self-directed learning as well as website navigation, which is scary to me.  However, finding my way through the class website and going at my own pace allowed me to re-watch lessons and collaborate with my table peers.  I know that I am less competent in technological skills than others so it is possible that I would not keep up with the pace of the lesson if taught in a lecture setting.

There are many aspects of this lesson I enjoyed.  First, we got a choice of doing a poem through Haiku Deck or a map of places through MyMaps on Google.  Allowing me to pursue to my own interests catered to me as an artist and a poet.  It was also be helpful to have a self-directed choice because students may have already had experience with one of the options and would be bored otherwise.  Our teacher was available for individual questions or directed us to a place where our questions could be answered.  This is a great way to provide differentiation in a lesson.

I would use flipped-learning as a way to utilize class time for engaging discussion and my own website as an avenue for class collaboration.  One example of how I would use Haiku Deck or MyMaps in music is by making at-home lessons as a way of navigating through music history.  Students could pick a composer or time period and teach their peers through an online visual aide. Students would be able to teach each other while giving their peers and teachers a window into their cultural background and/or interests.

For This Reason – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

In this haikudeck, I am trying to get across that my home is changing.  Up to and including the frog picture, all of the pictures are from Pennsylvania.  After the frog picture, all of the pictures are for Alaska.  The reference from Genesis of course has to do with my upcoming marriage, which is the reason that I am changing my home.  The frog is Pennsylvanian, like me, and relates to fairy tales about frogs being kissed and becoming princes.  (I can only hope that this will be the case for me as well.)  I met him at a point of transition in my life, so I thought he’d make a nice point of transition in this presentation.

On another, more personal note, I took the first picture in the collection for my mom on her birthday in 2012 while I was working in the natural gas industry.  All of the Pennsylvanian pictures after that first picture were taken around that time as “romantic messages” for a former girlfriend.  After the frog picture, all of the flowers, from my “new home,” Alaska, are for my wife-to-be.  But in truth, I think they are all for her and they were always all for her.

The movement of the piece from mother to failed attempt at relationship to wife is meant to reflect the scripture verse as well.

I see this program as having some serious potential use where I will be student teaching in Napaskiak.  Many high school students in that village struggle mightily with English language skills and are (quite frankly) presently unable to come anywhere close to composing formal academic essays.  However, the whole body of students are, as a group, quite comfortable with the use of images and can be quite clever with subtle and expressive artistic forms such riddles or dance.  I think that haikudeck would be a natural way to encourage students to tell stories or express themselves artistically.  I might also think about tying it to local photography and (for example) ask students to create a visual presentation of local history based on photographs that they are presently taking.

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

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!