Vivianne

lets paint...

As a chapter (ETC class) of my journey in search of colors for my digital palette come to a closing I sit here and reflect on my experience. My canvas is half covered with so many amazing colors. I have enjoyed painting the classroom together with you. This was a very positive and educational experience, I can say that I have learned a lot from this course. It opened my eyes to so many great colors (Web 2.0 tools) that I was able to search, explore and learn from. The best part for me was that I was able to experience many of these colors and achieve my overall goal, to motivate and engage my students. I have grown through this journey. Web 2.0 tools made learning fun for me and my students. Let's continue to paint the classroom together. Now to begin my next chapter in search of more colors.  
Vivianne

BP9: RISE Comment and Link on RILS

My comment on Mavvy's R.I.L.S. project.

I would like to present to you some of my classmates R.I.L.S. plans (Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenarios) that I found inspiring and would like to include in my digital palette. 
The first RILS presentation I would like to discuss is Mavvy Torress: Engage students through Schoology and GoAnimate project. I love the idea of digitizing lesson plans for students who have to make up work due to absences or other reasons. These tools would be a benefit to my department because Schoology will help my students who miss time, for whatever reason, to make up lessons and any assignments in a timely fashion. Students will also have fun making up the work with the use of GoAnimate. To learn more about Mavvy’s RILS project check out her presentation - R.I.L.S.: Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenarios project.
 
My comment on Angelo's R.I.L.S. project.
The second RILS presentation I would like to discuss is Angelo Pardo: The Role of Systems and Social Media in Personal Improvement project. I am excited about this plan because I fall in the categories of being that busy bee at work, sitting behind the desk for majority of the day and getting home too late that I have no time to work out. Angelo RILS project can help by showing us how to work out from work or home with the little time we have due to our hectic schedules. Learn more about this innovate idea and begin living a healthier life. Join Angelo’s plan and lets meet our fitness goals together. R.I.L.S: The Role of Systems and Social Media in Personal Improvement plan.

Vivianne

PE-3: GarageBand: Thats a Wrap...


Another cool element in GarageBand is Magic GarageBand mode. It’s a way to jump start your writing and recording process. You can choose different genres, audition and assign band members, and play along with professional recorded audio loops. There are 9 different genres to choose from and you can preview them as well; some genres include Blues, Reggae, and Latin. Magic Garage Band does not write music for you but it can help you when you are new to song writing or music in general like myself.
Besides trimming, looping, and arranging music on the timeline, you can also record real instruments as well as mix and automate your music. Garage Band is not only for making music but you can also take music lessons plus create ringtones and podcasts. This is a great tool to add to my digital palette. I have completed my song with the guidance of Todd Howard through Lynda.com. In the beginning I was somewhat intimidated but as I progressed through the lessons I felt more comfortable with Garage Band. I do realize that I am still in the beginner stage of becoming the famous music producer of my dreams. I look forward to learning more about this program. This is a good start and it was a good experience. I really had fun learning Garage Band. I even added vocals to my song.  I present to you my first song, Ecstasy.



Vivianne

PE-2: GarageBand: The Journey


Being that the only knowledge I have of music is listening to songs on my IPOD, I think I bit off more than I can chew with this program.  I was a bit lost while listening to Todd Howard  present the ins and outs of Garage Band and discuss C minor and tempos. However, as I continued to learn about tempos, creating tracks and keys, I became more excited.
When I looked at the interface I was bit confused. I asked myself, "where is the tool bar?", but the cool thing about Garage Band is that its' main cursor has many of its' tools built in. When you want to trim or loop a region in your time line, Garage Band makes it easy by offering a contact sensitive cursor instead of traditional toolbar.
So now that I know how to manipulate my loops I can move on to arranging them into the timeline to build my first song. I can also bring in loops from Itunes, my desktop, or use Garage Bands library. One can also organize loops into categories, which I recommend. One can get overwhelmed due to all the choices Garage Band offers. Distractions can happen and the goal to making a good song is gone, which kind of happened to me. I guess I got too excited but I'm focused again.  I placed my loops on my tracks and changed tempos, panned volumes, and trimmed here and there.What I came up with was not that bad. Take a listen of my beginning stage of my song from what I have learned so far. I think it's a good start and am pretty excited about it.

Vivianne

PE-1: GarageBand: The Beginning


So as I continue on my path of the digital world in search of colors for my digital palette, I have come across a program called GarageBand. GarageBand is a software application by Apple that allows you to make music or podcast. I have always had an interest in music production and here is my chance. I will be training myself on this application through Lynda.com and see if I can make my dreams come true of becoming a famous music producer, well maybe not a famous music producer, but the beginning stages of one. Stay tuned as I will blog about my experience with GarageBand and hopefully present to you my first musical production.
Vivianne

BP8 RILS Reflection

My experience with my R.I.L.S. presentation was both positive and fun.  At first I was going to present Animoto.com to my 1st course students but failed to realize that the timing of this project and the students schedule towards projects were not synched and I wanted at least 4 of their best pieces thus far to be part of my Reflections project. So I decided to present Animoto.com to my 2nd course class which worked out well. They were able to gather work from both of their first and second class to see how they have grown. The class had fun using Animoto.com and it increased the motivation and engagement in the classroom.

The Google+ page worked very well in the class. Both my first and second course students have become part of this community of designers that I am building in and outside of the classroom. It felt good when I read their positive posts pertaining to their experience in the classroom and how they look forward for the next day. My students continue to comment and post inspirational links for each other. I even get a post of when they are running late, which I think is adorable.  It’s exciting to see how much they have embraced the Google+ page. 
I believe that web 2.0 tools is the key to a better learning environment. I presented the two web 2.0 tools, Animoto and Google+ for a week and the outcomes were immense. My student’s engagement and motivation increased due to these tools. If you want to increase the motivation and engagement in your class, I suggest these tools to use. I look forward to presenting more web 2.0 tools to my students so I can continue to push their drive to be successful and passionate designers. I am excited to add more of these colors to my digital palette, until the next color.

Please view my R.I.L.S., Reflection of a Digital Design Student on 
Full Sail's University, EducatorStudio.com
Vivianne

BP7 RILS - Reflections of a Digital Design Student



Brief Overview:  As digital design students complete their journey through the program, it is important for them to remain motivated and engaged so they can complete the program successfully. My Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario (RILS) will show students how to keep their drive to continue the program with a positive mind. Students will reflect on their class experience by creating a visual documentation of their work using Animoto.com and build a community of their peers outside of the class with Google Plus Circles.

Target Audience
Post-secondary digital design students.

Materials:
1. Computer with Internet access
2. At least 4 projects created in the their class
3. A free Animoto.com student account
4. A free Animoto.com account, education version for instructors
5. A Google Plus Circle where instructor and students are members. 
6. Scanner

Objectives
Students will understand the importance of communicating amongst their peers for support and motivation.
Students will create their visual documentary based on their experience (projects) in the program.
Students will analyze each other’s reflections and discuss growth within the course.
Students will evaluate and present their movies to each other and the instructor using their online learning environment, Google Plus Circle.

Procedure
Instructors will:
Register for a Google account and create a Google Plus Circle for the class.
Send Google Circle invitations so students can become part of the virtual learning environment.
Apply for an Animoto plus Education account.
Distribute the 6-month subscription to Animoto Plus to your students.
Familiarize yourself with Animoto.com.
Make sure scanners are up and running in the case students need to digitize any work in order to upload their work for the student visual documentary.
Students will:
Create a folder on their desktop with at least 4 projects they created in their introductory class. Use the scanner to digitize your projects, if needed.
Create their online account with Animoto.com through their instructor’s invitation.
Create an Animoto movie with their project images, sound and text following the design brief given by instructor.
Accept invitation to class Google Plus circle.
On the Google Plus circle “Post” wall, comment on your experience in the program thus far and copy a link to your Animoto.com movie.

Emerging Technology
Animoto.com is a web application that produces videos from user-selected photos, video clips and music. http://www.animoto.com
Google+ is a social networking platform through Google.com. http://www.plus.google.com

Social Participation/Social Learning
Through the use of the Google+ Circle class page student interaction will be promoted by creating a learning environment where students can support, inspire, and motivate each other with their movies created on Animoto.com. They also have the option of sharing their movies to friends and families on Facebook where they can expand the feedback and comments.

Making Connections
The students will make connections with:
The classroom content by including their projects created throughout the course into their Reflections project.

Relevancy is presented in this project by guiding the student to understand the importance of building a community amongst each other, art students.
Local or global audience by communicating their experience to their instructor, classmates, friends, and family through a social network platform.

Create/Produce
Students will create a movie where it will showcase their created work and document their experience and growth in the program.
Assessment Rubric
Reflection  
Student Reflection: Students will reflect on the experience within the program, creating a multimedia presentation of their experience and collaborating in an online environment with the use of Web 2.0 tools.
Teacher Reflection:  Teachers will reflect through classroom discussion and the student feedback they posted on the Google+ Circle class page. 


Vivianne

BP6 RILS: Animoto Review Continued


DD150 ‘Reflections’ project. 

I will use Animoto for students in DD150 to reflect on their experience in the class and upload the projects they have created during the class. I believe that this tool will help my students reflect on their experience as they begin their journey in the GDA program. They will also have the opportunity to share their experience with their classmates on the DD150 Google circle. I will create and or upload the video to their FACEBOOK account so their friends can view them .

I have submitted an education application and they have given me a promotional code to distribute to my students so they can receive a 6 month subscription to Animoto Plus. I will also give my students a brief where it gives them the directions to the Reflections project. 

REFLECTIONS BRIEF.
We will create an account to Animoto.com together. Here you will create a movie with the following layout. Please include sound to your video. When complete please copy link to a post on the DD150 Google Circle.

1.     TEXT IMAGE – DD150 Reflections by (your name)
2.     Project 1
3.     TEXT IMAGE - Why GDA?
4.     Project 2
5.     TEXT IMAGE - What inspires me?
6.     Project 3
7.     TEXT IMAGE – What are your thoughts of DD150 Basic Designs
8.     Project 4


After creating the movie, I realized I have to be more detailed with the directions so the students will not get confused being this is the first time using Animoto.com. Animoto is not difficult to navigate but they would need some guidance. Please take a moment and view the Reflections movie I created. I hope you enjoy it: DD150 Reflections project.



Vivianne

BP5 RILS: Animoto Review

As I continue on my educational path to search for colors (web 2.0 tools) to add to my digital palette and narrow the focus of my RILS project. I have come across this one color that I find interesting and would like to explore more on what this color can bring to my classroom and R.I.L.S. Animoto is a web application that produces videos from user-selected photos, video clips and music. It analyzes the uploaded photos, video clips and music, automatically generating a movie trailer-like video with them. Animoto.com will help me continue the motivation and engagement from my 1st course students as they move on to their next course.

animoto.com


OVERVIEW

Animoto syncs with Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket, and SmugMug to get your images in a snap. You can add text and emphasize specific images with the touch of a button. You can also add music, upload your own mp3 or choose from the collection of tunes in several different genres.

You can watch your video in HD on Animoto.com or share it on Facebook, YouTube, your blog, or a DVD. It's fast and easy to post to websites or download.

 

RELIABILITY / CONTENT

This tool is reliable because my students will be visually intrigued for their "Reflections" project. They can personalize it with their choice of music and images they created themselves. The content of Animoto consists of the users account where you can create your movie with the features of choosing your image, music and ability to share.

 

APPROPRIATE AUDIENCE

Animoto is appropriate for the GDA students because it reflects the theories of the GDA program, visual design and animation.

 

COST/EFFICIENCY
Animoto has different plans and pricing. The lite plan is free and it allows you unlimited videos and 30 seconds video length. The plus and pro plan has monthly payments and different features within each plan. Animoto also offers educators a FREE Animoto Plus account for use in the classroom. Its features can be used to create presentations incorporating images, video clips, music and text. Here is an example educational video.


OVERALL
I think Animoto is amazing. I look forward to exploring this tool further and implementing it in my DD150 class to see my student’s thoughts and experience. Please checkout Animoto.com.

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