Well, I've completed my rich media tutorial and the first thing I will admit is that I misunderstood the assignment. So, I'll call this a challenge that I encountered. I knew my tutorial was being produced for adult learners (I envisioned my audience as teachers), however I missed the point that it was for adult learners who teach adults. Ironically, that includes me! Throughout my tutorial, I reference its use with students and it is inferred that they are primary school students from the descriptions of the exercises. Of course, my tool can be used with adults as well, but I genuinely made an error. The nice thing is that a couple of my peers just gave me some good feedback and didn't point it out. Therefore, I'm hoping the effort I put into creating a quality project helps me overcome this challenge.
One of the other challenges I had was deciding on which tool to do my tutorial. After attending ISTE for the first time this past summer, I came back with a list of great Web 2.0 tools that were introduced. They were "burning a hole" in my iPad and I couldn't wait to explore them further. Then reality set in and I realized that I hadn't the time to delve into all of them. I picked three to learn more about and I finally settled on TitanPad because some of its features made it feel kind of novel compared to other tools I've learned about since joining the EdTech program. I also decided to go with it because it aligns with my developing belief in constructivist teaching principles.
Finally, I had a challenge with video logistics. First, the lighting in my home, then the camera angle. I had to try four difference places in my home to get the best lighting, background and least amount of ambient noise. I just had to take my computer with me to each place, adjust the lighting and check the camera. When it didn't work out for one place, I moved to the next. When I finally found the best location, the camera angle and height was difficult to achieve without getting shadows in the video. I guess I didn't consider how difficult it can be to produce a high quality, amateur video from a computer versus using a camcorder.
In terms of the skills I learned, I believe they will be helpful in a future educational technology position. This assignment was an opportunity for me to embrace a new technology. I use Adobe Connect frequently at work; I am the administrator and I know it pretty well. Thus, I was happy to see that we had the option of using other software. Learning Camtasia for Mac has provided me with a new skill set. I had a vision for combining my video with screen capture and slides because I had seen it done in some Lynda.com and Adobe.tv tutorials. I really wanted to challenge myself to do something other than the basic picture in picture effect. I am by no means an expert, but it was a rewarding experience and I was pleased with the outcome.
Although some of the articles for this module addressed using more expensive equipment and techniques for full distance courses, not simply tutorials, I found them to be extremely informative and somewhat applicable to this project. I'd love to facilitate live courses from a distance using some of the techniques described in the articles. In the meantime, this project was a wonderful way to practice being aware of camera presence and environment as well as delivery techniques. I would advise online instructors to record themselves doing an online tutorial or lesson and use it to develop and improve their craft. I certainly plan to do so!
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