Screencast Project

I've done this tutorial on the Magix Music Maker software. Programs such as these are such an inspiration to me. They are designed to bring forth the creativity of the user without forcing the user to master musician skills. There is a personal element to this. I've always heard the different parts of music in my head. The first time I tried the Cakewalk software, I was overwhelmed. At last I had the tools to play each individual portion of the music and then mix them together. I ended up composing a symphony. I remember playing it for my parents. In my early years, my father would get incredibly angry that the tunes I was playing on the piano didn't sound like anything. He would always use the phrase, "Knock off that banging." After hearing the symphony, he was impressed. "What is that?" he said. I replied, "That's the banging." These tools are incredibly useful. Everyone should be introduced to them.

EDTECH 513 Reflection

I think the most important thing I learned this semester is that the practices that I want to implement as I begin my new career as a nuclear instructor are buttressed by academic facts. I anticipate a great deal of opposition to those things I wish to do simply because the nuclear industry is so intransigent, especially in the realm of nuclear training. Within this realm there is largely a feeling of, “that’s the way we’ve always done it why change now?” The good news is that I’m going to be put in charge of training new engineers as they arrive at the plant. This means that, in four years, approximately 15% of our engineering force will have passed through my classroom. As a former maintenance technician, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity to shape the future, not only of our plant, but the industry as a whole.

This concept dovetails well with the second thing which I am taking from this course, which is the concept of a podcast. As one can imagine, professionals at a nuclear plant are incredibly busy. Because of this, they have very little time to keep up with the progress of the industry as a whole. By creating and maintaining a weekly podcast, I’ll be able to keep them abreast of industry developments in 5 minute snippets. This is a classic case of a single individual doing their homework and passing on the knowledge to the rest of the plant. A number of people have suggested that I confine my coverage to developments within the company, but I feel it’s more important to present a bigger picture. The company does a wonderful job at presenting its own evolution, but concentrate less at developments within the industry.

Lastly, what I’ve learned, is the power of multimedia in education. This is the future, and it’s important that the messages be well delivered and professionally presented. All too often, sites such as You Tube and Vimeo are cluttered with 10 year olds presenting secrets they’ve learned with rambling scripts and less than quality graphics. This fact often frustrates me as I search for information on something I wish to do. As educators, we have a tremendous opportunity to cut through the clutter with well-presented lessons. The sound quality should be professional and the scripts should be of the highest quality. I’m reminded of two of my undergraduate courses. Each course was presented by an individual with experience in the field, but that was where the similarities ended. The first professor, recorded and edited his presentation meticulously. The result was a tremendous lesson which presented the material in a concise and professional manner. The second professor, did not edit and made his presentations more like stream of consciousness lectures. The irony was that the second course was in digital media editing. The second set of lectures were difficult to follow and added very little value to the presentation. It’s important to remember that multimedia is a valuable tool, but unless it’s well presented, it can act more as a distraction than enhancement.