Blogging With Photovoice: Sharing Pictures in an Integrated Classroom

Overview

Photovoice is a technique that has participants take photos in response to a prompt, reflect on the meaning behind three of their photos, and share the photos to find common themes. It is an ideal strategy for all forms of classrooms, from those with only severely learning disabled and cognitively impaired students to integrated classes. In this lesson, students are given a prompt, take photographs in response to it, post reflections on a blog, and search for commonalties while relating the pictures back to characters in texts they have read. It can be used as a prewriting activity for essays or other assignments.  From Theory to Practice Electronic discussions, when combined with face-to-face interactions, can facilitate community building and allow students to have control over the topics they are discussing and to work together to construct meanings and make connections. Online discussions that do not occur in real time “are interactive, like discussions, but thoughtful, like written discourse” (p. 652) Student Objectives Students will Connect their own experiences to various texts using both images and words Increase knowledge and real-world technical skills by using blogging technology to post images, thoughts, and reflections Explore an abstract concept visually by taking pictures that represent it Analyze their own images by determining which pictures best represent the abstract concept and writing about their choices Analyze the work of their peers by posting responses to a blog that make connections between the photos Connect the photos they have taken and reflected on to characters in texts they have read as a class by responding to questions and writing an essay

Instructional Plan

Preparation 1. This lesson should come at the end of a unit or semester, during which time students have completed a required reading list. The final project is to respond to a prompt about an abstract concept (e.g., truth or freedom) by taking photos, posting them to a blog, and then writing an essay that relates back to the texts. This lesson uses What is courage? as an example of a prompt. The list that follows includes potential texts for students to read. All readings should be finished before this prewriting activity is started:  Short Stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe “A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune” by Chris Crutcher “Amigo Brothers” by Piri Thomas “Shaving” by Leslie Norris “Thank you, M’am” by Langston Hughes Books Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Penguin, 2002) Jake, Reinvented by Gordon Korman (Hyperion Books for Children, 2003) 2. Check your school’s Internet policy to ensure that you and your students can view and post to a blog and to find out what websites are preferable for you to use. 3. If you do not have classroom computers with Internet access, reserve four 60-minute sessions in your school’s computer lab (see Sessions 1 and 3 through 5). Arrange to use an LCD projector during Sessions 1, 4, and 5 if possible. 4. If you do not already have a classroom blog, create one that allows pictures to be uploaded and responses given. LiveJournal and Blogger are free resources you can use to do this. Before the lesson begins, post your own pictures responding to the prompt for the students to respond to during Session 1. Give each picture a title, explain why you chose it, and write about how it represents courage for you. Make sure that you include both strong and weak examples. 5. Send home the Letter to Parents and the Photovoice Project Instructionsexplaining the assignment and making sure that all students have permission to use the blog you have created. This letter can also help you make certain that all students have access to a camera (see Step 5). 6. Arrange for all students to have access to a camera, preferably at the same time. If necessary, buy disposable cameras for students who may not have access to a camera or arrange to borrow some digital cameras and have students complete the prewriting assignment in staggered groups. You might try to find a store that is willing to donate either disposable cameras or developing to cut your cost. 7. Depending on the knowledge level of your students, you may want to teach a quick lesson about blogging that covers what a blog is, how students post to a blog, and what kinds of posts are and are not appropriate. You may also want to print and copy the Blogging Instruction Sheet for students or you can create your own. The Blogging Instruction Sheet uses Blogger as an example, and the sign-in link will depend on whether or not you created the blog using your Google account or not. Students can use the e-mail address with which you set up your account and your password to access the blog. 8. Make a copy of the Photovoice Project Instructions, the Picture and Blog Entry Rubric, the Picture Description Sheet, and the Picture Selection Sheet for each student in your class. Instruction and Activities Session 1: Introduction of Photovoice Prewriting Activity Ideally you should start this session on a Friday to give students time over the weekend to take pictures.  1. Hand out the Photovoice Project Instructions and review. 2. Have students spend five minutes brainstorming and writing about what images come to mind when they think of the word courage. You might ask them to use the following prompts: What is courage? What does courage look like? How do you know if someone is courageous? When have you been courageous? 3. Have students move to the computers. Hand out the Blogging Instruction Sheet. If possible, use an LCD projector to walk students through setting up their accounts and show them how to access the blog. 4. Have students look at your postings on the blog. Ask them to consider what courage looks like in each image and why they think the picture was chosen. Distribute the Picture and Blog Entry Rubric and have students use it to rate the pictures you have posted; tell them they should be prepared to explain their rating. Homework (due a week before Session 2): Students should take at least 10 pictures that represent courage and turn them in to you.  Session 2: Choosing Pictures Have all photographs due to you at least a week before you intend to start Session 2. If students are using digital cameras, they can bring you the pictures on a USB drive or CD or they can e-mail them to you. You should print off copies of their pictures; programs like PowerPoint allow you to print a collection of thumbnail images on one page. If students are using disposable cameras, have them turn in the cameras to you so you can get the images both printed and on a CD.  1. Give students the prints of their pictures and the Picture Selection Sheet. Students should fill out the handout and select the three photos that they best think answer or best describe what courage is based on their responses. 2. Once students have selected their pictures, pass out the Picture Description Sheet. Tell students that this will help them organize their thinking about what they will post on the blog regarding the photos they have chosen. Have them fill out the sheet. 3. Have students turn in their pictures and Picture Description Sheets to you at the end of the session. Note: Look at the pictures and responses before Session 3 and offer assistance as necessary to students who are struggling with the assignment. Session 3: Posting to the Blog Before this session begins, upload students’ pictures to the blog. Make each student a separate post so that all of their pictures are on the same page. 1. Hand back the Picture Description Sheets. Have students log on to the blog. Model how to input the information from the sheets to the blog. If you have commented on their work or made edits, make it clear that you expect them to respond as they are working. 2. Students should copy verbatim what they wrote on their sheets or edit or expand on their own text. Circulate while students are working to offer assistance as needed. Session 4: Reviewing the Posts Have students log on to the blog and review each other’s pictures and descriptions. They should post responses to a number of pictures that you specify (which will vary according to the size of your class and the amount of time you have available). Before students post, discuss what the responses should contain. (You may want to model some responses using the LCD projector.) Each post should contain a statement of agreement/disagreement with the picture description and a rationale for the statement. The response should also refer to other students’ pictures. Ideally posts will reflect on commonalities and differences between the pictures and will also deepen discussion of the concepts being explored. Session 5: Response Questions Before this session, read through all students’ posts to make sure the responses are appropriate and to determine who is still struggling with the concept of courage. Post follow-up questions that are designed to help students start pulling together their thoughts about the concept you have explored while also tying the concept back to their reading during the semester or unit (see Preparation, Step 1). If your students have been exploring courage, follow-up questions might include: What characteristics does courage have? Considering the books and stories we read this semester, what character do you think is the most courageous and why? You might also want to list the titles of readings and their main characters on the board for easy reference.  1. Have students log on to the blog and post answers to the follow-up questions. 2. Bring the group back together. Using an LCD projector, have students look together at the posts. Work together to make a list that shows how the various characters throughout the stories demonstrated courage. Essay Assignment: Students should now be ready to write about the abstract concept they have been exploring. One option is to have them write an essay in which they choose one character from a book or story they have read and give three specific ways the character showed courage and what courage means to that character. (The Essay Map tool might be useful in helping students plan for this kind of assignment.) Have students refer back to the list you generated in Session 5, Step 2, for specific details to include in their essay. Some students may need to return to the blog postings for further help. Extensions Various other prompts for Photovoice blogging or an essay assignment include:·      Choose a picture of a person or people and write about courage from the perspective of one person in it. Choose a picture of a person or people. Which character from our reading do you associate this person with? Why? What characteristics do you think they share? Have students design their own blog for the character they chose to write their essay on. They can post entries from the point of view of the character. Post students’ essays on the blog and then have them respond to the essays from the perspective of a character from their reading. They should write in the first person.

Student Assessment/Reflections

Informally assess students during class discussions. Check in to ensure that students understand the various components of the assignment. Use the Blog Use Rubric to assess students’ abilities to use the technology. Use thePicture and Blog Entry Rubric to assess how well students connect their own experiences to various texts using both images and words, explore an abstract concept, analyze their own images, and analyze the work of their peers. Assess essays using the Courage Essay Rubric. This rubric uses the 6+1 Traits of writing

Creating Multimedia To Teach About Students With Developmental Disabilities

Abstract 

In this case study we describe the work we performed to create a multimedia program titled, "A Functional Approach to Teaching Students With Developmental Disabilities." The program, which is currently being updated, is designed to teach emergency certified special education teachers about the services they should provide these students. Accordingly, in this paper the program's content and the activities that have been completed to create it are discussed. Lessons that other teacher educators who are similarly situated can learn from our experiences are noted also. 

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Creating+multimedia+to+teach+about+students+with+developmental...-a089970429

Characteristics Of The Visual-Spatial Learner

Thinks primarily in pictures.

Has visual strengths. 

Relates well to space. 

Is a whole-part learner. 

Learns concepts all at once.   

Learns complex concepts easily;  Struggles with easy skills. 

Is a good synthesizer. 

Sees the big picture; may miss details. 

Reads maps well. 

Is better at math reasoning than computation. 

Learns whole words easily. 

Must visualize words to spell them. 

Much better at keyboarding than handwriting. 

Creates unique methods of organization. 

Arrives at correct solutions intuitively. 

Learns best by seeing relationships. 

Has good long-term visual memory. 

Learns concepts permanently; does not learn by drill and repetition. 

Develops own methods of problem solving. 

Is very sensitive to teachers' attitudes.

Generates unusual solutions to problems. 

Develops quite asynchronously (unevenly). 

May have very uneven grades. 

Enjoys geometry and physics. 

Masters other languages through immersion. 

Is creatively, technologically, mechanically, emotionally or spiritually gifted. 

Is a late bloomer. 

EFFECTIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES WHEN INSTRUCTING VISUAL LEARNERS

1. Use visual aids, such as overhead projectors and visual imagery in lectures.

2. Use manipulative materials to allow hands-on experiences.

3. Use a sight approach to reading rather than phonics.

4. Use a visualization approach to spelling: show the word; have them close their eyes and visualize it; then have them spell the word backwards (this demonstrates visualization); then spell it forwards; then write it once.

5. Have them discover their own methods of problem solving (instead of teaching division step-by-step, give them a simple division problem, with a divisor, dividend and a quotient. Have them figure how to answer in their own way.  When they succeed, give them a harder problem with the solution already worked out and see if their system works).

6. Avoid rote memorization. Use more conceptual or inductive approaches.

7. Avoid drill and repetition. Instead, have them perform the hardest tasks in the unit.

8. Find out what they have already mastered before teaching them.

9. Give them advanced, abstract, complex material at a faster pace.

10. Allow them to accelerate in school.

11. Emphasize creativity, imagination, new insights, new approaches rather than acquisitions of knowledge. Creativity should be encouraged in all subject areas. 

12. Emphasize mastery of higher levels concepts rather than perfection of simpler concepts in competition with other students.

13. Group gifted visual-spatial learners together for instruction.

14. Engage students in independent studies or group projects which involve problem-finding as well as problem solving.

15. Allow them to construct, draw, or otherwise create visual representations of concepts.

16. Use computers so that the material is presented visually.

17. Have the students discuss the ethical, moral, and global implications of their learning and involve them in service-oriented projects.

Helping Visual Learners Succeed

We all want our children to do well in school. Sometimes though kids struggle with their school work and we’re just not sure how to help. As a school counselor, the first thing I do to help students academically is to identify how they learn.

There are three different ways we learn. We either learn by seeing (visual), hearing (auditory), or doing (kinesthetic). Sometimes students use a combination of two or more of these learning styles.

I use a variety of assessments to determine how students learn, but generally visual learners have certain characteristics. For example, one of the students I worked with, “Audrey,” had difficulty understanding directions given verbally, needed absolute quiet to focus on assignments, and worked best in an organized setting. The learning style assessments I gave Audrey indicated that she was a visual learner. I was able to use that information to come up with strategies to help Audrey complete her assignments and remember information better. This not only helped Audrey academically, but also emotionally.

Students that are struggling with school work often feel badly about themselves. In my study skills group, when I asked the students why they thought they were struggling in school, each replied because “I’m stupid.” However, when I explained that they were having difficulty not because they were stupid, but because they didn’t know how they learned yet, they perked up and were motivated to identify their learning style and try new strategies.

This first article in the series on learning styles will discuss visual learners. Visual learners usually:

• Like to read.
• Are good spellers.
• Memorize things by seeing them on paper.
• Are organized.
• Would rather watch, than talk or do.
• Have good handwriting.
• Notice details.
• Remember faces better than names.
• Have trouble following verbal directions.
• Are easily distracted by noise.
• Doodle on their paper.

Here are some strategies that can help visual learners succeed in school. Practice reading by:

• Putting each letter on a card and have students arrange words.
• Putting words on cards and have students arrange into sentences.
• Putting sentences on paper strips to teach sequencing and paragraphing.
• Showing the visual patterns in words (i.e., word families)

Practice other subjects by:

• Using visuals to teach lessons, including pictures, graphics, images, charts, outlines, story maps, and diagrams
• When giving verbal directions, write down key words or phrases and use visuals
• Demonstrate what you want your child to do.
• Use dry erase boards with colored markers.
• Use color cues, framing and symbols to highlight key information.
• Encourage your child to write down and highlight key information.
• Encourage the use of flashcards when memorizing (i.e., math facts).
• Provide visual activities, including maps, videos, models, puzzles, matching activities, computers, and word searches

These techniques can help your child use this learning style to her advantage and maximize motivation in the classroom.

by Shannon Hutton

Challenges For The Visual Learner

Issues for the Visual Learners in Your Classroom

1. They may have difficulty with oral directions, especially those with more than two steps.
2. They often look to see what everyone else is doing.
   
3. They have a keen sense of observation and need to be able to focus on the speaker, sitting close enough to pick up visual cues.
4. Outside noises or background music impairs their ability to maintain attention, because many have difficulty filtering out sounds.
5. They learn best when the assignment is demonstrated or illustrated rather than given orally. They have difficulty following lectures.
6. They often do not remember information given orally without being able to see it. They memorize using visual clues. Even when doing oral spelling, they must first write the word.
7. They may appear to "zone out" during lengthy oral presentations.
8. They often think in pictures, not words, and store visual images. For this reason, they process oral input slowly—because they must translate oral to visual imagery.
9. They recall information better if allowed to read it silently first.
10. During a lecture, they will write down everything they hear and will process it later. They will take notes even when given printed lecture notes in advance.
11. They will perform poorly on oral or timed tests.
12. They can often remember where they saw an item in their notebook or text. Their minds capture a mental image of the material.

In summary, they must see it to learn it.

http://www.phschool.com/eteach/social_studies/2003_05/essay.html

Visual Learner On Line Tests

A number of links to determine whether you are a visual learner. The second link may be the most useful.

http://www.solida.net/stars/vak/VAK-tests.html