Instructional Media

Instructional Media

Prezi- Prezi is cloud-based presentation software that allows you to organize and share your ideas in a multitude of ways. Prezi allows you to import videos, images, websites, PDF files, music and even PowerPoint slides into a blank canvas or template so that you can design your presentation based on your thought or connections you want to make. Prezi encourages creativity and provides you with tools to make your design come to life. I often use Prezi as an instructional delivery tool because I can embed all my instructional materials into one presentation and create a path that will address my learning goals.  

Jing- Jing is screenshot and screencast software. You can take pictures and video straight from your desktop and share them through different media outlets. The number of ways you can utilize Jing are limitless. I have used Jing as an instructional tool for my students and teachers. I can record myself guiding my students through an assignment, asking questions, providing directions, or as an assessment tool for different projects and training.

Affordances

In regard to the first affordance, Jing and Prezi provide the opportunity to address differentiation, critical thinking, and engagement in instruction. The both differentiate instruction by addressing different modalities of learning through videos, pictures, music, and text. They can also be used as a teaching tool or assessment for projects. Depending on how the lesson is designed Jing and Prezi can promote critical thinking skills and be very engaging to learners. Finding effective ways to address these areas in the classroom can be a complex thinking task but because Jing and Prezi can address all the areas, you are able to free your mind and time for other task.

As for the second affordance, Jing and Prezi change the way you think and process information. The first time I used Jing it was for a Web 2.0 course. You had to create a how to video for a Web 2.0 tool and describe how you utilized or would utilize it instructionally. Jing helped me think and process information in a new way because I had to think about editing, sound, visual effects, content, and delivery. Prezi also can also facilitate the same time of learning. Because you have a blank canvas to work with, you are required to think critically about how to design your presentation in a way that will support your learning goals. The templates provided by Prezi can help learners’ process new information. A complex idea can be separated into smaller points visually (also using graphic and text) to help learners absorb the information and then with one click learners can see the ideas comeback together.

What I like most about the two instructional media tools is that they can be used within each other. This makes my life a lot simpler. In my project, Prezi will be my main media delivery tool and Jing will be used to facilitate different activities like the online scavenger hunt.