Absorb Activities: Presentations, Readings, and Stories
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Presentation Transcript
Chapter 2 Absorb-type activities
Reminder • In your project you are asked to design a variety (Absorb, Do, and Connect) activities. • This chapters show you examples of Absorb activities.
Types of Absorb Activities • Presentations • Readings • Stories by a teacher • Field trips
When to use absorb activity? Absorb activities are not inherently interesting • Learners need an introduction • To extent current knowledge and skills (new versions, new software) • To prepare for Do and Connect activities • Best for highly motivated learners
Types of presentations • Slide shows • Physical demonstrations (repairing, kicking, performing) • Software demonstration • Informational films (instructional video) • Dramas • Discussion Presentations
How to use slide shows • Communicate visually (convert paragraphs to picture, tables, lists, illustrations instead of bullet points)- Silent movie • Narrate clearly ( provide transcripts as well) • Animate graphics (to tell a story or show a process) • Follow visual principles (no cluttered screens)
How to do physical demonstration • Preview the action (preparation, rehearsal) • Use close-ups (magnifier- if needed use Elmo) • Move smoothly • Keep it short • Let learners control ( let them pause you online or if recorded let them re-play pause)
Software demonstrations • Could be used in standalone e-learning or in live demonstrations in f2f classes.
Types of software demonstration • Scenario demonstration (make a multiple choice question with Zebrazapps) • User-interface tours (explain the icons and windows) • Feature demonstration (what could be done with each button)
How to use software demonstration • Introduce the demonstration (what will gain) • keep it simple and to the point • Clarify this is not a software simulation • Follow it with a simulation • Invite learner to follow along • Provide a low-bandwidth version
Where to use informational video • Cause and effect relationships • Chronological sequence • Chain of actions or discoveries
Best practices • Borrow it if you can • Get permission • Design for the small screen • Beware of bandwidth
Dramas • Learners watch a fictional scene among people, to illustrate a situation (e.g., good interview, classroom management,…etc.) • A drama is the fictional counterpart of informational video • It could be live, still images, voice, or video
Best practices • Write credible dialog • Hire good actors • Don’t forget the drama (not predictable) • Tell a story (with characters, a crisis, and resolution for good or ill)
Discussion Presentation • When a speech is too boring you may use discussion/debate presentation • Helps elicit valuable information and opinions from experts
Types of discussion presentations • News interviews • Talk-show interviews • Debates • Panel discussion • Mock trials
Best practices for presentations • Give learners control path and pace of presentation • Reading along while listening will help?? • Supply many examples (not simply theories) • Provide immediate practice • Augment your presentation (create navigation to title, intro, summary) • Pick the best mix of media • Keep learners active • Borrow (pre made presentations)
Readings • Sometimes the best e-learning is a good book.. or a good e-book Reading may be a more active learning experience than some learning games especially as learner skims, peruses, reads, imagines, compares, re-reads, jots notes, makes bookmarks, and reflects.
A Big Misconception • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOXQo7nURs0
When to use reading activities • Learners need deeper knowledge • You don’t have time to develop more interactive materials • Well-written documents are readily available • Learners are skillful readers • Learners are motivated enough to read on their own
Types of readings • Individual documents • Libraries of documents to select from (link to docs) • Predefined searches to find internet resources Don’t forget to include standard references such as “Bible, constitution, classic books…etc.”
Internet Resources • Link to Internet resources • Provide specific search terms • Sources of useful documents • scholar.google.com • http://academic.research.microsoft.com • http://books.google.com • www.gutenberg.org • books24x7.com
Best practices for reading activities • Grow your library gradually • Publish a usage policy • Simplify obtaining documents • Link to publisher’s sale site • Link to Amazon, Barnes& Noble • Set up your own bookstore • Buy limited electronic rights JUST for your students • Provide documents in multiple formats • Provide active (interactive) examples
Stories by a teacher • Stories by a teacher is an Absorb activity but stories by students are Connect activity.
Types of stories • Hero stories • Love stories • Disaster stories • Tragedies • Discovery stories
Best practices for stories by a teacher • Tell effective stories • The story is credible, important, short and focused, dramatic, tell about something that students care about, tell with emotion, the moral is clear • Polish the telling • Coach storytellers, casual language, good voice and high sound quality (if online), repeat and rehearse • Develop the story • Show the face of the storyteller, illustrate the story, spread a single complex story throughout a lesson
Field trips • Students may tour an online presentation of a farm, an exhibit, a museum, a monument, or a historical town.
When to use it? • Use it when you don’t have time or budget to do a real field trip • Show how concepts taught in the course are applied (or misapplied) in real world • Provide access to concrete examples • Reveal examples in context (food chain) • Orient learners in a new environment • Encourage discovery of patterns
Types of field trips • Guided tours • Museums
Examples of guided tours • Personal travel diaries (with pictures) • Web tours (screen casting) • Tours of imaginary worlds • The human body • An imaginary town • A cave • The atom
Best practices • Let learners click, zoom, rotate, and focus • Tell them where to pause, notice, or focus • Show spatial relationships (overlap stops so they can see next stop) • Encourage self exploration • Make side excursions safe (they can come back and rejoin tour) • Anchor each stop with a visual • Keep the tour focused
Virtual museums Other names: web-based museums, e-museums, virtual galleries, online museums, and online galleries.
Best practices for field trips • Require learning (not just fun) • Include variety of media • Tell what is important (why take chances?) • Annotate exhibits thoroughly (15 details) • Let learners inspect items in detail • Help them to download what they want