Digital Media to Enhance Teaching and Learning

Digital Media to Enhance Teaching and Learning 

The use of digital media in schools allows students to maintain engagement in learning as students learn visually and kinesthetically and not solely auditory (Cole, D. 2014). In a study by the University of Iowa, Professor Amy Poremba states that the use of technologies in schools and the interactive use of computer graphics and videos add more sense which can make visual cues stronger and improve visual memory which can also lead to increased attention span (Cole, D. 2014). 

Using video in the Health and Physical Education classroom can enhance the learning of students in the class. Health and Physical Education in the practical sense requires teachers to demonstrate different skills that educators what students to mimic or try in the development of their skills. The use of digital media such as Videos can be used to demonstrate skills, assess skills and performances and for self-evaluation. They can also be used to show different components of the curriculum in the theory component of the subject in addressing several content descriptors from the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2020). 

The use of video both in the theory and practical component allows students to achieve more due to visual learning. This technology allows both teachers and students to educate and grasp different components in different ways. A study by Wilkinson and Hillier (1999) based on learning volleyball skills via a computer software program and the traditional way found that the group using ICT to learn their volleyball skills had better test skills and it also increased communication and collaborative learning with the students (Heynen, C. 2008). 

When using video in an HPE classroom allows for learning in several ways. These include; using YouTube to involve several videos into the curriculum. These examples are below. 

                               

       Video A: The Healthy Eating Pyramid (Clickview, 2020). 

This video I would use in the classroom to introduce healthy eating. The video address the Year 7 & 8 content descriptor from the Australian Curriuclum, 'Investigate and select strategies to promote health, safety and wellbeing' (ACARA, 2020). 

                          Video B: Volleyball rules | Volleyball (Sikana English, 2017). 

This video, I would use in the classroom to introduce the sport (volleyball) that will be studied in the term/semester. This video is a short 2-minute video that addresses the rules of volleyball which includes both narration and video. 

Video can also be involved in students' assessments of tasks in the classroom. It can be used for students to find a certain video on a topic that they can use to educate others in the classroom. Videos can also be used by students to view skills of certain sports that they are studying in the classroom. 

In assessment, students can video themselves or have their peers video them performing a skill to check and give self-reflection and receive self-feedback. These assessment videos can be provided to the teacher for the teacher to give feedback on the students' performance and skill level. 

When using videos in assessment, students can show this on different platforms. YouTube allows for videos to be uploaded and a link can be provided to the teacher/peers to view these videos. The video can be uploaded in three settings, private, unlisted or public. Private is only for the creator to view, unlisted can be shared with others via a link and cannot be found through a search and public allows the video to be found in a search. These privacy settings allow students' work to stay private unless there is a need for the video to become public for global view and comment. 

Video C: Step to step guide on uploading a YouTube video

 This video is a step-by-step guide on uploading a YouTube video (Jenn Jager, 2019).

Image A: Screenshot from uploading a YouTube Video with the visibility settings. As you can see in the screenshot, this is the page that will be on the screen when uploading a video with the visibility settings included (Youtube, 2022).

The other online platform to display videos includes Blogger. Videos from students' assessment or skills progress can be uploaded to Blogger to visually see the development of their skill level over time during the term or semester. As spoken about in my previous blog, there are several privacy settings for student privacy when using Blogger. There are also instructions on how to upload YouTube videos onto Blogger. I have included the link below.

https://geraldinegeorgia.blogspot.com/2022/03/web-spaces.html

Legal, safe and ethical considerations 

When considering legal, safe and ethical uses of digital media in the classroom, it is important to assess Australian Curriculum website which includes five dimensions of learning about online safety (ACARA, 2020). The five dimensions include values, rights and responsibilities, wellbeing, respectful relationships, digital media literacy and informed and safe use of information and devices. Helping students understand their roles and responsibilities as well as using the privacy setting on both YouTube and Blogger will ensure the students are using their platform appropriately. 

SAMR Model

With reference to the SAMR model, incorporating the digital media of video into the classroom learning and assessments, students are able to access the transformation stage of learning. 

An example in the HPE context may be: 

Substitution: Instead of having students read from a textbook, students read information from an online textbook via their devices. 

Augmentation: Students are given a topic to study, nutrition for example, they need find resources on the internet to help them learn about the topic. They then put this information in a Google Doc, Word Doc or OneNote to reference throughout the term/semester. 

Modification: Students are given the topic nutrition to study. They find resources on Google to support what they have learnt and research more about the food pyramid. Students then present this work on Blogger for peer and teacher feedback. 

Redefinition: Students use the information they have gathered and know about food and the food pyramid to make a YouTube video about the 'green' and 'red' food they have in their house. 

Digital media in the classroom is an important way to add ICT, engage learners further and allow students to reach the transformation stages of their learning. 

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d). Curriculum Connections - Online Safety. https://australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/curriculum-connections/portfolios/online-safety/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d). Health and Physical Education (Version 8.4). shorturl.at/vA058

Clickview. (2020, July 14). The healthy eating pyramid [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdzxcYq8jdU&t=39s

Cole, D. (2014, March 13). A message from your brain: I'm not good at remembering what I hear. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/140312-auditory-memory-visual-learning-brain-research-science

 

Heynen, C. (2008). Viewing and visual representation in the physical education classroom. Strategies: A Journal for Physical and Sport Educators, 22(1), 25-30. DOI: 10.1080/08924562.2008.10590805

Jenn Jager. (2019, January 22). How to post your first YouTube video [Step-by-step] [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w25FNPlnXXQ

Puentedura, R. (2013). SAMR: Moving from enhancement to transformation.  http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/000095.html

Skiana English. (2017, December 6). Volleyball rules| Volleyball [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWCkPbzq81g