Amy Reading/Note Challenge BR 5 & Prezi
This week, I read Chapter 5 of Brain Rules, "Wiring." Thanks to Medina's reference to one of my favorite B-movies, the Fantastic Voyage, I couldn't shake the idea of a miniaturized journey through the brain. Naturally, the features of Prezi came to mind (no pun intended, sorry). While I've used Prezi before, I'd never really played with some of the more advanced features -- in particular, the 3D zoom feature. After watching the tutorial found here, I used the Advanced feature to upload three images -- layers of the brain, from the brain matter, to the neurons, to the DNA.
While there is still a bit of finesse needed to maximize the intended effects, the perception of moving -- like the Fantastic Voyage -- deeper into the brain was a rhetorical move that made sense to me, given the topic of the chapter. After adding images widely available from open source image collections of neurons and cell structure, Medina's concise descriptions plugged in fairly easily. I could imagine my students using this type of approach with Prezi to visualize any number of writing tasks, such as creating a structure to represent the layers and vignettes of a narrative assignment. An idea of how these layers would be conceptually related would need to be established before selecting the images, of course, in order to create a logic for the Prezi zoom selections.
In this Prezi, I incorporated two videos, only one of which adds any real information - the other was just the song that came to mind as soon as I jumped from Medina's reference to the movie of the same name. The ease with which videos can be embedded (if drawn from YouTube) is another feature that works well within a classroom, allowing students to create fairly sophisticated digital essays, creating "paths" as one might with transitions or paragraphing. The second (and more important) video comes from Tiffany Shlain and the Moxie Institute Films, which has several short videos focused on society and technology (I've promised myself I'll go back and watch the rest later). Her video offers a dynamic digital counterpart to Medina's fairly direct overview of the brain's structure and role in learning.
So while Prezi isn't a new application to me, I did want to use this opportunity to further explore its potential as a program by trying the more advanced features.
The Prezi can be seen by following this link: http://prezi.com/_shbayg8-zas/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy. (To see the Prezi, at the top of the Scalar Course page select the command to "Remove Header" and the Prezi website will appear.) The video from the Moxie collection is worth repeating here, however, as it makes connections between brain structure / function and the internet. She upends the question "What is technology is doing to our brains" to "How are we shaping our brains?" (I had hoped to embed the actual video, but I have not mastered that Scalar Jedi skill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLp-edwiGUU
I peeked ahead to Heather's Infographic on BR and was blown away. I've wanted to try making one since I first heard from colleagues that they were going to create a course syllabus using an infographic program! Heather's notes were perfectly suited to the diagram she created; I posted a link in my response to her page based on some searching on free graphic programs available. Happily, other instructors are thinking along these lines, even to the point of considering assessment guidelines for student projects created using an infographic program!
http://www.schrockguide.net/infographics-as-an-assessment.html.
Kim's use of Mindomo for NL5 was also impressive. I really like the layout she selected and wondered if she used a template or built from scratch. I think, if I were to use Mindomo again, I'd create from scratch as I think the materiality /structure of the templates impose a thought process on the user that can become an obstacle. I discovered the presentation mode when I used Mindomo a week or so ago, but don't think I was as successful as Kim in embedding the presentation into Scalar. The linearity of the NL book really lends itself to mapping in programs like this one. I think Mindomo is one of my favorite mind map programs now just because of its versatility!
While there is still a bit of finesse needed to maximize the intended effects, the perception of moving -- like the Fantastic Voyage -- deeper into the brain was a rhetorical move that made sense to me, given the topic of the chapter. After adding images widely available from open source image collections of neurons and cell structure, Medina's concise descriptions plugged in fairly easily. I could imagine my students using this type of approach with Prezi to visualize any number of writing tasks, such as creating a structure to represent the layers and vignettes of a narrative assignment. An idea of how these layers would be conceptually related would need to be established before selecting the images, of course, in order to create a logic for the Prezi zoom selections.
In this Prezi, I incorporated two videos, only one of which adds any real information - the other was just the song that came to mind as soon as I jumped from Medina's reference to the movie of the same name. The ease with which videos can be embedded (if drawn from YouTube) is another feature that works well within a classroom, allowing students to create fairly sophisticated digital essays, creating "paths" as one might with transitions or paragraphing. The second (and more important) video comes from Tiffany Shlain and the Moxie Institute Films, which has several short videos focused on society and technology (I've promised myself I'll go back and watch the rest later). Her video offers a dynamic digital counterpart to Medina's fairly direct overview of the brain's structure and role in learning.
So while Prezi isn't a new application to me, I did want to use this opportunity to further explore its potential as a program by trying the more advanced features.
The Prezi can be seen by following this link: http://prezi.com/_shbayg8-zas/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy. (To see the Prezi, at the top of the Scalar Course page select the command to "Remove Header" and the Prezi website will appear.) The video from the Moxie collection is worth repeating here, however, as it makes connections between brain structure / function and the internet. She upends the question "What is technology is doing to our brains" to "How are we shaping our brains?" (I had hoped to embed the actual video, but I have not mastered that Scalar Jedi skill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLp-edwiGUU
I peeked ahead to Heather's Infographic on BR and was blown away. I've wanted to try making one since I first heard from colleagues that they were going to create a course syllabus using an infographic program! Heather's notes were perfectly suited to the diagram she created; I posted a link in my response to her page based on some searching on free graphic programs available. Happily, other instructors are thinking along these lines, even to the point of considering assessment guidelines for student projects created using an infographic program!
http://www.schrockguide.net/infographics-as-an-assessment.html.
Kim's use of Mindomo for NL5 was also impressive. I really like the layout she selected and wondered if she used a template or built from scratch. I think, if I were to use Mindomo again, I'd create from scratch as I think the materiality /structure of the templates impose a thought process on the user that can become an obstacle. I discovered the presentation mode when I used Mindomo a week or so ago, but don't think I was as successful as Kim in embedding the presentation into Scalar. The linearity of the NL book really lends itself to mapping in programs like this one. I think Mindomo is one of my favorite mind map programs now just because of its versatility!
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Discussion of "Amy Reading/Note Challenge BR 5 & Prezi"
Comment on Amy Reading/Note Challenge BR 5 & Prezi (Heather)
Amy, I really enjoyed your prezi. I have used prezi once, but not in that sophisticated of a capacity. More importantly, I want to thank you for sharing the videos! They were interesting and I can definitely see how they would relate if you were teaching this chapter to a class. Also, thank you for sharing that you can embed videos within your prezi; I did not know that, but that would be hugely helpful!!!Posted on 30 September 2014, 5:46 pm by Heather Laslie | Permalink
savvy learning/life balance
Yup, taking a week to just push what you know in something you are already aware of. :-)Posted on 2 October 2014, 4:57 am by Shelley Rodrigo | Permalink
Kim Comment Amy BR5 Prezi
What I loved about this use of Prezi was that you were actually able to take the reader/viewer on journey. I haven't used Prezi before, but I really like the way it actually incorporates movement into a presentation. For this journey specifically, I liked that we "literally" traveled through the brain. I also thought your use of the ODU map as a background for your points made a really interesting connection. Seeing your notes makes me really excited to try Prezi out for myself.Posted on 2 October 2014, 6:49 am by Kimberly Fahle | Permalink
Kevin's Comments on AMY BR5 Prezi
Amy,Cool presentation. I have never used Prezi before, but I have had several students use it. I like how it can be stored on the web. I believe my students did also because they didn't have to depend on their flash drives. Furthermore, I believe it flows better than PowerPoint.
Posted on 5 October 2014, 4:52 am by Kevin M. Norris | Permalink
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