Digital Images, GIFs, and Infographics

• Use in the classroom or learning environment:
• Lesson Outline: I personally had so much fun editing the images this week and creating a GIF. I think my students would love to do similar activities to help improve their math projects, and I also think these types of activities would work well as a review assignment. I love the mathematical music videos available (usually on YouTube), so I think image editing or GIF creating would work well in music video.
• Objective: Students will be able to design/produce a mathematical music video of a topic of their choice. The music video must included examples of images that have been edited, an info-graphic and at least one GIF that could be used to demonstrate a mathematical concept. 
• Access: After creating their mathematical music videos, I would ask the students to upload their final projects to YouTube, and I would post the links on my class website, so that the students have access to each others' video projects. 
• During the creation process, I would provide example of sites/software that may be beneficial during the video production process.
• There will be the case where the students are unable to view the videos; hopefully, the verbal explanation/audio that accompanies the images/video will help those students who have trouble viewing the images.

• Application:
• Prior to beginning the mathematical music video lesson, I would have a conversation with my students about how they learn best, and together as a class we would brainstorm different types of strategies they use to review a topic. We would have a conversation about whether or not these would be good things to consider/include in their projects, and I may even have them read the design principles for instructional multimedia article to support their understanding of the purpose of their music videos.   
• While creating my digital images, I kept spatial contiguity, personalization, and voice in mind. I wanted the artifacts to speak to a variety of people, so I tried to keep them as simple as possible while still being educational.

• Reflection:
• Often times I think of technology as a way to present information or supplement/assist with students' assignments (i.e. calculators), and I forget to think about technology as a way to asses understanding or review content. Since there is so much pressure to address various standards throughout the school you, I forget that I can assign projects that promote creativity while still addressing those standards. 
• In terms of access, I think some districts/teachers take technology for granted. We have become a society that is so heavily dependent on technology that me often times assume that technology is going to be available to us and our students. Just because the school has access to certain types of technology does not mean the students have access to them, and we (teachers) need to be aware of these restrictions when designing lessons/activities. On the other hand, technology also opens many doors to provide assistance to those students who may need a little extra help.
• I love that I now know how easy it is to make a GIF. I think this could be a very useful tool in my class, and I can wait to start using it in my classroom and on my class website! I also enjoyed learning about different photo-editing sites that I can use as alternatives to Photoshop. (As great as Photoshop is, it can be a bit pricey!)

• Your Artifacts:
• Photo collage with edited images -- Geometry 

• GIF -- SPHERE WARS: When you show up to class and find out there is a quiz! 

• Info-Graphic -- STEM Statistics