Multimedia Project Reflection

Multimedia Project Reflection:

I used the screencast primarily to discuss how to use the tech tool of my choice, Addictomatic. I essentially developed a tutorial. What I liked about doing this is that the site seems like a fairly straightforward tool, but it's actually quite complicated in terms of how you can use it. I appreciated how intuitive and straightforward the tool was, as well as the possibilities I could see for its use (especially in a classroom setting).

I realized that I may have not gone into nearly enough detail in my video on the methodological and pedagogical value of the technology because of the limited video time that Jing provides for screencasting. So I'm going to briefly discuss that in a little more detail.

I could see Addictomatic being used in class for students doing research. It provides a really accessible way for keeping up to date with a topic. It also allows for a lot of customizability. There are a number of possibilities for how you can use it. Perhaps most importantly, you can really just hone in on what best suits your needs. This takes some of the strain out of doing research. Addictomatic can help you more easily cut out the information and search results that just aren't very useful for you. 

Now, Addictomatic couldn't replace other traditional methods for researching a topic. It also has certain limitations. Addictomatic really is best used for more recent or current events. It provides the latest information and news about a subject. You would need to encourage students to make it one of many resources. But what's interesting is that it already takes some of the tech tools one might use for research (such as Google News) and allows that to be one of the sites that appears on your custom-made Addictomatic page.

I was pleased with how screencasting turned out. I'm not very tech savvy so I was happy that screencasting with Jing proved to be pretty straightforward. I wondered at times if I was maybe repeating myself too much, but I've watched the video and I like how it turned out. I think there are more things I could have done with it. But considering the five minute video constraint and the fact that I'd never done anything like this before, I think it turned out pretty good.