Data Visualization

This has been one the most beneficial labs.  I enjoyed getting to "play" around with some of these new tools, and my imagination ran wild with ideas for the classroom.  I am thrilled to have this Wiki-page to explore new ideas for my classroom. 

What tools did you try?

I tried Illuminations, AudioBoo, Glogster, 1001 Fonts and PhotoStory.  I did not like the layout of the Illuminations website.  It did not look appealing or user-friendly and turned me off from really exploring as in-depth as I should have.  

However, I have fallen in love with AudioBoo.  AudioBoo is a podcasting site that allows users to create and posts different podcasts.  While exploring, there were many different kinds of podcasts including one about the current superhero movies coming to theaters to another where a young woman expressed the top 5 things she would like to do before she dies.  I see myself using this in my classroom next year when students are required to write speeches.  It would be really neat to have them write and then record their speeches.  I can focus the grading on the oral presentation.  I can see this tool really working for kids that have a hidden voice-those students afraid to give oral presentations in front of their classmates but have excellent information to share.    

I have explored Glogster prior to this lab and have used it in my classroom recently.  Glogster is an online poster board where individuals can create an interactive poster using photos, text, and video clips.  The only disadvantage I have seen thus far when using Glogster is that the only videos available for use are through YouTube.  Up until recently, YouTube was blocked on our server, and students could not access it for presentation development.  

1001 Fonts is an incredible site where you can download different fonts not found within your normal presentation and document tools such as MS Word and Power Point.  It was extremely simple to download a font from their site to my computer and then upload it into my MicroSoft products.  I envision my students using this site regularly.  They always want to use different fonts on presentations and find the "normal" ones boring.  This is an easy way for students to express themselves even more creatively when developing projects.  

PhotoStory is a story-telling program that allows the creation of stories using photos and voice recording.  It is easily downloaded quickly, and the creation of a "story" is just as simple.  It walks you through step-by-step on how to create your story.  This is what I have chosen to use for my Data Visualization project.  

   

What are you representing in the visualization you created?

I am representing how to email a Prezi presentation to your instructor.  My students recently conducted question-based research and put their findings into a Prezi.  In order for me to have access to their work, students were required to email it to me for grading.  This would have been a great visualization for my students so I did not have to repeat myself over and over!  See the PhotoStory below!

 

What questions or "ah ha" moments arise when thinking about visualization?
I am still pondering how to really incorporate more visualization into my classroom.  I think after reading and viewing the materials, I had a misconception of what the term actually meant.  I was under the impression that it was simply adding a graphic or image to a concept you were teaching.  However, I now realize that there are many tools out there that not only I can use as a teacher, but there are many I think students can use to show their understanding of a concept.