Chapter 11 Reflections

This chapter was as much a psychology chapter a computer chapter, if you stripped away all the out of date information. I'm not sure you can find computers that will still do some of the things shown. I did like seeing the full range of cognitive skills touched by hypermedia activities.

I think we've been trying to do something approaching hypermedia all along. We learned how to really use blogs as reflective tools and to present information. We've looked at Wiki's to allow collaboration in addition to the quick presentation of information. There's all the media sites out there where you can put photos and videos. Throw in all the software we've examined this year and these presentation values they all have. And naturally, you have my favorite, Google Docs for generating web based documents the kiddies cannot lose. "Mash" this all together and you get hypermedia. Many programs have come and gone since this textbook suggested a couple. Here at Dirigo, the graduation slide show changed programs almost every year because there almost seemed to be a competition over who can have the "latest thing" to present it with.

Boiled down, I like how you can get a student to take on a subject, become an author, teacher and minor expert, then transform that person into a media specialist when they have to present their product. Plenty of Bloom's going on there! I've done this stuff for years with traditional poster making supplies and a touch of computer work. Never quite as comprehensively as presented in the chapter. That's the cool part. When properly considered and prepared, the lesson plan can have rubrics and expectations that guide the student to think, present and then reflect at many points.

I'll be sticking with a neo-mashup until someone shows me one program that really does it all and doesn't require serious money or a proprietary part to be lost.

BC