Chapter 10: Exploring ISTE Standards for Students “Creative Communicator” - Part 8

 Chapter 10: Exploring ISTE Standards for Students “Creative Communicator” - Part 8

Date/Time: 7th May 2024 Tuesday 1:13 pm - 8th May 2024 Wednesday 4:27 am

This is another interesting blog based on my learning from the 7th module of the ISTE course about “Students Standards”. This module explored the “Creative Communicator” standard. The standard is important for all students, it focuses on not only creatively and innovatively conveying a message to the audience, but considering how the message would be perceived by the audience. It explores various digital formats of presenting or sharing the information with the audience. It also explains the importance of crediting a source. It looks into copyright and licensing concerns while remixing or reusing content created by someone else. This standard has four indicators and I will try to explain each with examples.

ISTE Standard Creative Communicator 1.6 says that the students must be able to express themselves in different digital formats creatively and innovatively using the different digital platforms available to them. It is important that they are aware of the different digital platforms available to them. They should be able to communicate the message in different forms, these could be a video, text, audio , visual or any other form. They could share a message as a blog, as a podcast, as a video, animation, simulation or a 3D model. The students should be given the choice and voice while selecting the edtech resources to communicate their message to an authentic audience. 

Let's start exploring the indicators one by one:

ISTE Standard Creative Communicator 1.6a says that the students select the most appropriate tools to convey or communicate a message. They should have a list of digital tools and various platforms available to them. They should also be given ample practice of using the right digital tool. The students should understand the intended message and how it would be perceived by the audience before using a digital tool. Teachers can share project or task rubrics with students , so they remain focused and not distracted. The purpose is to use the right tool at the right time for the right purpose. The different platforms (modes of delivery) students can use include the following: video, audio, blog, website, simulation, animation, posters, flyers, brochures etc the various digital tools that students can use include the following: digital microscope, digital camera, graphic design software, data analysis software, 3D printer, mind mapping tools online, video making software, audio recording software etc 

While working with the students at the Ranaa Child Welfare Foundation (a school for street children in Peshawar), the students were taught how to program in Scratch. They used to program in Scratch and then record a reflection of their learning in the form of a podcast. The podcast was recorded in Audacity (an audio recording tool that can be downloaded free online). The podcast after editing was uploaded on the Podbean site. The site was then shared on the social media forums for the intended audience. Details on link below:

https://hundred.org/en/innovations/ran-aa-school-podcast

Another interesting work done with the amazing students at another school was creating a podcast to share the amazing work done in class with parents and a wider audience through podcasts. There are around 70 plus podcasts recorded that reflect students learning details in link below:

https://alberunionlineradiostation.podbean.com/

Now, when I think back I think Youtube Live could have been used for creating live videos where both students and teachers can share their projects or amazing learning activities with a live audience, these could be parents , teachers, peers, and people in the community. Also it is a great opportunity to reach a diverse audience beyond the classroom and school walls. 

Another activity that I remember doing with the students at a school was hosting a live one day conference by the students on Facebook live. It was a one of a kind conference hosted by the students for the students. A rubric was shared for the projects. It helped in maintaining the quality of the content and the projects created by the students with assistance from teachers. This is another great way to communicate a message creatively to an authentic audience. Both students and teachers need to be aware of the digital platforms and tools available to communicate a message creatively and innovatively. They can be given checklists and rubrics before selecting a digital tool or platform. In the ICT or IT classes students can practice and explore features of the various tools available to them. 

ISTE Standard Creative Communicator 1.6b says that students should be aware of remixing and reusing content guidelines. They should understand what remixing and reusing means and under what circumstances it is acceptable to use content created by others. Students should also be aware of copyright laws and should know how to properly cite a source. It is alright to summarize in your own words or explain in your own words using examples with reference to the original content. 

When I write my blog posts to reflect on my learning from the ISTE online courses, I refer to the course in the beginning of the post and I share the link of the online course in case anyone else wants to do the online course too. Also I add references or citations in the footnotes and I use the citation tool in Google docs to create a professional citation. Also If I like an idea read online on a website or in a blog or an article online, I share the links to the articles in the blog posts. If I want to state an idea to someone , I make sure to state the name. The students should be given practice to cite sources and give proper citations. It is a digital citizenship skill that can be easily learned. 

I liked the example quoted in the 7th module of the ISTE Course on Students Standards, it talks of elementary students creating their own dolls while taking some inspiration from Kachina dolls. The teacher wanted the students to know the difference between sharing ideas and copying ideas. Students learn how to seek permission before using copyrighted material and reference properly. While exploring online I came across the idea of remixing songs, students can modify the original songs by adding their own lyrics, change instruments, add a new instrument for a new sound etc but while doing all this, they give credit to the original sound or song creator. 

ISTE Standard Creative Communicator 1.6c says that students present their ideas in ways that the audience understands, meaning in simplified form. It is like presenting complex ideas in simple ways and not complicated ways. It can be compared to computational thinking where you break a bigger complex problem into smaller chunks to better understand it, followed by pattern recognition, abstraction and algorithmic thinking. In other words, creating a visual mind map of a concept to understand it better or creating an infographic to understand better. For example while I was working at Ranaa Child Welfare Foundation the students made different objects that represent a noun using puzzle pieces. This was a  unique way to share their understanding of the taught concept about nouns. They also used tangrams to create different objects. It was a visual representation. The students also made a prototype of a robotic car which identifies the areas with more pollution in the city of Peshawar and then takes steps to reduce the pollution. They used card boards, old newspapers , old boxes, paints etc to create a model of a robotic car which was amazing.

In order to explain the process of photosynthesis, students can create an animated diagram in Google Slides (by adding motion to the objects on the slide). Canva is a graphic designer tool available online and it has built in templates to explain processes like digestive system visually using an animated video. The good thing is that both students and teachers can customize the built in templates and create their own animated videos. Canva also has templates for storyboarding, infographics, websites, story books, newsletters and much more. It has an easy to use interface and the colors are appealing too. 

I liked the idea of creating 3D models by middle school students in Minecraft of the historical landmarks students study in their history class. This idea was shared in the module 7 unit of the ISTE Students Standard course online. Another idea could be to redesign their cities in Minecraft and construct models that keep people and infrastructure safe from earthquakes, floods or any other natural disasters. Students could also use a 3D printer to create a prototype of a product, this could be a design of a furniture piece for inclusive classrooms. Other than this various online tools could be used to create graphs and charts to share key findings in a data visually. These graphs and charts can be created in Google Sheets or Gantt Charts. For example we could find the number of reduced cases of COVID in the past year or so by making a chart. 

The important thing to understand here is that students need to be well aware of all these digital tools and formats available. They can confidently use these to convey a message in a different yet simple way to the audience. They know the purpose of each tool and can use it in the most effective and efficient way to meet the learning objectives.

ISTE Standard Creative Communicator 1.6d says that students understand the various types of audience and they present the content accordingly. They understand that different people look at the same information in diverse ways. It is important that while publishing, presenting the key messages are not lost. For example students of middle school could be asked to do a project about introducing a healthy food plan for the cafeteria. The students have to survey other students and collect data about existing food quality in the cafeteria and second about their healthy food choice. This data has to be represented in the form of graphs and charts. They know that the data has to be presented to the school head and admin for approval. They will do it carefully and cautiously. They can also present data to their peers and get their feedback. The results could be published on the schools social media page for parents and teachers.

Another interesting idea could be to let the students present their projects in a student led conference to the parents and teachers. This could be in the form of google sites, animated videos, powerpoint presentations, 3D models, Models in Minecraft, robots etc. Another idea worth trying could be to share and discuss their findings about their country's history with students in another country using a Google Hangout or Google Meet session online. It would be a great opportunity to compare/contrast history of both countries, students could talk about cultural differences, endangered species, heritage etc. Another idea could be to let the students suggest a new ending to a famous fairy tale and share it with the actual author of the fairy tale. This can be a digital story book presented to the actual author and students must be prepared to present and ask questions. 

In all these ideas the audiences are different, and students would need to understand the content and how it would be shared with a diverse audience. I have been writing blog posts in blogger for a while now and the audience reach is around 70K plus, which would not have been possible if the blog was private and not public. I intended the posts to be read by all educators and gain free access to valuable ideas for integrating edtech in education. This was only possible with my publishing posts online. It looks great because there are a number of people who commented on my posts and gives me a lot of encouragement to see positive comments on my posts.

Overall I think this module also helped clarify the creative communicator standard. There is a lot of depth in these standards and it can be only understood when looking at them in chunks. I really liked the examples shared by the course instructor, very relevant and in context. 

Enjoy reading 🙂

Regards and prayers

Sheeba Ajmal