So here I am, preparing to do just that, annoy my colleagues into changing what they potentially already saw as finished, knowing that there will be the 'for goodness sake, when does it end?!' Umm, never? Nothing is static. Even Stonehenge is changing (albeit crumbling slowly away).
So here we go, adjustment time:
Is what we are doing the best of what we could be doing?
Does it fully encompass the school direction(s)?
Is it inspiring our learners?
Does it just need to be finished/started/used by your learners?
Following on from trying to find anything other than Prezi as an interesting alternative to slides or powerpoint, I clicked on this blog post from Matthew Guay:
https://zapier.com/blog/best-powerpoint-alternatives/#spark
Adobe Spark was most interesting to me and accessible, being online. No point advocating it if I didn't know how to use it, we need to model what we want, or what a load of hypocrisy. So I have prepared the first step in 'annoying my colleagues' by reminding them it is their professional responsibility to refresh their sites and remember they are in fact just path and course of 'the way we do things around here' on Adobe Spark. Which had some pros and cons as it turned out - though I am always hopeful for a wholly positive experience;
Pro's:
- Free
- Pre-set templates with good font/colour coordination and layout - design for dummies takes away some of the choices and can make the actual work output much faster for people like me who like to alter everything
- You too can have that annoying elevator-type music you see on facebook videos with no words (woohoo, always wanted that!).
- You can record your voice over your slides one at a time, and you can re-record until you get what you want.
- Really, very good stock photos available, which keeps artists happy, if you are not stealing things off google image.
- Strong encouragement from within Adobe Spark to keep your content and audio short and simple.
Con's:
- There is a limited number of templates
- The grid your text snaps to is limited (but is probably for the best)
- It felt like I needed to put more work in to get a finished product with the words, image and then the audio (but I could have been less fussy)
So overall I will be using it again. It does make rewindable learning a little more attractive. It is not inaccessible (I find Prezi can be intimidating to some who feel technology is at times, overwhelming).
Coming back to my point; refreshing google sites and getting our staff on board with that; resistance is a part of the challenge, doing is part of not only the learning, but the leadership (who is going to listen to someone who doesn't know how to do? Probably not me), and change is normal. No one wants to crumble away like stonehenge. My goal as e-learning leader is to be walking the talk, able to adapt and available.
