Media Development Project - Deanna Jager

The Media Development Project

Do you use PowerPoint presentations in your classroom? Have you developed a video to use with your learners? The Media Development Project (MDP), which got under way in January 2012, has set out to get all instructors in Academic Foundations to think about putting class content into a visual form. The two major expected outcomes of this project are a collection of PowerPoints and videos that closely connect to curriculum and learning outcomes, and an increase in instructor knowledge and ability to create PowerPoints and videos that support learning.

Why PowerPoint and video?

There is a variety of technology readily available to create powerful and useful media for learning. The MDP has focused on these two tools because they are easy to learn, widely useful – from traditional classrooms to Real Time Online classes – and familiar to both learners and instructors. There are already many PowerPoints and videos available online from instructors around the world; part of this project aims to gather and organize these outside resources to make them easily accessible to all instructors.

What’s happening now?

The MDP is currently working with instructors to develop a PowerPoint and accompanying video for Social Studies 10 that will focus on a component of the Canadian federal government system. The instructors are the subject matter experts and through the project they are learning about visual design, technical tips to creating learning-centered PowerPoints, and how to convert their PowerPoint into a video that will be hosted on the MDP YouTube channel. You can check out the channel by searching for BVC Upgrading Online on YouTube, or using this short URL: http://goo.gl/TKtb0.

At Share the Wealth, the MDP held a workshop on the Basics of Highly Visual PowerPoint Presentations. In this workshop, participants learned 5 basic steps of visual design and some tips specific to PowerPoint after which they had the opportunity to play around with the program and practice the techniques that were discussed. If you missed the workshop, you can view the PowerPoint, along with other presentations, in the Official Media folder on the P: drive.

Have an idea of something you want to turn into a PowerPoint? Know of a video that benefits learners that you would like to share with other instructors? Interested in being involved in the Media Development Project?  Let Deanna know about it through email (djager@bowvalleycollege.ca) or by phone (403.410.1566).