Success at last!?

Last week I trialled the EeePC during feedback on practice, and found that this worked a lot better than the digital photo frame:
1. Feedback could take place wherever was most convenient for the centre; no need to be near an electrical socket. Of course, I need to make sure that the battery is charged (which is also the case for the camera) so preparation is vital.
2. Down loading the images took only a few seconds as the digital camera could be inserted directly into the USB inlet.
3. As the EeePc is a small laptop computer it is really easy during discussions to pass it between me and the student e.g. to point out particular facets of the practice, or children’s responses and engagement in the learning experience. For instance, a student was surprised to note, when watching a scenario of her own practice, that children were less involved in the learning experience than she thought. This was a real eye opener for her, and led to her considering the wider issues surrounding this event.
4. I found it was a lot easier to pause the footage, as the situation demanded, thus fostering a deeper level of reflection.
5. The sound quality was bad last time I video recorded a student’s practice so I intended to focus on continuous photography rather than on video recording. I reasoned that this would still give a good overview of the overall practice. However, as I was in a small and reasonably quiet infant/toddler centre, I decided to continue the trialling of video recording the student and her practice. The following visit the situation was similar with a small group of children in a small centre. Although in both events the sound quality was still quite low, both video recordings gave a good picture of the interactions between the student, the children and other teachers. Until I use a camera with a higher quality sound recording system or a digital recorder, sound issues will continue to be a frustration.
6. At this point, I am still struggling with the transition from a feedback system that combined written documentation and verbal discussion to one that relies primarily on visual imagery ‘dictating’ professional dialogue. Over the years I have become comfortable and effective with a format in which I shared what I had noticed, and then used strategies, such as highlighting aspects of practice followed by questioning, to encourage the student to ‘recognise’ what this might mean linked to their espoused theories on practice, their theories-in-use and those theories they have read about. I now find that I need to find ways in which the students identify / notice and recognise aspects of their practice for themselves, thus relying less on me. For me it is clear that the same approaches are not as applicable when using visual images in feedback. I think the next step for me now is to do the following:
- Find some literature and /or research that discuss effective ways of sharing visual imagery in triadic and dyadic discussions.
- Read more about how to ‘empower’ students to take increasing responsibility in these discussions.
- From this new knowledge and understanding develop an action plan that includes strategies for implementation, and future on-going reflection on the use of visual imagery in reflective practice.