I thought I'd take a moment to go over the schedule for the rest of the semester.
Please don't wait until the last minute to contact me if you have any questions, and as with all of these projects, "Practicality Shall Take Precedent over All." That means that if you have an idea to modify a Deliverable or Final Project so that it will be more useful to you in your setting then please feel free to pass your ideas by me. (I approve most of them.)
======================================================
This session brings us to a new category, "PODCASTING." I have found that teachers' experiences, and exposure, to podcasts vary widely, so I built in some 'Differentiated Instruction' into this session. For those of you new to the term you will be enlightened, and if you want more detail there will be hyperlinks from most slides that will give you that extra support you may need or want. Here is a video to give you a brief overview if you're a 'newbie.'
For those of you with more experience, I have integrated into the session the opportunity to bring yourself to the next stage in your 'podcasting evolution.' You will find video tutorials, and dozens of resources, that will help you rise to the next level of 'podcasting sophistication,' so you may create your own if you are so inclined. Here is a more 'research-based' video for those of you interested in that aspect. It's a little long, but the best parts are during the last 4-5 minutes:
- 3/31---Session 10
- 4/7----Session 11
- 4/14---Session 12
- Deliverable #3 should be completed and posted under S 9's comments before (as well as placed on the wiki)
- 4/21--Session 13----will be comprised of your finshed projects which are due by midnight, Friday, 5/1.
Please don't wait until the last minute to contact me if you have any questions, and as with all of these projects, "Practicality Shall Take Precedent over All." That means that if you have an idea to modify a Deliverable or Final Project so that it will be more useful to you in your setting then please feel free to pass your ideas by me. (I approve most of them.)
======================================================
If you'd like to read past participants' comments you may find them here:
and those from the Summer of '08 are here.
Some people find that reading these ahead of the session gives them some well-needed perspective.
It is easy to get overwhelmed with Podcasting, so let me put it in simple terms. You have the choice of going the 'simplistic route' or the more 'complex route'. The simple route entails finding, listening, and integrating podcasts that have been created by others into your lessons. The complex route entails creating them yourself or with your students. Keep these distinctions in mind to avoid drowning yourself in S10 & S 11.
Someone mentioned that they wanted to know if it was possible to set up an "Instant Messaging" box on their blog. The answer is, "yes!" I haven't tried it myself, but I know that you can use any number of services, like: (http://www.plugoo.com/, or http://www.meebome.com/learnmore.html )
John D. (a past participant) mentions his success here.
================================================================
John D. (a past participant) mentions his success here.
================================================================
This session brings us to a new category, "PODCASTING." I have found that teachers' experiences, and exposure, to podcasts vary widely, so I built in some 'Differentiated Instruction' into this session. For those of you new to the term you will be enlightened, and if you want more detail there will be hyperlinks from most slides that will give you that extra support you may need or want. Here is a video to give you a brief overview if you're a 'newbie.'
For those of you with more experience, I have integrated into the session the opportunity to bring yourself to the next stage in your 'podcasting evolution.' You will find video tutorials, and dozens of resources, that will help you rise to the next level of 'podcasting sophistication,' so you may create your own if you are so inclined. Here is a more 'research-based' video for those of you interested in that aspect. It's a little long, but the best parts are during the last 4-5 minutes:
For others, you may not have any desire to learn or use podcasts at this point in your career, so if that is the case you may skim through this section and focus upon your Final Project. Next session will expand on Podcasting and address Videocasting.
Good luck and podcast away!
Dave
15 comments:
I just embedded a podcast on my wiki! Sounds like I'm speaking a foreign language, doesn't it. As a Spanish teacher I see huge potential for this. For my final project my students will be working on the wiki in teams. Now I'm considering having one component of their project be a podcast. They will be able to share their Spanish pronunciation, and I will be able to evaluate it. Very exciting.
Podcasts are perfect for foreign language classes. I like the idea of the school that did a weekly "radio show." I can imagine how motivating that would be. I signed up for VoiceThread so that I can put book reviews up on the wiki. It's easy to set up, the hardest thing is to know what you want to say! I reviewed a few of the summer reading books. Does that count as a podcast? Podcasts work great if you need to differentiate learning in the classroom. Students could give answers/information orally. Test/Quiz reviews could also be prepared on a podcast. I didn't know that podcasts were also distriuted through RSS feeds. I've downloaded Juice and signed up for a couple of podcasts. I am going to check out Audacity next.
I will admit that I am a novice when it comes to podcasting and I will most like stick to the “simple version”. I can definitely see the benefits of podcasting and why it can be so motivating to students. Knowing myself, I will most likely begin by incorporating an already established podcast into my lessons. I am searching for a podcast that might help supplement a math lesson for my students when they are absent. I’m not sure if it is “Spring Fever”, but I have had a lot of students absent lately. I don’t have a class wiki up and running yet, but I will try to set up a podcast link to my class blog. In the future when I become more comfortable with podcast I would like to incorporate them into a project. I really think that my students could “run-away” with the possibilities.
I’ve been wanting to learn more about podcasting so this week’s assignments were great! I wasn’t aware of the podcatching software available, but I have a Bloglines account which I can use to subscribe to podcasts. I found that Nancy Pearl, a librarian who recommends books (also famous for her bobble-headed figure!) has a weekly podcast through NPR, so I subscribed to it. Both my husband and son have mp3 players – my son actually owns the iTouch which is an amazing tool. He is always downloading pod & vodcasts. I’ve watched a few with him. It looks like I’m going to need to get one myself soon! I enjoyed looking at the Cheshire Public Library teen site, I could see that as a real hook to involve teens through a public library setting. I also liked exploring the “Learn out loud” site; I especially liked the free famous speeches from history. How amazing for students to hear the authentic voices – I found Babe Ruth’s speech when he retired from baseball which might be fun to share with students. Purdue U. boilerCast system is fabulous and they have expanded it far beyond just podcasts to make video, pdf files and more available to students.
Far and away, though, my favorite site was Ipod I speak I sing I listen I learn – WOW!! I listened to the mp3 file while exploring her blog site. I have to say after a while I stopped the podcast and just explored her amazing site. I bookmarked it since I found it one of the more useful resources I have looked at this semester. I will definitely visit this site again.
I have downloaded Audacity, and purchased an external mike for my laptop, so I have everything to create a podcast except an idea! I was thinking about creating a podcast for my state book award blog, just not sure of the topic yet. I have played around with existing podcasts and have embedded some in powerpoints. We have an amazing NH librarian, Nancy Keane, who was just listed as a “mover & shaker” in the recent Library Journal. Her website includes book reviews and podcasts and she always creates podcasts for our state book awards. I use her podcasts and embed them in the powerpoint that I create each year to promote the awards. I don’t play them all, but include them all so I can have different options for sharing titles. I encourage you to take a look at her website.
Wow! This week’s presentation was very informative. I was very excited about podcasting with my students but I learned that there is more to this than I originally thought. Creating the podcast seems to be the easy part. Having a place to host it and figuring out how to get it there will take some thought and preparation. I learned that I will need to download Audacity, figure out how to use it, get it to play nicely with Vista, download a codec to get it to change the file format and then find a place to host it. My idea was to create a podcast of a research project that the students are working on so that other students would be able to learn from their research. I have figured out how to record the student’s voice over a PowerPoint presentation and save that file. I would then need to save that file somehow into a format that could be posted on the web. The website Taking It Global would be good for just voice with MP3 files not exceeding 2 MB. So much to learn, so little time!
I'm stuck. I cannot figure out how to embed a video from teacher tube into my blog. What am I doing wrong? I can insert a link to the video but I cannot figure out how to embed it.
Rebecca Gordon
When going through the PowerPoint, I realized that Podcasts can be used to show proficiency in listening. The students can listen to a podast and answer specific questions to document proficiency in listening.
Our schools new websites offers blogs for all the teachers and on it is a RSS link for the teachers to use. I can’t wait to try it out and hopefully the students will listen to it if they want. I can see a few different ways to use a podcast in the library such as increasing the students interest in young adult authors such as interviews when they are coming out with a new title or a movie is being released based on their book. But one of the main benefits that I can see for myself in the library is hopefully being a resource for the teachers and steering them to great information that they can use and integrate into their classroom lessons. I do have a librarian copyright question though, When you download the podcast you store it on your computer, how long can you keep this on your computer? The one teachertub clip said that it can be used year after year? With all this new technology copyrighting is lagging. Does anyone know of a good site to go for verifying some of these questions that plague me as a librarian?
I must be honest, I had no idea what a podcast was, and I never heard of NPR until this session. Although I have no interest of using one (at least not now), I went in with an open mind and viewed the session. It was very interesting and informative. After going to Boilercast, I started to see how it can be an important tool as far as reviewing information and using it in schools. I also see how it can aid ELL students. It would give them the opportunity to review the information in class, and I'm also sure there is a way they could translate the podcast into their native language to give them a better understanding of the lesson.
At LearnOutLoud.com I found some good stuff. In their history section, I found an area of Great Speeches through history. This could be a great learning tool. For example, when we study the civil rights movement I could use the podcast of MLK Jr.'s "I Have A Dream Speech". I think that would be pretty cool.
This week’s session was very intriguing. The possibilities for using Podcasting to engage students seem endless. I would think the middle and high school age student population would find Podcasting very motivating. It gives students different choices for presenting projects and I liked the fact that it reaches the students that would need an alternate method to learn material. For students that enjoy technology, Podcasting would tap into their creative side. The advantages seem to be never-ending.
When describing Podcasting to my college aged daughter, she said to me, some of the professors at her school use Podcasting for their courses. The negative effect would be that some students would not go to class to hear the lecture they would just watch it on-line. Do they get the same information? Why even go away to college if you can take courses at home? As a student, I enjoy going to a live lecture or discussion where students interact with one another. I can see the benefits to Podcasting, but I wonder if society is becoming impersonalized by the overuse of technology.
Although, the point was made that Podcasting is practical and quick, I found myself a wondering where to start! First of all, I do not even own an IPod, but my children do. I found myself investigating some of the resources from this session to learn how and where to start. It was overwhelming and time consuming, so it is something that I need to save and return to when I have time. [Summer]
The Podcast Text Searching site is fascinating. Another possibility, converting a Podcast into text, then the text can be searched for on the web. Teachers would need to stress the importance for students to check their source of information. Where did it come from and is it a valid source of information.
Many of the sites seemed to be geared to older students. The Nature Podcast had interesting information, but more appropriate for a higher age group. There seemed to be a limited number of collections for elementary students at the Apple Learning Exchange, also. Although, I did find some clever ideas for social studies lessons. Is it because this is a new site or is it because it is more difficult to implement at the elementary level?
My hope is to get the time this summer to explore some of the possibilities of Podcasting for my classroom. It would provide another dynamic option to instruct and provide information for my students.
I enjoyed this session and like that a podcast can be automatically downloaded and can be used to record lessons and presentations as an alternative to Powerpoint. I agree that this is a great alternative for LD students. I have several students that have significant problems with writing and could benefit greatly from podcasting.
I am completely impressed with Mr. Sprankle’s podcasting setup but can’t see how I could manage something like that in my classroom at this time. Like blogging and and wikis, I would think it would be difficult to justify spending a lot of time on these technologies because they do not have any impact on standardized testing at this time. As stated in the NY Times article, “…principals were rarely interested because the program's impact on standardized testing was difficult to gauge. His own principal, he said, was hesitant to allow some students to participate in a 24-school virtual debate last year with the National Urban Debate League because the scheduling conflicted with a practice test for the statewide assessment exam.” I am hopeful that the importance of incorporating these technologies in the classroom and curriculum will be realized before it is too late.
I enjoyed exploring the WKU webcasting page. I had read the Memory Keeper’s Daughter and was familiar with the author. I always enjoyed going to lectures and listening to authors speak. It is amazing that I can listen to Kim Edwards’ lecture by simply pushing a button. The podcast also plays clearly and does not get choppy like some of the video clips that I have been watching.
I was also happy to be made aware of the NPR podcasting site. I do like to listen to NPR but do not have it on at specific times. It’s great to know that they have such a great resource available 24/7.
I like the idea of incorporating podcasting into the classroom. I would love to try to have the students record some of their poetry and put it on the blog. Podcasting seems to be one of the easier ways to bring the classroom into the 20th century.
Like Maura, I think that student interaction and socialization are important in the educational process; however, as a full-time teacher and mother I find that on-line classes provide me the opportunity to be flexible with my time. This being my second on-line class, I don’t feel that I have missed out on any information, in fact I think I may get more out of it because I am visiting links and references that I might not have had I been sitting in a lecture hall.
Thought I'd respond to the copyright question "Juliep" asked. There are some great resources for educators! You can find some Copyright sites that I recommend to my staff.
I really enjoyed going through the links that you provided concerning podcasts. A few months ago, I downloaded Audacity and discovered about 12 old headsets in a storage cabinet that worked well with our computers. I wanted to research how to develop a podcast. After awhile, I figured out how to create an mp3 file and place a player on my “practice” school web page. However, I never followed up on using podcasting because I had no direction for its use.
Now I have contacted a special education teacher who approached me in the fall about finding a way of recording his students’ comments about recent school activities onto a tape cassette. Of course, I am now offering him the opportunity to create a podcast that I can add to our “news” web page and he is so excited!
I did a bit of exploring and I really liked the Odeo site. I also found Mypodcast.com that appeared to be relatively simple to use for hosting our podcasts. I really liked the Nature Podcast site. It had very easy to find embed and download buttons. I have a Biology teacher who wants to set up a wiki for her class and I will direct her to that site so that she can embed some of the pertinent podcasts.
And of course, NPR was fantastic. I am working with a Social Studies teacher who wants me to teach him how to create PowerPoint slides that include streaming video and audio feeds that can be turned on and off as he discusses a topic. I have him searching the Discovery Channel Streaming Video for the video clips and now I will send him to NPR for the podcasts.
I had trouble accessing the Yahoo!podcast site. I received a message that it was not available and there was another message stating that the Audio search is closing on April 21, 2009.
If I can get the special education class creating a podcast before the end of this course, I will put it on my wiki.
This week’s session on Podcasting suggests many ways to use a podcast although I have many questions about using them with elementary age students. Certainly one future need our school will face is a legally blind kindergarten student who will need many levels of support that podcast might provide. I’d like to make a podcast of 3rd graders doing a Reader’s Theater play in order to give them an authentic experience and a reason to work hard on their fluency and expression. But I wonder – besides the logistics/ technical challenges for me – is it something I’d share on the net.
Then I visited the Narragansett School Website this week while searching for elementary schools in RI with podcasts. They had a radio podcast from 3rd graders that was cute but not enough substance for me to attempt with the limited time designated for reading groups, but what I really liked was a featured item that was a podcast on what they were doing in a second grade class. The podcast had all the students reading a short research project on animals that they wrote and were reading to practice fluency. It was simple, direct and met multiple instructional goals plus made learning exciting and interesting and quelled many of my concerns just listening to it.
Learning about the uses of the iPods was mind opening for me. I have bought more than one for some of my own kids, but never really understood all its possible uses and capabilities. I never imagined the extent that iTunes—my vision was limited to just music and videos – I never really saw what it’s real potential was. The I sing, I listen. I hear, I speak podcast really made me realize I need to become more adept at technology. If it can be used for ELL and language courses, it can also help all the children who have dyslexia, speech and language issues, and fluency problems.
I think this session reminded me as I looked at Purdue Boilercast, the NPR site, the podcast Notes from Spain with its” donkey bridge” that whether we care to notice, or even participate, learning has changed and will continue to do so. The Scottish teacher who was so vehement about the failure of the British educational system to adapt to these changes showed so much passion for a learning revolution that a few months ago I didn’t even know was going on.
Earlier I checked out Charlotte’s copyright site – what a wealth of resources. I found many that interested me.
Love the idea of podcasting... having a hard time figuring out how I could use it in the math class and make it worthwile... I agree with many of the comments on how it really tests listening...Have passed on a lot of what I learned to the english teacher on my team... Thinking of making a podcast of the directions to the NECAP Test... I can just hit play every moring in October rather than reading it over and over!!haha
Post a Comment