Tuesday, April 13, 2010

921-Session 10


I thought I'd take a moment to go over the schedule for the rest of the semester.

  • 4/13---Session 10
  • 4/20----Session 11
  • 4/27---Session 12
  • Deliverable #3 should be completed and posted under S 9's comments before (as well as placed on the wiki)
  • 5/4--Session 13----will be comprised of your finshed projects which are due by midnight, Friday, 5/14.


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.)

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If you'd like to read past participants' comments you may find them here:

Spring '09

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 )

Mr. Dudley (a past participant) mentions his success here.
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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.


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

8 comments:

Cheryl said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deb said...

This week's session reaffirms for me the necessity of incorporating these "new" technologies in the classroom.

My students LOVE their iPods and they get excited about any opportunity to bring them into the classroom. Unfortunately, our school rules state that these devices are not allowed, so students generally bring them out only at dismissal time. I skirt around the rule at times (Shhh!) and notice immediately an increase in the level of energy and engagement my students demonstrate toward the lesson.
One example is a lesson I did with my eighth graders who were reading The Giver. Students were required to find a song that related to one of the themes in the book. They had to write an essay explaining the connection between the text and the music, and bring in a recording to share with the class.
This was a few years ago, and I demonstrated the activity for them by playing a few songs from a favorite CD. When it was their turn, the majority came in with mp3 players and portable speakers...I knew cassette tapes were a thing of the past, but CDs, too? Bye bye, boom box. That weekend I bought my very first iPod.

In the past, my homework club students produced more writing (and it was good writing!) when they were allowed to listen to music on their iPods while they worked. I have often wondered if my students would perform better on tests if given the same opportunity. This class is giving me courage to challenge the policies that inhibit these activities.

A few possibilities for using podcasts in my classroom are:

Having students interact with a text as they are reading it (recording their questions, connections, inferences, etc., on an mp3 and then posting.) This could take the place of sticky notes or "Think Mark" sheets that many students dread, but are necessary to demonstrate comprehension.

Recording important notes and mini-lessons, building a resource library that would be especially helpful for students who have difficulty copying notes from the board or students who are absent.

Student presentations (book talk, autobiography project, creative writing, etc) would more engaging and "alive".

Allowing students to submit work in the form of a podcast supports differentiation. All too often, I see my struggling writers fail because they can't transfer their ideas to the written page. This tool would help narrow the gap for many students with learning disabilities.

These are just a few ideas that are spinning through my head right now. I will definitely check out resources like Podcast 411 and Podcast Alley for further inspiration.

Thanks for the information about the NPR podcast directory, too. Listening to NPR is a luxury I thought I'd lost due to my busy working mom schedule. I can't wait to check this out!

I will also take some time to look more closely at the Challenge Based Learning projects at the Apple Learning Interchange. What a great resource for teachers who want to develop authentic, inquiry based projects that challenge students to make a difference in the world!

Dana Dones said...

EDC/586 Week 10 Podcast Dana Dones


Who would believe that I would be able to create a Podcast? When I tell you I am one of the less tech savvy persons on the planet I took a chance. I think I was comfortable because I was given an option and try and it was not mandatory. I have not figured out how to create my own RSS feed to add the podcast to, but that will just take more reading and patience. I can tell you this, I created a test podcast and although it’s only on my desktop I will create a real podcast and transfer it to one of the choices we learned about such as Podbeam.com. Perhaps my classmates enrolled in our Adult Education Class will want to give a part of our presentation via a Podcast. Now I just have to figure out how to create the visual part. Ok maybe I am getting ahead of myself but I am learning.

alexandra Phelan said...

Podcasts- Week 10
In the novel I am reading, it was suggested the young boy listen to a podcast of the lecture he was forced to miss. That was just about the extent of my knowledge in this area prior to this week’s class. This morning, I found myself exploring and located some great uses of the podcast and have a slightly larger understanding. I am sure with next week’s lesson I will gain a little more enthusiasm with more knowledge. I found multiple- choice online quizzes with podcast explanations, I listened to justification of the importance of offering multiple strategies and approaches to solve math equations. I have an Apple and never realized the number of free podcasts already in my Itunes library. How can I be in education and be so out of the loop? I finished my Master’s only two years ago and none of these technological phrases or tools were involved. The rate of its developments and uses is staggering.
As the special educator supporting my students I could see podcasts providing that extra reinforcement, or explaining an alternate strategy. The podcasts video would be extremely valuable. I think it is amazing that it is free. I am too new to this to explore on the complex level but I am thinking we will have access to these resources as we move into the summer? I look forward to learning a bit more in the coming week. Thank you!
-Ali

SueThomas said...

I, like Dana, am not a very "tech savvy" person. I am fond of saying I repel technology. I actually tried to do a podcast earlier in the school year...quite unsuccessfully. I Googled it, and sought help from a RITTI instructor from the course I took last summer, and still I could not figure it out. I was so excited when I saw that this week was podcasting because I know it would be broken down in a way I could understand and actually do.

I agree with Deb about my students loving theri iPods...I love mine too and use any excuse to bring it into the classroom to use it. We listen to music from it and I actually have downloaded books that we are reading as a class and they listen to it being read and they follow along. They love it! I am looking forward to creating my own podcasts for the students to access on our class website, and can't wait to come up with some ideas for them to try their own hand at podcasting. I love the ideas mentioned, especially the ones about booktalks...I'm big on booktalks!

Mrs. McAllister said...

This week’s session on Pod-casting was eye-opening. I didn’t even know that Pod-casting was named after the I-Pod. I guess as I’m really into visual learning I haven’t really thought about incorporating different types of auditory (aside from lecture) learning in my classroom. I don’t really have much of an interest in using Podcasting for entertainment purposes ( for myself) but I really like the possibilities for using this resource with students. Some of the ideas such as recording lessons for students to upload to my webpage sound doable. I plan to set up an account with Yahoo!Podcasts and then link it to the class blog.

I like the idea of giving students an alternative to PowerPoints. At the Ritti training last summer, I learned how to use Windows photostory…which has an audio element to it in which you upload a sequence of photos that apply to a specific topic and then use a microphone to add a voice over as a narration. I plan on having my students use this resource for an upcoming project on catastrophic events. I wonder if using a podcast would have similar results for presentation in the classroom. I guess students could have visuals like the three fold presentation board up during the podcast or they could have handouts with the information so that the students could keep track.

Having an audio blog of a field trip is a way for students or parents that could not attend a class field trip to listen to what it was like. Such a podcast could possibly be linked to a photostory online that could be viewed while a student/parent hears the podcast so that they could get a real feel for the field trip site. This could also be used as a preview for the next year’s students to access before they go on the field trip. I can see the importance of subscribing to podcasts that apply to a given content area so that ESL students develop the ability to listen to proper pronunciation at their own pace.

Anonymous said...

I am so glad that the format of this class allows us to save these PowerPoint presentations and gives us access to all of these tools even once the course is complete. It seems like each week there is so much information and tons of great links to really useful resources that I know I’m going to want to revisit. I have had very little experience with podcasts and honestly have been leery to create my own (although I feel somewhat more confident after watching the tutorials). However, I can think of a million ways to incorporate them into my classroom! I didn’t realize how many free podcasts are readily available. I believe without a doubt that a majority of students would find it interesting and even exciting to use iPods and MP3 players in class. I also think most students would think it’s was really cool if they could create their own podcasts and hear their voices or their friends playing on their iPod.
What really amazes me about these Web 2.0 tools is that they seem to be the key to meeting the needs of all learners which has long been a goal in education. Podcasts, especially those with text available would be a valuable resource to both visual and auditory learners. Podcasts of text narration would provide much needed assistance to students with difficulties in reading. I have been working very closely with the Life Skills teacher this year to incorporate her special needs students into my classes. Podcasting would allow me to offer them modified lectures on topics that might be too difficult for them to grasp during class. They could listen to them in their classrooms at another point in the day and take notes at their own pace. There has also been a big push, at least in my district, to move away from “chalk and talk” and provide students with more hands-on and authentic learning experiences. I can’t think of a better way to do that then by incorporating the types of technologies that they know and use on a daily basis. I do agree that students learn more by playing an active role in the learning process but they also seem to learn more when they have fun.
I’m also beginning to see the opportunity for a lot of overlap with these tools. For example, I’m thinking that it would be great to create a wiki-based animal science text that also features podcasts. This way, students could follow along with the text while they listen to the narration. One of the things I find most difficult about working with heterogeneous groups of students is that I’ve got to make sure that everyone can keep up. A lesson like this would ensure that all of the students were getting access to the same information but doing so at their own pace. They could even revisit the wiki or listen to the podcast as many times as they needed. It would also be very helpful in reviewing for unit tests and final exams. I’m looking forward to learning more about creating my own podcasts.

Staci N said...

Session 10
Staci Nazareth

My experience with podcasting started several years ago. Our student council wanted to allow all students to be able to listen to the student election speeches, so I was able to record the students and make their speeches available on MyPodcast.com. We mixed the speeches in Audacity. However, podcasting has come such a long way, I can't even believe it!

My hero, in the way of podcasting, is an 8th grade history teacher, Eric Langhorst, and his website speakingofhistory.blogspot.com He is so awesome. He does what I would try to do as a classroom teacher. He posts studycasts that summarize and discuss the chapters so kids can listen to them on their iPods when they have time. They are spectacular podcasts.

I have helped the 8th grade history teachers create podcasts that have become mini-movie trailers about the causes of the civil war. Here is just one: http://video.salineschools.com/play.php?vid=2527

Currently, we have been using Garageband and iMovie to create podcasts however, that limits us to using only Mac computers. I have just this week convinced a newbie teacher to try Yodio.com to have her kids create basically an audio slideshow of their NPR style essays called This I Believe. Kids can make the Yodio at home, and call in their voiceover using their phones. This is true podcasting! Anywhere- anytime!

We also have used, quite extensively, Animoto.com to create book trailers. I made several that described books that I had read, you can see one here: http://video.salineschools.com/play.php?vid=1393 to promote different titles and get kids interested in reading them. This expanded to having over 200 7th graders create their own video book trailer podcasts that were all loaded on our school network. If I had time, I would link each of them up to my library catalog!

I think I would also try to incorporate a podcast or vodcast if I knew that I was going to be gone from school. Then, I could explain things to my students, and the sub could just push play!

What I have never used is a podcatcher! Just like I was introduced to Google Reader, the podcatcher would be a handy tool to subscribe to podcasts of either certain events, like if there were news reports on the Icelandic volcano for current events, for example. And, requiring kids to use podcasts as research is only a teensy step away, I think.

And I definitely need to share the resources in this session out to the teachers in my buildings! Being able to direct them to podcasts that might enhance their curriculum would really be a handy tool. I haven't even looked at any of these, except shambles.net! If only there were more time in a day.

I loved what Deb said about creating podcasts of music to go with a particular book, this is something that we can try when our kids read The Outsiders.

Honestly, there is so much here, that I could spend days and days just looking at these podcast resources. Podcast is hitting it big in our district- the challenge is how to make it SIMPLE, FREE and EASY.