This is podcast has been added to, and edited. I made use of the simple yet efficient sound recorder (which I have students use in class to capture audio that is not able to be download-able). I edited it with the crude audio editor on movie maker and converted it using the basic version of Itunes. All of this technology is available on our computers at Pal-Mac and easily accessible. While no means is this top of the line audio mixing, it is sufficient.
I will concur the geographic divide is annoying, the digital divide can be just as menacing. Somehow (by a mistake most likely by my own inadvertent actions) my group members emails were being deposited in my outlook “junk mail folder”. Sorry ladies, I didn’t realize this until this morning. My bad. It is interesting how a little thing such as that can inhibit ”connecting”.
And without further ado here is our podcast…
With the geographic divide of two school districts, it is not easy to get together….so I improvised! I listened to the podcast of my group, as posted on the 8th of February. I then rambled a bit into Audacity, downloaded the LAME plugin, exported to MP3, and uploaded to Gcast (I didn’t use my phone). I went to post my podcast in the comments but got some nasty errror messages, so here is my cast….
Okay, so I was able to upload my podcast but I know that it could have been done differently. I tried to use GCast but found out that I could not upload a wav file – it had to be an MP3. So I will have to investigate further regarding this situation. I also tried to use archive.org but was unable to do so there as well.
Despite my challenges faced with uploading the podcast I have some long term goals for podcasting in the classroom which I may be able to begin as I think about the learning fair coming up. I worked a bit on MathCasts for last year’s learning fair and found it cumbersome to create. I suppose I need more time to practice with it or a more efficient way to use the SmartBoard and voice recording…. I am definitely up for learning. I would really like to use podcasting or MathCasting to create review for certain topics and/or vocabulary concepts that relate to Integrated Algebra. My mind is always trying to come up with new things and new ways to do things but I find myself looking at the clock in my classroom at 7:00 at night. Aren’t I supposed to be at home?
The following is a podcast about: Teachers Roles in Education are Changing
RMason, DWilkins, CFerland
Quite a few of the tech integration specialists in my personal learning network are being told their positions are either being eliminated or reduced due to budget cuts. I’m wondering why – does this mean technology integration is considered a luxury if it is one of the first things put on the chopping block? I think not.
We have been told that our job is to prepare students for the 21st century. Technology is and will continue to be in their personal and professional lives. As educators, it is our responsibility to be sure students are prepared to effectively use that technology and it is the integration specialists who are helping us accomplish this goal. They are staying current with the latest technology, providing necessary training and supporting the classroom teacher with the implementation of technology to enhance the students’ learning. The learning curve for teachers is greatly reduced with this support – I recently read an article that said without professional development, it takes about seven years to implement a new technology and with support, about two and a half years. Without the integration specialists, technology integration will surely slow or take a few steps backwards.
It is my hope that administrators throughout the country will rethink their decisions to reduce or eliminate tech integration specialists. Our students need their expertise if they are going to be “tech literate” upon graduation.
I wanted to try my hand at posting a podcast. This material may become part of our group project. I recorded some comments from one of my studyhalls. We’ll see if this works!
We met on Friday to record our podcast and decided to just share our feelings about our topic rather than have a planned script. We discussed how students have changed related to the technology they use in their social and educational life. The podcast probably isn’t our best work as far as content, but we now have an understanding how to produce a podcast. We didn’t do any editing of the recording in Audacity – that will be another task to be learned at a later date. On the recommendation of a friend on Plurk, Gcast was used for our podcast. (One feature of Gcast is that you can record your podcast using your phone!) Keeping our fingers crossed that this works.
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Well, I am learning lots of new things about technology-Thank you Jamie! But what I am finding is I, like others, have limited time for all of this. I seem to find a way to do what I need with technonolgy when I need to use it. For example, when I need to find out more about a topic I now have three places I can go to help me; diigo.com, delicious, and I can always go back to google as needed. I am following wonderful people on twitter, have found teacher blogs and websites that are amazing. It is so cool to look at things people are doing from around the country. I thought voicethread was very cool and shared the idea with my students. At first I had over forty kids who wanted to try it, but when it really came down to designing and working on a project I have two boys who are very excited to work on a mineral project. Their excitment is wonderful! I feel like WC is opening my eyes to what is out there and increasing the ways that I can enhance my teaching through the use of technology. I am not sure I will ever be someone who goes on all of these sites daily or does updated posts on a regular basis, but it has become a resource to find what I need when I need it. I hope someday I might move to a point where I have something of interest for other educators to get ideas from or to share materials with. But for right now I am okay with using my time to get what I need and with increasing by knowledge base.
This is my first “true” blog entry! I thought that I had begun weeks ago, but was merely commenting about other’ posts. I now understand how frustrated students become when everyone else “gets it” and they are missing a critical element. I have always been very independent. Plurk has changed the way that I approach learning, in a way that other experiences have not.
I have only been “Plurking’ for four weeks. I have learned more about teaching , learning , and myself,from this activity than I thought possible. It’s about connectivity, the core of Williamson Connects! My interest in photography has been stimulated and encouraged. I joined Flickr and am doing the 365 photo-a-day challenge. Sharing the links from educators, photographers and scientists added to and supported the exciting additions to my expertise made possible with WilliamsonConnects! Plurk offers an opportunity to have international associations with people I never could have met, and: Surprise!, interactions with highly gifted colleagues with whom there is never time for anything other than a passing comment. Another benefit is the social interaction which adds levity and support to each day.
Plurk seemed not only foreign, but somewhat offensive to me a few weeks ago. Now, I realize that stubborn independence does not produce effective results! I wanted to blog so much today, that I finally reached out to colleagues. Response was immediate! Plurk led the way. Now I want to further explore diigo. I’ve been bookmarking for weeks, but never go there.
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