Podcasting

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/images/Audacity-logo-r_50pct.jpg

Podcasting is great for auditory listeners. I recorded a book talk for a list of eleven books for an English 9 Independent novel study using audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/).  I saved the recording as an MP3 file. My file is also saved on itunes (https://itunes.apple.com/). Now, I am not sure how to get it to my BLOG. It seems to me that a person must also subscribe to the RSS feed in order for it to be a real Podcast for sharing instead of just a recording. I am open to some help with  this. My Podcast could be enhanced with background music, and by adding images of the cover of the novels. My voice sounds a little stiff and stilted.

Aaron emailed me (thank you!) and told me about audioboo. I was going to check that site out tonight anyway because I noticed Janice and a few others mentioned audioboo. It was so easy; I could not believe it. Hopefully, I set the RSS feed to work properly, as well. I also talked longer than the 3 minutes for audiboo, so the rest of the podcast gets cut off. Here is my attempt at a Podcast:  English 9 Book Talk

http://technorati.com/social-media/article/want-to-know-why-apple-changed/

Podcasting may be used for a number of uses from recording how to do a task in the library or classroom, from students creating their own Podcasts. Students may practice reading and then listening to themselves. Also, one may follow or subscribe to Podcasts for information or professional development. I checked out the Medieval podcast listed by Berger and Trexler (p. 130) in Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World. One of the teachers at my school is designing a special interest course combining the Medieval world with English and Geography. I also checked out the Scientific America podcast.

http://audioboo.fm/

http://www.screenr.com/

Screenr is an excellent tool for capturing the screen, voice, and sharing.

http://www.screenr.com/

Voice Thread looked very complicated, but I will have to come back to it and spend more time learning about it. It is an educational collaborating, video tool and it looks like one can comment.


Overall, each of these audio and visual tools will enhance education and students will reflect and collaborate with each other, but more importantly, they will be engaged in their learning.

At this moment, I feel very excited about the educational application of these tools. I feel as though I can give a workshop to my colleagues and get them started on this technological train along with me.

My English 12 students presented their Independent novel study projects today. I was so impressed with what they did; I could definitely appreciate the time that it took to create and edit their products. One group created a movie based on a Dr. Phil talk show. Their novel was the Kiterunner and they questioned Asseff  Lohrab's criminal behaviour. There were two commercials included (lol), clapping and music at the right times. They included "The Bloopers" at the end of the movie. It was great. Another group did a PowerPoint (Prezi did not work; PowerPoint was a back-up plan B) and incorporated a coupleof short You Tube videos in their presentation. Another group created a game board--a phenomenal amount of time and work went into this project. The artwork on the board and the cards was amazing. These students definitely show how teachers, myself especially, need to be on board with the amazing resources available to us for collaborating and sharing. One student thanked me today for allowing her to use her artistic talent in English.