Ah, the lazy days of summer! If you are an educator or student, that is. At the end of the school year, I had every intention of writing posts all summer long. I actually wrote one just after school let out. However, a couch potato thwarted my attempts. She made me watch nine episodes of the first season of HBO's True Blood in one day. She forced me to lay in the sun reading books, not once, but three times! She cajoled me to take several long walks with my dog. Couch potato, if you and I were not one-in-the-same person, I would julienne slice you and fry you up with some sweet yellow onion.
But hey, isn't having the summer off one of the perks of being in education? I may not have to go into school each day during June, July, and August, but I still work all summer long. I spend a great deal of time surfing for good resources on the Internet, read books and education articles on the web, spend time networking with other educators on Twitter and Plurk, and occasionally play games on my computer to keep my brain sharp. You won't see me losing a half year of learning over the summer, nosiree!
Next week, I am conducting a workshop for teachers in a neighboring district on blogging, using wikis and podcasting. I have had force myself to put down the remote and hold off watching the last three episodes of True Blood in order to plan my session. The planning hasn't been a pain in the neck at all! It is also nice to focus without being interrupted.
What blog hosts and wiki hosts do you find best lend themselves to K-12 teachers and classrooms? What do you use for podcasting? What are some of the most innovative ways you have seen each used by teachers and students? All suggestions, links to great examples and tutorials welcome!
Showing posts with label podcasting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label podcasting. Show all posts
June 17, 2009
March 25, 2009
Cool Tool for Podcasting
I haven't really gotten into podcasting, at least the creation of podcasts. I always have good intentions of creating something in a podcast, but never do. I think it is because I don't like the sound of my voice when I hear it. It has that Midwestern twang to it. I can't imagine what my colleagues or students think of it!
Nevertheless, I think podcasting has a strong place in schools, especially student-created podcasts. I have seen, rather---HEARD---many wonderful examples of podcasts created by students. It takes on a whole new realm of learning for the student when not only do they speak, but they hear themselves speak. Volume, rate, inflection, not to mention the use of "like" and "ummm", all play a big role in podcasting. Most of these skills are taught when students are reading, but not taught for presentations.
A podcast really isn't any different than an oral presentation. Students still prepare in the same way. The podcast can be kept forever, where an oral speech is saved only in the audience's memeory. Today's resource will help students prepare for creating a podcast so that they can focus more on the skills necessary to make them sound professional.
CuePrompter
CuePrompter is a free online teleprompter that can help students when practicing for an oral presentation or speech, podcast or vodcast. The application is a snap to use and free for all commercial and noncommecial purposes. You can select the speed, screen size, text color, and even mirror the text. Check this out if you are delving into the world of podcasting with your students!
Nevertheless, I think podcasting has a strong place in schools, especially student-created podcasts. I have seen, rather---HEARD---many wonderful examples of podcasts created by students. It takes on a whole new realm of learning for the student when not only do they speak, but they hear themselves speak. Volume, rate, inflection, not to mention the use of "like" and "ummm", all play a big role in podcasting. Most of these skills are taught when students are reading, but not taught for presentations.
A podcast really isn't any different than an oral presentation. Students still prepare in the same way. The podcast can be kept forever, where an oral speech is saved only in the audience's memeory. Today's resource will help students prepare for creating a podcast so that they can focus more on the skills necessary to make them sound professional.
CuePrompter
CuePrompter is a free online teleprompter that can help students when practicing for an oral presentation or speech, podcast or vodcast. The application is a snap to use and free for all commercial and noncommecial purposes. You can select the speed, screen size, text color, and even mirror the text. Check this out if you are delving into the world of podcasting with your students!
March 23, 2009
Something Cool - Close to Home!
I found a cool blog today, thanks to @hci, a fellow Tweeter from Wichita. The blog, which is highlighted below, was created by the Wichita Eagle's copy desk. The Eagle is Wichita's local newspaper. They have had an online presence for a long time now; a site that I regularly visit if I need to refer to an article that I had recently read, to get funeral information, or many other bits of information. I had missed this wonderful blog, called Grammar Monkeys, until today. Each blog entry features a grammar tip in the form of a podcast. I like that each episode gives a grammar tip in a short and concise way. This could make a wonderful intro for writing a paragraph based on the tip, to add to a teacher's class blog or web page, or as a bell ringer activity. Any other ideas?
Grammar Monkeys
Check out Grammar Monkeys blog that gives short and sweet grammar tips in the form of podcasts. The tips are suitable for upper elementary through high school students, as well as life long language learners and lovers. I would love to see a post on the use of lose/loose - a pet peeve of mine! Thanks @hci and Wichita Eagle for opening my eyes and ears to this blog!
Grammar Monkeys
Check out Grammar Monkeys blog that gives short and sweet grammar tips in the form of podcasts. The tips are suitable for upper elementary through high school students, as well as life long language learners and lovers. I would love to see a post on the use of lose/loose - a pet peeve of mine! Thanks @hci and Wichita Eagle for opening my eyes and ears to this blog!
December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone! I can't believe it is here already. This year, I did most of my shopping online so I don't have to get out today, on Christmas Eve, and fight the crowds. I plan to mail some packages...I know they will be late, but I also know I will be forgiven for that...take some Christmas treats over to my friend Marlon, bake a cake for my hubby to take to work tomorrow (firefighters have to work on Christmas-bah!), and then go to my mother-in-law's for our family celebration. What a great day!
May each of you find the joy of the Christmas spirit enter your home this holiday season!
Grammar Grater
Grammar Grater is a weekly podcast produced by Luke Taylor and the Grammatis Personae Players from Minnesota Public Radio. The podcasts are fresh and lively, focusing on interesting topics related to grammar. The coolest thing about the applying them in the classroom is that the script is posted on the website for students to read along while listening. This allows lower ability readers to have that audio-visual connection. Thanks to Twitter friend skipz for the tweet about this great site!
May each of you find the joy of the Christmas spirit enter your home this holiday season!
Grammar Grater
Grammar Grater is a weekly podcast produced by Luke Taylor and the Grammatis Personae Players from Minnesota Public Radio. The podcasts are fresh and lively, focusing on interesting topics related to grammar. The coolest thing about the applying them in the classroom is that the script is posted on the website for students to read along while listening. This allows lower ability readers to have that audio-visual connection. Thanks to Twitter friend skipz for the tweet about this great site!
December 17, 2008
Cooperating Through Twitter
This morning I was reading a few posts on Twitter and saw a couple of opportunities to help Twitter friends. This is not an uncommon occurrence. Often I will read Twitter posts that are requests on how to do a particular task in an application, what the best brand of (dvr, mini pc, wireless router, etc) is, or to shout out a hello to new Twitter users. It is great to have such a diverse community of friends to help with these types of questions.
Twitter can help with another type of request as well. This type allows for collaboration. This is the type of request I responded to this morning, and will always respond to if I have the opportunity, because it is such a valuable contribution.
One of the requests was made by cscribner, a Twitter friend and fellow Maize technology integration consultant. He and several students from his school are working on a VoiceThread about Christmas traditions around the world. His request was to add comments to the VoiceThread about how Christmas is celebrated in the poster's country. What a wonderful way to complete a global project in a short time. In the past, students (or the teacher) would have to write letters or emails. These two methods require efforts that are unnecessary today.
The other request was from mrmayo, another educator I follow on Twitter. His students created podcasts for book reports. He was asking for people to visit his blog, listen to the podcasts and comment. What an easy thing to do! Each podcast was under two minutes long, and picking a few of them I got the gist of the assignment. I listened and posted in under 10 minutes. Back when I was fifth grade teacher, I would have loved having my students receive feedback from people around the world. Unfortunately, back then I could only go down and bribe my coworkers with a day free of recess duty to respond.
So while I joined Twitter to learn new ideas and be a "requester of information" I am pleasantly surprised to see how I can contribute!
Mathway
Mathway is a site that shows step-by-step how to solve a math problem. The problem types range from basic to calculus. Students (and their parents helping with homework) can see the steps of the problem if they forgot how to do it once at home. Teachers can use the site to reinforce the steps of a problem or to show student an alternate way to solve. Graphs can even be created from the equations. Finally a glossary of terms is available for refreshing your memory of math vocabulary.
Twitter can help with another type of request as well. This type allows for collaboration. This is the type of request I responded to this morning, and will always respond to if I have the opportunity, because it is such a valuable contribution.
One of the requests was made by cscribner, a Twitter friend and fellow Maize technology integration consultant. He and several students from his school are working on a VoiceThread about Christmas traditions around the world. His request was to add comments to the VoiceThread about how Christmas is celebrated in the poster's country. What a wonderful way to complete a global project in a short time. In the past, students (or the teacher) would have to write letters or emails. These two methods require efforts that are unnecessary today.
The other request was from mrmayo, another educator I follow on Twitter. His students created podcasts for book reports. He was asking for people to visit his blog, listen to the podcasts and comment. What an easy thing to do! Each podcast was under two minutes long, and picking a few of them I got the gist of the assignment. I listened and posted in under 10 minutes. Back when I was fifth grade teacher, I would have loved having my students receive feedback from people around the world. Unfortunately, back then I could only go down and bribe my coworkers with a day free of recess duty to respond.
So while I joined Twitter to learn new ideas and be a "requester of information" I am pleasantly surprised to see how I can contribute!
Mathway
Mathway is a site that shows step-by-step how to solve a math problem. The problem types range from basic to calculus. Students (and their parents helping with homework) can see the steps of the problem if they forgot how to do it once at home. Teachers can use the site to reinforce the steps of a problem or to show student an alternate way to solve. Graphs can even be created from the equations. Finally a glossary of terms is available for refreshing your memory of math vocabulary.
November 24, 2008
Of 1:1 and Podcasting
Today I am at a 1:1 Laptop Summit hosted by Holton Public Schools in northeast Kansas. Our district is looking implement a 1:1 program and are still in the research phase. In the library at Holton High School about 50 people are gathered from across the state. Some are from districts that already have a 1:1 program like Holton; others are like my school district, here to gather information.
I was very interested in coming to listen in because I was concerned that we might not be thinking of EVERYTHING we need to as we plan. So far, it looks as if we are doing OK. I am also relieved to know that the issues we are facing are being faced by those already involved, or planning an implementation of their own.
Some solutions have been offered. On our drive back home, I am sure we will discuss these in detail. One such solution is to create a "white list" of acceptable sites for use at school, as opposed to a "black list" of unacceptable sites. I am curious about how this works. Anyone out there using a "white list"? If so, I would love your feedback about how it works in your district.
Even with the ideas shared here, I know our district can not afford to rush into a program as big as this without thinking it through thoroughly.
Gcast
Gcast is a website that allows you to create a podcast by dialing a toll-free number from any phone anywhere. Alan Beam, principal of Holton High and presider of the 1:1 laptop summit, explained how he uses it for school announcements. Check out more information about how to use Gcast at November Learning. I am excited to use this free service and share it with my teachers!
I was very interested in coming to listen in because I was concerned that we might not be thinking of EVERYTHING we need to as we plan. So far, it looks as if we are doing OK. I am also relieved to know that the issues we are facing are being faced by those already involved, or planning an implementation of their own.
Some solutions have been offered. On our drive back home, I am sure we will discuss these in detail. One such solution is to create a "white list" of acceptable sites for use at school, as opposed to a "black list" of unacceptable sites. I am curious about how this works. Anyone out there using a "white list"? If so, I would love your feedback about how it works in your district.
Even with the ideas shared here, I know our district can not afford to rush into a program as big as this without thinking it through thoroughly.
Gcast
Gcast is a website that allows you to create a podcast by dialing a toll-free number from any phone anywhere. Alan Beam, principal of Holton High and presider of the 1:1 laptop summit, explained how he uses it for school announcements. Check out more information about how to use Gcast at November Learning. I am excited to use this free service and share it with my teachers!
August 14, 2008
New Year, New Victims!
I am posting on the second day of school because the first one was just busy, busy, busy! I am really looking forward to this year because I plan to entangle more staff in my Web...2.0, that is! One of the things I really focus on at the beginning of a school year is the new staff. We have seven new staff members this year. They range in age from 20-something to 4o-something. They represent a cross-section of typical technology users.
In our district, Technology Integration Consultants, TIC's meet once a week with each new teacher, for at least the first nine weeks, to help them learn all of the technologies and resources available to them. I love this facet of my job, because it gives the teacher not only a chance to explore the resources, but a reason to explore them and learn how they can incorporate them into their curriculum.
Just like students in a classroom, some new teachers are raring to go and try out something like podcasting in the first weeks of school. Others need a bit more prodding to even let their students open the laptops. By working with teachers one-on-one, I can take them from where they are and move them forward at just the right pace for them.
Sometimes, I just need to give them the information they need to access the resources, and off they fly! Other times, I get to go in and do model lessons so the teachers are learning with the students. I feel that this is one of the best forms of staff development for teachers because they are getting training right on the battle field, so to speak. When there are 24 or so students learning from me, the teacher gets to see all the little "unexpecteds" that arise. They can watch how a person can handle those minor problems before the teacher has to do it the first time themselves.
Often times, a teacher that is not that strong in using technology has the sense that their lesson failed if the technology fails. Breaking away from that idea brings movement along the continuum. No matter where a teacher begins, in today's schools, they will gain new knowledge in regards to technology. My hope is to be able to help not just the new teachers, but all of the teachers that I work with, to use that knowledge to impact student learning.
Happy 2008-2009 school year!
In our district, Technology Integration Consultants, TIC's meet once a week with each new teacher, for at least the first nine weeks, to help them learn all of the technologies and resources available to them. I love this facet of my job, because it gives the teacher not only a chance to explore the resources, but a reason to explore them and learn how they can incorporate them into their curriculum.
Just like students in a classroom, some new teachers are raring to go and try out something like podcasting in the first weeks of school. Others need a bit more prodding to even let their students open the laptops. By working with teachers one-on-one, I can take them from where they are and move them forward at just the right pace for them.
Sometimes, I just need to give them the information they need to access the resources, and off they fly! Other times, I get to go in and do model lessons so the teachers are learning with the students. I feel that this is one of the best forms of staff development for teachers because they are getting training right on the battle field, so to speak. When there are 24 or so students learning from me, the teacher gets to see all the little "unexpecteds" that arise. They can watch how a person can handle those minor problems before the teacher has to do it the first time themselves.
Often times, a teacher that is not that strong in using technology has the sense that their lesson failed if the technology fails. Breaking away from that idea brings movement along the continuum. No matter where a teacher begins, in today's schools, they will gain new knowledge in regards to technology. My hope is to be able to help not just the new teachers, but all of the teachers that I work with, to use that knowledge to impact student learning.
Happy 2008-2009 school year!
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