Personal On Demand

PODcasting sets up a connection between a website and your computer so that new shows can automatically show up when available (Podcasting-In Plain English). Anyone with a microphone, computer, and connection to the web can create their own show and make it available to everyone else in web-land. Is podcasting something you are wanting to do? Do it now, tweak it later, but check out this article in About.com for guidance. When you come across a great podcast you can subscribe to the site and, as long as you have a podcatcher, you will receive any new shows automatically. You are then able to download your podcastings to any portable device and listen to them anywhere you go. Just make sure the battery is charged! I guess what I didn't know about podcasting is the names. I knew all of this could be done, I just didn't know it by name. So when I saw at the first of the semester we would be learning about podcasting, I didn't know what to expect. 

Lets compare podcasting to another Web2.0 tool from a previous blog post, VoiceThread. From what I understand the difference between the two is that Voicethread is an interactive tool that allows us to attach images and record audio comments to an online PowerPoint presentation, which could be viewed and shared with others. And although you need a microphone and computer for both, the Podcasting can be downloaded to any portable device. Podcasting is also like a personal broadcasting show. I would love to hear indepth comments to help better distinguish between the two. 

I personally do not have an MP3 player or iPod of any type. My girls have iPods and my husband has an iPhone, but I have not taken that leap. I find myself too busy to listen to music other than when I'm in the car, and even then I listen to whatever comes on. I see how I could benefit. There are times when I could have download a lecture from a class or a song I was practicing for church choir instead of being tied down to my computer. Other than that, I am not too familiar with that type of portable devise.

I have been very interested in investing in an iPad to utilize with my students. A teacher I work with uses an iPad with his students and I love the possibilities. Most of my students are cognitively below grade level. I could use the iPad to engage the student while teaching them numbers, letters, colors, shapes, even words. My behavior students could earn time on the iPad and then in turn learn while they play. Hook the iPad to the projector and it becomes an interactive game for the whole class. The great thing about the iPad versus the computer is there are apps that can help the students work on fine motor skills, too. The possibilities seem endless. Feel free to offer up any other ideas!

Tell Me, Tell Me Do You Know All About Web 2.0?

I feel as though I should know more about technology than I do. I mean most of what we are learning I’ve heard about but I didn’t realize how little I understood it. Web 2.0 has revolutionized how the internet can be used and yet how many of us actually take advantage of what it offers? Social bookmarking is a way to take your “favorites” with you to any computer and even share with others. What I find great about this is now I will be able to add keyword tags to my favorite sites making it easier to find the sites I need. I also look forward to looking through respected teachers’ favorites. You can find a list of the top 100 Social Bookmarking Websites by Pagerank here.

Wiki is a place where I could create a site and, unlike a blog, anyone could add or change the information that appears. I could see this being a great use for creating a group project for 4^th graders through college years. A few years back this would have been a much better solution to a group project I was working on. It was an on-line college class. The three of us e-mailed back and forth until we found a date to meet. We split the parts up and then we worked on our parts individually until we found another date we could meet to put everything together. It was a huge hassle to find a time to meet. I think a wiki site could have eliminated a lot if not all of the time we wasted trying to coordinate our schedules. This "Wiki In Plain English" YouTube video explains how Wikis could be a useful tool in teaching and learning.

VoiceThread would be a great use in elementary schools to create a presentation for a parents’ night. I know many schools are trying to connect with students from around the world and I could see this as a wonderful tool in bringing them all together on one presentation. VoiceThread is a way to put a voice to an on-line presentation. Pictures, videos, power points, and other things can be brought together with just a few clicks of the mouse. Here is a video showing how students from around the world came together to create a fantastic presentation.

Here’s what makes me sad. Time….I just don’t have enough of it to explore and play around with all this great stuff!! I really look forward to finishing my degree, in part just to have the time to explore and try all of the amazing technological tools available. I know this is just the icing on the cake and that once I dig into that cake I am going to find a unlimited concoction of flavors. It is exciting to learn all the tools available to us all, but the new things I can bring to my students to enhance their learning is even more phenomenal!