EDU 653 Week #4

Entry #1 Podcasting & Live Streaming

Last Sunday when I began reading Will Richardson's chapter 8 in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms I was somewhat skeptical.  I had tried the Audacity technology before without much success.  However, after devoting my afternoon to reading about and then searching the internet for different podcasting, screencasting and live streaming tools, I can honestly say I have drank the kool aid.

The idea of podcasting to my students enthralled me.  After some toying around with Audacity (per our class assignment) I found it to be a simple yet powerful tool that could be used immediately.  The implications for classroom use are far-reaching: a weekly teacher-parent podcast, review podcasts, lecture podcasts, student-created podcasts and teacher commentary podcasts.  Couple that with a wiki and you have an amazing online resource that has endless possibilities.  After working through our own EDU 653 podcast/Audacity assignment, I decided that I was going to have a three-prong plan surrounding podcasts in my classroom:

1. A weekly teacher podcast where I give a synopsis of the week ahead, class updates, class announcements, reminders, and teacher recommendations (books, movies, websites, articles)

2. A weekly student podcast where a selected student gives a brief synopsis of what was learned in class during the week, descriptions of class activities, and a summary of assignments.

3. Condensed lectures that would summary/supplement class activities and content.  This would also be useful for students that missed class or for students that need extra review.

Podcasting via Audacity is quick, easy and convenient and can be done at my desk.  It will be a technology I will implement immediately this autumn.

Live Streaming is another intriguing avenue for educators.  I have not fully explored my use of live streaming in the classroom but I did recognize an immediate use for my wrestling team.  After exploring various options that Will Richardson recommends I chose UStream to invest my time.  It is a quick, simple and user-friendly live-streaming technology that also offers a free account.  I set up an account, tested the technology and fell in love with the potential of it all.

I plan on live streaming my wrestling matches so that Grandpa Jim in Wabash, Wisconsin can watch his grandson Johnny wrestle in Grand Rapids, Michigan live!  I watch a lot of live-streamed wrestling (as not much actual wrestling is on tv or live for that matter) and I look forward to utilizing this exciting prospect for my own wrestlers and their fans.

This is my first attempt at a podcast.  Enjoy!
Click Here for Link


Entry #2 RSS Feeds

"Really Simple Syndication" is recommended by Will Richardson as the technology to use and implement immediately and then introduce it to your students.  Per our introductory tasks, creating a Feedly "RSS" reader was required.  At first I was not interested in creating yet another account with another site.  After all I have a facebook account, twitter account, prezi account, two educational wikis, two google accounts (one personal, one school), one UStream account, and more.  Setting up this technology I was not sure how exactly I would utilize an RSS feed.

Yet again, after you are forced to use such a technology you begin to see the merits.  My Feedly reader is now a part of my morning routine.  I have subscribe to several educational sites (as well as fellow EDU 653 classmates) and I enjoy getting interesting and resourceful updates.  Not having to "surf the internet" to find articles and resources saves time and effort.  It has become my one-stop-shop for news, articles and educational updates.

I will highly recommend this technology to my students and with further use I may even spend valuable class time to help them set-up their own reader.