I have been dreading this Thing since this whole L2P came together last semester! No, not the program, not even the material to include...it is a voice thing...my voice! I was thinking I would rope one of my kids into helping their ol' mom. Didn't happen...gee, they have lives of their own.
Podcasts (or picture-filled vidcasts) are all over the internet... I follow a book review site
Just One More Book that is nothing but podcast reviews and interviews.
Cool Cat Teacher includes an audio copy of her posts, but she must use a format that my computer doesn't recognize because I can't play them. There are hundreds of educational podcasts at the
I-tunes store. The EPN (Education Podcast Network) brings together many sources of podcasts and arranges them buy curriculum or purpose. Many publishers include them as promotional materials for new books. Even the traditional communication tool NPR now has a podcast directory of many of its broadcasts.Ok, a little bit of background about my podcast below. I used Photostory since I could not find a free host for an audio-only sample. The visuals you will recognize. I planned the order, wrote my scripting so I would not loose my place, unplugged my phone (no interruptions!), plugged in my headphones, took a big, deep breathe, and plunged in...and heard n-o-t-h-i-n-g. Messed around with the sound settings on my computer although all seemed right and tried it again...nothing, nada, zip, zero. Unplugged the headphones, turned up my personal volume a bit... and thank goodness, SOUND! All was good during the preview until I came to the picture where the sound ended about 30 seconds before the picture did...had about 3 of those to adjust. Whew!
Not the greatest sample I have ever produced. If I had had about 2-3 more hours and a bigger bottle of asprin (for my headache) and cotton balls for my ears so I would not have to hear it over & over & over (hey, forget the asprin, give me Pepto Bismol), I might have cleaned it up a little better.
It did scare me when it took almost as long to upload as Open Office took to download...Walked away for a bit and kept one eye on it in case the computer "blew up" from the attempt. All is well.
I will listen to podcasts. I will use podcasts as teaching tools. I will use PhotoStory to make teaching/learning tools..................................I ... will ... make ... more ... podcasts, but will line up voice sources!
Bye-bye for now!
FW
I have been dreading this Thing since this whole L2P came together last semester! No, not the program, not even the material to include...it is a voice thing...my voice! I was thinking I would rope one of my kids into helping their ol' mom. Didn't happen...gee, they have lives of their own.
Check out this free magazine about blogging and podcasting...I have been reading it for interest's sake for about a year. It will give you some perspective of these two tools outside the realm of education. Pretty amazing to get a glimpse at just how much is out there!
