I realize my previous post was supposed to be my wrap-up, but I've found a YouTube video that I had to share because not only is it funny, I could totally relate to the frustrations one character experiences with "technology." ENJOY!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Ending the Journey? I don’t think so!
This has truly been an amazing experience and I’ve learned so much about the three Web 2.0 tools that I have explored. I have read and been exposed to so many more issues about each tool than I even focused on or wrote about in my postings - to cover everything would have been impossible in the time frame I had given myself to do this. Nonetheless, the issues I have explored have been documented, and the additional issues and ideas I have been exposed to are tagged and saved and jotted-down and stashed in the back of my mind.
I know it’s cliché to say, but I think that if I can do this, anyone can. I came into this project with very limited technological know-how. What helped me greatly was the excellent information in the form of tutorials, forums, and step by step instructions provided for these Web 2.0 tools. Some of that information is provided by the specific software companies, and some is just “out there” to be discovered on the Internet. Obviously, another thing that enabled me to get through this project with such success was the fact that I was very interested in doing this – I was fully dedicated and committed to learning about these tools. Obviously, that personal drive makes such a difference when you’re doing research or a project. The interest and passion that I felt through this project is what I hope to be able to elicit and see in students when using these tools with them. Will these tools have that “hook” factor for them that they did for me? I think so.
With my newfound interest in and knowledge of a few Web 2.0 tools, there are definitely implications for my practice upon my return to school. I don’t know when or if I’ll get a position as a Teacher Librarian, but even if I simply return to the classroom, I will be returning as a different teacher. The ideas I’ve discovered for using these tools with students can be used in my English and Drama classrooms - many of my lessons and units will be transformed by these tools if I use the many suggestions I discovered in the literature. If I do work as a TL, not only can I use these tools in the library, but they will be great for collaboration with teachers too. I believe that I have a professional responsibility to take what I’ve learned and share it with others: my students and my colleagues. I read over and over again that with these Web 2.0 tools, “the possibilities are endless” and I fully believe that. I also believe that education is being transformed with these Web 2.0 tools, and I am glad to be an educator in such a progressive and exciting time.
So, I would not say my journey has ended; it has definitely just begun and will continue and develop and grow and thrive. And not only do I want to forge ahead with more exploration of the three tools I’ve already looked at, but I want to check out RSS feeds, wikis, video sharing, voicethread, social networking, social bookmarking…
“Beginning the journey” - To be continued!!
I know it’s cliché to say, but I think that if I can do this, anyone can. I came into this project with very limited technological know-how. What helped me greatly was the excellent information in the form of tutorials, forums, and step by step instructions provided for these Web 2.0 tools. Some of that information is provided by the specific software companies, and some is just “out there” to be discovered on the Internet. Obviously, another thing that enabled me to get through this project with such success was the fact that I was very interested in doing this – I was fully dedicated and committed to learning about these tools. Obviously, that personal drive makes such a difference when you’re doing research or a project. The interest and passion that I felt through this project is what I hope to be able to elicit and see in students when using these tools with them. Will these tools have that “hook” factor for them that they did for me? I think so.
With my newfound interest in and knowledge of a few Web 2.0 tools, there are definitely implications for my practice upon my return to school. I don’t know when or if I’ll get a position as a Teacher Librarian, but even if I simply return to the classroom, I will be returning as a different teacher. The ideas I’ve discovered for using these tools with students can be used in my English and Drama classrooms - many of my lessons and units will be transformed by these tools if I use the many suggestions I discovered in the literature. If I do work as a TL, not only can I use these tools in the library, but they will be great for collaboration with teachers too. I believe that I have a professional responsibility to take what I’ve learned and share it with others: my students and my colleagues. I read over and over again that with these Web 2.0 tools, “the possibilities are endless” and I fully believe that. I also believe that education is being transformed with these Web 2.0 tools, and I am glad to be an educator in such a progressive and exciting time.
So, I would not say my journey has ended; it has definitely just begun and will continue and develop and grow and thrive. And not only do I want to forge ahead with more exploration of the three tools I’ve already looked at, but I want to check out RSS feeds, wikis, video sharing, voicethread, social networking, social bookmarking…
“Beginning the journey” - To be continued!!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Sidetracked by Shelfari!
I got a phone call from my friend Ronda who said, “I have to share something so cool with you. Go to my blog!” Upon accessing her blog, I saw her shelf of favorite books which was a widget she had discovered while browsing other blogs. This widget is from Shelfari. I had to have one!! And so, I “got my own shelf” which was easy to do as the step by step instructions on the Shelfari site are simple. I think this is such a nice touch for a school or library blog or webpage – with this feature, I could display different students and teachers’ favorite reads. Nice!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Educational Uses of Podcasts
Yet another tool for which the literature is endless!
Chris Kretz, discusses podcasting in his article “Podcasting in Libraries” (2007) in N. Courtney (Ed.), Library 2.0 and beyond. Innovative technologies and tomorrow’s user. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Kretz overviews many emerging uses of podcasts in libraries but I’ll highlight two podcasts from his list, which are of interest to use with teens:
Nancy Keane’s BookTalks Quick and Simple is an awesome resource website, dedicated to providing podcasts of booktalks, or “book hooks” for students, teachers, librarians, etc. Users can search through the podcasts by title, author, subject, interest level, or month to listen to a great variety of podcasts. There are also booktalks written by students (hmm, a potential class project!).
Cheshire Public Library Podcast is a “teen-driven cultural magazine. Each episode is an antic mix of movie, book, and music reviews, comedy skits, poems, man-in-the-street interviews, and other surprises” (Kretz, 2007, p.42). This would be great to stay tuned to and model a similar project after!
Through Kretz’s discussion, I was able to pull numerous other suggestions for uses of podcasts that educators could adapt in their classrooms and libraries:
- author talks, scholarly lectures, practical workshops, story recording, upcoming events, interviews… and the list goes on!
And now, from the guru himself…
Will Richardson’s suggestions for podcast uses include:
- creating radio shows with students
- creating online audio magazines
- students reporting on events, interviews, reviews
- publishing and narrating daily lessons, labs, important notices
- recording oral histories and reenactments
- recording special events
- creating audio travel albums
Richardson also led me to The Education Podcast Network, created by David Warlick and The Landmark Project. It is an excellent resource as it offers an ever-growing and wide variety of podcasts, organized by subject and grade level. Click and you shall find!
Finally, a few other suggestions come from authors Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, whose articles are featured in our course text, Toward a 21st-Century School Library Media Program (2007) © The Scarecrow Press, Inc. I’d like to open with a quote from one of their articles that I think speaks to the power of podcasts: “In addition to motivating learners, Podcasts are a way to convey ideas and emotions that are difficult to express in a text format” (p.163).
Some of Lamb and Johnsons’s suggestions include
- sharing audio projects created by reading buddies
- recording “how-to” projects and language lessons
- listening activities
Final thoughts…
Chris Kretz, discusses podcasting in his article “Podcasting in Libraries” (2007) in N. Courtney (Ed.), Library 2.0 and beyond. Innovative technologies and tomorrow’s user. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Kretz overviews many emerging uses of podcasts in libraries but I’ll highlight two podcasts from his list, which are of interest to use with teens:
Nancy Keane’s BookTalks Quick and Simple is an awesome resource website, dedicated to providing podcasts of booktalks, or “book hooks” for students, teachers, librarians, etc. Users can search through the podcasts by title, author, subject, interest level, or month to listen to a great variety of podcasts. There are also booktalks written by students (hmm, a potential class project!).
Cheshire Public Library Podcast is a “teen-driven cultural magazine. Each episode is an antic mix of movie, book, and music reviews, comedy skits, poems, man-in-the-street interviews, and other surprises” (Kretz, 2007, p.42). This would be great to stay tuned to and model a similar project after!
Through Kretz’s discussion, I was able to pull numerous other suggestions for uses of podcasts that educators could adapt in their classrooms and libraries:
- author talks, scholarly lectures, practical workshops, story recording, upcoming events, interviews… and the list goes on!
And now, from the guru himself…
Will Richardson’s suggestions for podcast uses include:
- creating radio shows with students
- creating online audio magazines
- students reporting on events, interviews, reviews
- publishing and narrating daily lessons, labs, important notices
- recording oral histories and reenactments
- recording special events
- creating audio travel albums
Richardson also led me to The Education Podcast Network, created by David Warlick and The Landmark Project. It is an excellent resource as it offers an ever-growing and wide variety of podcasts, organized by subject and grade level. Click and you shall find!
Finally, a few other suggestions come from authors Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, whose articles are featured in our course text, Toward a 21st-Century School Library Media Program (2007) © The Scarecrow Press, Inc. I’d like to open with a quote from one of their articles that I think speaks to the power of podcasts: “In addition to motivating learners, Podcasts are a way to convey ideas and emotions that are difficult to express in a text format” (p.163).
Some of Lamb and Johnsons’s suggestions include
- sharing audio projects created by reading buddies
- recording “how-to” projects and language lessons
- listening activities
Final thoughts…
Wow and wow. After feeling overwhelmed by all the ins and outs of learning how these tools work, I tend to get my second wind back after discovering, in the literature, the possibilities that these tools offer me for use with students. The same is true here with podcasting. I am refreshed! I am feeling like I must get back to Audacity and learn more so that I can bring this exciting Web 2.0 tool with me to the library or the classroom next fall when I return to school.
Although many suggestions have been offered in the literature on podcasting, I would like to end with statements made by Kretz: “As podcasting continues to evolve as a means of communication and education, libraries will continue to find ways to include it in their mission” (p.46) and Richardson, quoting Brooks, “As with blogs, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination” (p.118).
The Land of Podcasting - Exploring Audacity
I’ve been playing around with Audacity for a few days. I’ve got it downloaded on my computer (it is free, downloadable recording and editing software) and have also downloaded the LAME MP3 encoder in order to export my recordings. Yet again, I’m overwhelmed by Audacity’s features and by the potential of this awesome Web 2.0 tool. I think I’ve lost track of my travels through Audacity these past few days. I’ve spent time on the website reading and reading through all of their information (the online manual, the FAQ’s, the Audacity Wiki) and I’ve also taken some “side trips” to online tutorials in order to get some help with some of the basic features of recording and editing a podcast. As is similar with the other two tools I’ve explored, I’m faced with a pile of information to get through and try to make sense of before embarking on use of this software and tool with students. I have to be honest, sometimes the many features frighten me a little – and perhaps scare me off the tool a bit, because I don’t know that I’ll ever come to fully grasp all there is to know with the software. I guess I need to focus on making sure I have covered what I need to know for my purposes – use with students, to engage them and enrich their educational experiences in the library and the classroom.
Like the other tools, I wanted to give this one a go and try recording a podcast and post it on my blog. I selected one of my favorite poems to record; it’s called “Did I Miss Anything” by Tom Wayman. I practiced up a bit and then went for it. The basic recording was simple and once I listened to it and deemed it worthy of keeping, I went ahead and exported it as an MP3 file (which I learned how to do from the tutorials). I have to say, the tutorials are great – they are definitely the way to go to getting started with the basics with these tools! One of the helpful tutorials I used can be accessed here.
I was aware from my reading and from the tutorials that after creating my podcast, I would need to “store” it somewhere so that it was accessible, and so I used The Internet Archive as a place to upload and keep my podcast. And yet again, this is another site I’ll need to spend time going through more closely, but for now, I have uploaded my podcast and was able to add it to my blog (through the “Layout” feature which I’m getting so good at using!) for all to hear. Please feel free to listen to my reading of a poem –this can be accessed on the right bar of my blog.
Well, it couldn’t end there! I wanted to try another recording and play around with some extra editing features – adding music, sound clips, and effects. I did do some Google searching to find free, non-copyrighted music and sound effects to use in a recording such as this. I was fortunate to find FERL and was able to download some fun sound effects from FlashKit and Partners in Rhyme. This podcast took a lot more work and tonnes of time, but was waaay more fun! I wrote up a sample podcast that could be attached to a school library’s home page to highlighted the week’s events in the library and provide some announcements as well. All was well, until I hit a major snag…
I have not been able to upload my podcast and store it in The Internet Archive. I have spent so much time trouble shooting and trying to figure out what to do. I have tried other free storage sites, but to no avail. Since Blogger doesn’t support “enclosures” such as MP3 files, it is necessary to have an Internet storage host. I am very frustrated that I have not been able to figure out what the problem is - my limited tech know-how is causing me grief! I’ve spent hours messing around with this and I am only able to try so many things until I am out of ideas (and out of steam). Unfortunately, that’s where I am at right now. I have no idea how to fix this or what the problem is, and so I am unable to attach this podcast to my Blogger blog. BUT…
I found out that Edublogs (another popular blog software) allows for MP3 file enclosures within your post! YAY! So, what I’ve had to do, (in order to play and show off my podcast) is create an account for myself on Edublogs. This is definitely another blog host that I want to eventually look into in more depth, but for now, it is where my flashy new podcast lives! Please access my Edublog and check out my one and only post titled “Sample Library Podcast” to take a listen to the podcast I created. Whew!
I’m getting the hang of podcasting and Audacity’s software. I’ve surprised myself and am quite proud of what I’ve been able to put together, considering I have never considered myself tech-savvy. I just have to get a little quicker with things though, and that’ll come. I’m on my way!
Like the other tools, I wanted to give this one a go and try recording a podcast and post it on my blog. I selected one of my favorite poems to record; it’s called “Did I Miss Anything” by Tom Wayman. I practiced up a bit and then went for it. The basic recording was simple and once I listened to it and deemed it worthy of keeping, I went ahead and exported it as an MP3 file (which I learned how to do from the tutorials). I have to say, the tutorials are great – they are definitely the way to go to getting started with the basics with these tools! One of the helpful tutorials I used can be accessed here.
I was aware from my reading and from the tutorials that after creating my podcast, I would need to “store” it somewhere so that it was accessible, and so I used The Internet Archive as a place to upload and keep my podcast. And yet again, this is another site I’ll need to spend time going through more closely, but for now, I have uploaded my podcast and was able to add it to my blog (through the “Layout” feature which I’m getting so good at using!) for all to hear. Please feel free to listen to my reading of a poem –this can be accessed on the right bar of my blog.
Well, it couldn’t end there! I wanted to try another recording and play around with some extra editing features – adding music, sound clips, and effects. I did do some Google searching to find free, non-copyrighted music and sound effects to use in a recording such as this. I was fortunate to find FERL and was able to download some fun sound effects from FlashKit and Partners in Rhyme. This podcast took a lot more work and tonnes of time, but was waaay more fun! I wrote up a sample podcast that could be attached to a school library’s home page to highlighted the week’s events in the library and provide some announcements as well. All was well, until I hit a major snag…
I have not been able to upload my podcast and store it in The Internet Archive. I have spent so much time trouble shooting and trying to figure out what to do. I have tried other free storage sites, but to no avail. Since Blogger doesn’t support “enclosures” such as MP3 files, it is necessary to have an Internet storage host. I am very frustrated that I have not been able to figure out what the problem is - my limited tech know-how is causing me grief! I’ve spent hours messing around with this and I am only able to try so many things until I am out of ideas (and out of steam). Unfortunately, that’s where I am at right now. I have no idea how to fix this or what the problem is, and so I am unable to attach this podcast to my Blogger blog. BUT…
I found out that Edublogs (another popular blog software) allows for MP3 file enclosures within your post! YAY! So, what I’ve had to do, (in order to play and show off my podcast) is create an account for myself on Edublogs. This is definitely another blog host that I want to eventually look into in more depth, but for now, it is where my flashy new podcast lives! Please access my Edublog and check out my one and only post titled “Sample Library Podcast” to take a listen to the podcast I created. Whew!
I’m getting the hang of podcasting and Audacity’s software. I’ve surprised myself and am quite proud of what I’ve been able to put together, considering I have never considered myself tech-savvy. I just have to get a little quicker with things though, and that’ll come. I’m on my way!
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