My Podcast: WMH Midday News

After many attempts to add my podcast to the blog, I have finally succeeded (of course it took a phone call to Shanghai, but that's cool). And now I know how to add a youtube video as well. Yay! I was missing the Internet part; I thought I could just add the file as a video. Not so. I used Gcast and it worked beautifully.

This is a sample podcast made with GarageBand similar to what our fifth graders will be creating. They will read a newspaper (hard copy or online) and select a few articles on which to report. They will write a script and then broadcast the news. This classroom project will be ongoing.


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Relivin' the Famous 1984 MacIntosh SuperBowl Commercial

Podcasting has been a techology buzz word in education circles for a while now. Most think of it as making a recording using a program such as GarageBand with its fancy jingles. But it's more than just a recording; it must be episodic to be a true podcast. Why are we encouraging teachers to have students podcast? Is it so the children can use a web 2.0 tool? Does it provide them with an opportunity to communicate using technology? Does it foster creativity? Does listening to podcasts help students learn? Yes to all the above.

I have spent a great deal of time listening to various podcasts. Many seem to be ones for a long car ride. The conversation is sometimes painfully slow. I just listened to an iOnMac Podcast which has a 5-star rating (don't ask me why!). Blah...blah...blah.

But I also listened to jutech's lesson on podcasting (it seems as if he owns the web!). In addition to many other podcasts, some good and some seemingly a waste of time, a couple favorites were the Macworld San Francisco 2009 Keynote Address and a discussion on how the MacIntosh computer revolutionized the PC industry back in 1984. I loved the flashback to the debut of the MacIntosh ad during the SuperBowl third quarter (real recording!). Just recently I purchased a poster on eBay commemorating that infamous commercial, with the same runner but with an iPod attached to her hip. The web referred to the Macworld keynote address as a podcast...maybe a video podcast?

A couple weeks ago I met with my tech mentors and discussed different projects they could complete with their students to add richness to their lessons. Topping the list were wikis and podcasts. It was decided that our fifth graders would be podcasting during Newspapers in Education Week. They will record one minute of news (national, local, sports, and weather) as a radio broadcaster does. Short and sweet. I decided that I will make one for this class to be used as a sample project for the students in the language arts classes. I have a webpage linking various online newspapers. I hope to link the completed podcasts to this page for others to enjoy. I've written the script and look forward to creating my very first Podcast. :-) I will record tomorrow and it should appear here if all goes well.

Do Bloggers Care About Copyright Laws?

Reading all these blogs with pictures and videos has left me wondering. What about copyright laws? In my school district, our media specialists are vigilant about having students follow the law. Students can only use 10% of a song. They are taught to ask permission to use others’ work of any kind. There is not much flexibility when determining what falls under the fair use umbrella. Surely a YouTube video is not supposed to be used in a school project without the creator’s permission (no problem; the site is blocked anyway). Is it ok to post a picture (as I've done here) taken using the Grab utility?

A teacher recently asked the librarian to download a song on her 20 computers so she could have the students complete a project. Not possible. Only one computer could use it. I’m left wondering how this impacts student learning. It makes no sense really. It’s not even as if she was going to post the projects on the Internet. I have been told that I should not use a song that I purchased on iTunes for a PowerPoint presentation for a Back-to-School Night slide show. Oh, please.

Now I must confess. I might have broken the law with a project I introduced to my students. I paid iTunes $.99 for Shut Up and Let Me Go by the Ting Tings (a YouTube video; not sure how to include it in a blog; I'm guessing maybe it's copyrighted!). A couple of my students created this music video for their Intro to iMovie project. Our technology director says that if you use a song purchased from Apple’s iTunes for a project using an Apple application (i.e., iMovie), then it meets the copyright guidelines. It sure makes sense to me; I’m going to side with him on this one. But of course by posting this video on this blog might be what makes it illegal. I sure hope not. BTW…I do have the girls’ permission.

So, I’m curious…is there a different standard for information found in blogs? I doubt it, but I have a sense that bloggers don’t care really. They’re all about sharing.

It is Not Okay

Today I stumbled upon a Fischbowl post from 2007 that caught my attention. Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher? I say in our flat world…NO!

So, as a leader of technology in my district, it makes me think about my role in all this. When a discussion came up at our district technology meeting about adopting the NETS Standards for Teachers, I balked. The district needs to commit the time and money to train its teachers, I argued. It wouldn't be fair otherwise. Most everyone agreed. Three years have passed and the issue has not resurfaced.

I also used to teach math, as the blogger noted about himself, and used to hear parents state matter-of-factly, "I'm not a math person." And now I even hear students say, "I'm not a computer person." How ridiculous are those statements! Can you imagine if I said that I'm not a writing person (even though some might agree with me)?

As chief negotiator for our district, I have been spending a lot of time on RIF language these days. 'Last one in, first one out' has been our guiding principle. It does seem like the fair way to do it. But, the potential is there for one or more of our 'barges' to bump our 'speed boats' out of the way. I hope it doesn't come down to that. We obviously need the latter in order to win the race.

In today's world, it is not okay to be technologically illiterate. State-of-the-art computers in schools are not enough. Having an airplane in a backyard is of no use unless someone can pilot it. All of our teachers must embrace technology in education. Maybe it's time to revisit adopting those ISTE standards.

Wikis in Education

I stood outside our high school chatting with Cathy Higgins, New Hampshire's State Educational Technology Director, and listened to her rave about wikis. I had heard the term, but had no clue how they worked. Here it is two years later, and for the first time I'm finally using one for Teaching and Learning in a Networked Classroom.

Wikis are a powerful educational Web 2.0 tool. Not only can students and teachers create websites to share with others; wikis allow the users to collaborate with others to create the website. All the while the pages can be edited and compared with previous versions. Creators can use wetpaint (age limit 13 years old), pbwikis, or wikispaces to create accounts. Ad-free wikis are a bonus for educators. Wikis can be used for tracking projects (trac), or as a personal notebook (Tiddlywiki). There are classroom wikis and group project wikis. Some wikis tend to be content specific. For example, the anatowiki helps us learn anatomy and writeboard is for writers. Educators can use wikis to collaborate on writing curriculum. Fortunately, there is a lot of information on wikis on the Web.

A teacher came to me a few weeks ago with questions about a PowerPoint that she was going to assign her students on the Revolutionary War. "How about have them make a wiki?" I asked (of course, she had never even heard the term before). She listened as I muddled my way describing what they are and how they work. Of course, initially I imagined her students collaborating to create this website. But at time passed, I thought about how cool it would be to have students from England collaborating with New Englanders. Now that would provide an interesting perspective.

Our technology director set up a wiki for our district. We have a meeting on Wednesday, at which time he will be instructing our technology mentors on how to use it. I'm looking forward to comparing it with the one we use in this course and to get our teachers using them.

Hopefully the next time someone strongly suggests that I try out an exciting Web 2.0 tool, it won't take me two years to get on board.

Back to No Lines...No Waiting

What an experience it was! Unlike the thousands of Inauguration ticket holders behind us who never got in, my son and I gained entrance to the Mall with our tickets. I don't think I've ever spent so much time standing in one place waiting for a line to move (thank goodness for my son's height and creativity). After the Inauguration, we seemed to walk forever, but we ended in a great place to view the parade, which was a bit of a disappointment--way too much time between performers. We did see the presidential limo, the Bidens, and some high school bands, but 4 hrs. later we decided to call it quits (chilly!). Hopefully the DC folks learned something about crowd control--there's no such thing as too much signage.
On a brighter side, it was such an exhilarating feeling to watch and listen to our new President take his oath of office. Witnessing such an historical event and being in DC for a few days was well worth using two personal days from work.

The food served at the various receptions around the city was excellent (NEA sure knows how to feed folks!). The Friends of Hillary luncheon at her Senate office was a highlight. Former President Bill Clinton and the now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as other dignitaries, were in attendance. Later in the day, NH's delegation (Gov Lynch, Senators Shaheen and Gregg, etc.) were present at an Open House at the historical Willard Intercontinental Washington, the same hotel where Obama would spend his last evening prior to becoming our 44th president. I felt so proud to be a native of our Granite State. After a night of dancing into the wee hours, I boarded a plane for NH. One more thing checked off the 'bucket list'...and now it's back to no lines...no waiting.

Media Sharing: Give it a Shot

Two of my students wanted to use my new Flip camera; would I allow them to make a music video? Of course! I typed in my credit card number for an iTune's 'Shut Up and Let Me Go' and soon thereafter the Ting Tings had some serious competition. At this point, the video has been shared with my class, a colleague, and an administrator. It is so good that I plan to post it on the Web (I'll let you know when I do).
So, the question that I must raise when watching the concert videos (btw...the young lady singing O Holy Night! was phenomenal) relates to copyright. My understanding is that we cannot post footage from a concert because of music copyright laws. It seems ridiculous, but that is what we are told. And then of course we have the paranoid parents and administrators.
I have used tools such as Flickr and Shutterfly, but only to access photos. I have many to share from my mother's 90th birthday party; I need to use these tools to share the event.
Sharing media is so fun and there are so many ways to do it. Voice Thread allows many users to get involved--a very cool option. Animoto is another fun tool. There are many to try. Give It a Shot!