Podcasting and Audio

I honestly had no idea what a podcast was until tonight. I'm still confused if it is audio and video or just audio. I'm pretty sure it's just audio because I know on my ipod i can upload podcasts and i don't have a video i pod....

I think podcasts will be helpful in elementary teaching. I realllly like the idea of digital story telling. I can use podcasts to add audio to digital story telling. In the classroom I could also record important "lectures" so that if a student is absent they can access the lecture at home. Podcasting is also a neat way to teach lessons in general. I really liked listening to the lecture today in class and being able to pause it, do what it said to do and then play again. I know the one we saw in class was not a pod cast, but i could use the same idea. For example if i want my students to learn how to add a post to their blog, i could make a step by step podcast for them to listen to. Also, i could post this so if the students are at home and forget, they can listen and quickly be reminded.

We made a podcast today in class. it was fun.

Adding Images

We learned about adding images the correct way and giving credit where due. The picture to the left is Erickson Hall that I got from flickr. Creative Commons is also a neat website. I really like that everything is right there and you don' t have to worry about copyright because it's all there for you to use. I definitely think it is a good skill to practice and will be showing my students how to "take" stuff from the internet the correct way.

We also worked with google maps today. This is really neat. At the technology conference there was a presentation on google maps and I think it's a great way to be more geography knowledgeable. I'm probably a little bias because I enjoy geography, but I feel like a lot of students don't know basic geography. Google maps is a fun way to learn about geography on a local national and global level.

Some challenges I could see is students getting frustrated. I was very frustrated last class period because I was not catching on right away and it all seemed really confusing. I understand now what kml means and how to use flickr, but it took a while. So, as a teacher I need to be very patient and remember how i felt when everyone around me was done and i was still one step one. Also, having more than one way to explain how to do things helps. Sometimes things are explained and it doesn't make since, but if you just say different words it all of a sudden "clicks".

More on Personalizing the Internet

I think google calender is really neat. I love the idea of having everything easily access able. I will use this with my classroom by posting due dates and events the students should remember. I think logging onto google each morning and going over what we have to do for the week with our calender then checking out the phases of the moon and the date and time it's all in one webpage and i love it. For personal use i think google calender is a great way to keep myself organized. I think having two calenders, one for the students and parents and one for me is probably what i'll do. The parents will love this idea because they can always have access to what is due for their studnets. This way i think we can have an understanding that all the information is out there and easily accessable to late assignments will not be tolerated.
the bookmarks thing is alright. I'm not really sure i'd use this along with google reader. I would use bookmarks for sites that you could not subscribe to, but the ones you can will already be in my reader or aggregator which i think would be easier for students and parents to use.
i cannot say enough good things about the technology conference i attended this weekend. I attended the SMART board presentation and the COURTT presentations. The smart board is just amazing. i would love to have one when i become a teacher. From the COURTT presentations i got a lot of reallly good ideas. I definitely want to do a lesson making a digital story.
All in all, i think that when i become a teacher my students will be a lot more technological inclined and i think this class and the conference will help me to prepare!