Podcasting for Dummies

That would be me--the dummy, I mean.

Probably the biggest challenge I will have with podcasting is getting over the angst that it has caused me just getting this one done for the assignment.

I have to tell myself that it is something I have never done, that I used a program I have never seen before, and that it has got to get easier from here.

I had to use my noggin quite a bit this time which is funny, because the subject matter of my podcast was thinking and how students don't do enough of it. Here is my link to that:
Knowing versus Thinking

Anyway, I had often thought about using podcasts in my classroom because I heard of other teachers doing so. Since I wanted to have all the coolest stuff, I figured I better look into it. Having the coolest stuff makes it seem like I know what I am doing!

Seriously, though, I don't really think I am going to jump into regular podcasting anytime soon for one major reason: nobody will listen to them. I'm serious. I have worked with 8th graders long enough to know that there is not the slightest chance that there will be even a smidge of interest in anything I podcast.

For example, we have a vocabulary program that we have been doing and there is an online component that includes podcasts of the words and their definitions. No matter what kind of build-up I give to the idea of putting their vocab words on their MP3 players, nobody has ever done it. Not one student. That means zero.

I have what I think is a practical theory: if a teacher falls down in the forest making a podcast and there is no one there to hear it, does it make any noise?

But now I am being silly. What if I DID do a podcast? What would I do?

I think the best thing for me to do would be record all of my lectures everyday. I think it would be great to have it all right there on my website for the student who is absent or the one who needs to review what I said. I may actually do such a thing if I had a wireless headset mic.

This would meet a couple of the NETS-S standards:

#3 Research and Information Fluency, because they would "locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media."

#4 Technology Operations and Concepts because they would become familiar with the use of something in the field of technology that is new to them.

All in all, I think podcasts can be a great addition to a teacher's repertoire, just not an 8th grade teacher.

New Literacies for the 21st Century

Do educators play a vital role in ensuring students are prepared to be productive in the 21^st Century? I have two answers to that, yes, and maybe.

Without a doubt educators should be leading the charge—as they always have—in making sure that today’s students are prepared to meet the demands of a 21^st Century workforce. The very act of teaching is one that seeks to prepare people for a productive future, whether it was a future that did not yet contain much technology or one that is busting out with new gizmos every day.  Strangely, though, the way I think that charge needs to lead is not necessarily technology driven.

The first skill students need is the skill of thinking. Maybe I am a bit jaded as a teacher of twelve and thirteen-year-olds, but I am constantly noticing that the skill they lack more than any other is the skill of bearing down and working through problems. That problem might be reading, studying, or writing, but it can’t be solved instantly, and at that age it seems like if it isn’t instant, students can’t be bothered. So for that reason, any conversation I have about what students need to succeed, has to start with them engaging their minds and working things out in their brains.

But let’s assume that they have the tenacity to bear down and learn. Certainly, they also need to have strong reading and writing skills in order to excel with technology of any kind—especially now that our  technology is so participatory. It is a challenge to make sure students are developing the communication skills because as the capabilities of technology are exploding, it seems the ability to take advantage of those technologies is eroding.

As was discussed in our text, you just can’t take advantage of the read/write revolution of Web 2.0 technologies without the proper skills. Nowadays, it seems that technology is dragging down people’s writing skills. Take text messaging. The anti-grammar, anti-spelling platform of SMS messaging isn’t good for standardized communication on the internet. As teachers, we need to be able to encourage them with the new writing that they are exploding with—seeming they write more now than ever—while guiding them so that they know how to use it properly when the venue demands it.

If we can succeed in students getting the thinking and communication skills they need to take advantage of technology advances, we still face challenges as educators in making sure they are up to speed. My “maybe” on whether teachers play a vital role is predicated on the fact that money might be an even bigger factor.

Anybody notice that schools don’t have any money anymore?

Here we are with a ton of cool tools to aid learning, but our economy is not cooperating. Not only are the schools probably going to start falling further behind as budgets are squeezed, but more and more families are likely to find themselves off the internet as other bills take priority in some households. I think we are probably at a point right now where the percentage of our students with access at home to technology has probably leveled off and may very well decrease in these tough economic times.

So teachers do play a big role in making sure we take advantage of the incredible technologies of Web 2.0, but we might soon see our influence blunted by the economic slowdown. I know that I will be incorporating some things into my curriculum, but I am not sure that they will take off

My Favorite 2.0 Tools

Who knew there were so many tools out there we could use?


I thought I knew a bit about the internet (I spend enough time on it), but I truly learned a ton of new things about the tools available and the surprising ways they can be used in the classroom. 


Honestly though, at this time I am only extra excited about one: the wiki. Not just any wiki, but a new type that I think in many ways may revolutionize the way people communicate and collaborate. 


Google Wave is that tool and I am excited to learn more about it, use it, see it go into wide release, and use it in my classes by next fall. It is not really billed as a wiki, but unless I misunderstood our unit on wikis, it is at least wiki-like. 


Not just wiki-like, but wiki-plus, I think. It has all the collaborative features of a wiki--multiple people editing the same document--and many more. 


As an educator, I just want to mention one that I just learned about: with Google Wave, you can go back in time and play back what has been added and edited to the document. I never understood how big a deal that was until today. 


Check this out. As a teacher, I imagine one thing that might be difficult about assessing participants contributions on a wiki is, well, keeping track of who has participated. With this playback feature, you can see, edit-by-edit, who worked on the document! 


This is just the latest reason I am excited about one day (it is still in beta) using Google Wave with my students.