Pay Attention

Are we doing enough?

National Geograpic Podcast

I used the "Wild Chronicles" Podcast with my students today. It is a great video series that documents various species from around the world. We watched an episode on lions after reading a story about lions. It was a great way to link fiction and non-fiction. The students got to see live images of some really amazing animals. It was nice that I was able to use this podcast with the book I was currently reading in class, but earlier in the year I did a unit on Africa. I could get a lot of mileage out of this series. And with this being a National Geographic production, the quality is excellent. As with anything you show your students, you must view before you show. Some of the videos can be a bit graphic.

I was very pleased with what I found and would recommend it to any teacher. I found this podcast through iTunes. They have done a great job of assembling a wide variety of topics. It is a great resource for teachers.

All This Information And No Time To Share It

How many of you out there are full time classroom teachers and part time TC's? Do you every get the feeling that you have so much you would like to share, but no time to do it? Unfortunately, my biggest realization from this class is that I have no time to share all that I have learned...and that leaves me frustrated. Now I would like nothing more than to sit down with teachers, or plan out learning sessions, but how do I fit it in. Whats worse, is that I teach Kindergarten, and barely half of this is applicable. How do I get my students to blog, or use the latest Web 2.0 app? Now don't get me wrong, I can use podcasts, an YouTube to enhance my lessons, but so much of the web is about learning by using. So I apologize if I sound a little crass. I just want someone to give me more time.

Using iTunes To Get Your Podcast Fix

I have been using iTunes for several years now, but only recently have I been using it to get podcasts. It is such an easy an effective way to get a podcast on just about anything your heart desires. They have a podcast for, news, sports, entertainment, education, and more. It is easy to subscribe, and best of all they are all free. On top of that iTunes is free. So, with a computer and an internet connection, you have the ability to hear voices from around the world, on demand.

This could be an excellent tool in classrooms. There are many great podcast that could be adapted to any particular subject. National Geographic, for example, has a video series called "Wild Chronicles". To me it is always hard to find current, quality video on specific subjects. This series explores various different animals in 5 to 10 minute videos. It could be adapted in so many ways. They also carry 11 other series on various topics. Not to mention all the other educational sources they have.

Podcast can be used in any and every subject and content area. The great thing about them is that if you can't find a podcast on the content you want, just create your own. The possibilities are limitless. Teachers owe it to their students to explore this great technology.

My First Podcast

Here is a link to my first podcast. It was a lot of fun. I just took one of my daughters books "Eight Silly Monkeys" and added a few sound effects. I used podOmatic too store the podcast. It was really easy. I had an account created and my podcast uploaded in about 5 minutes. I used Garageband to create my podcast, but you can use anything. They even allow you to create one on their browser. It was fun. Maybe I'll make more.

Teacher Tube

I had a chance to view Teacher Tube a little closer. I really admire the dedication to education. I certainly don't think enough credit is given to sources which exist to educate. In viewing all the social networking sites and video sharing sites, it is obvious that not everyone is focused on contributing intelligently to society.

I enjoyed viewing the videos and searching for a specific topic to learn about. I appreciate the fact that it is a community that looks out for one another. Not allowing inappropriate video is very important. One thing I would like to see is a time limit on videos. If you wanted to use a video as part of a lesson it may be difficult when the it is more that 10 minutes long. Now, I didn't see many like this, but there were a few. Havign the longer videos broken up into parts would make them more useful to a classroom.

I could definitely see uses for this site in all grades, all subjects, and at all times. In early childhood classes, it could be used to supplement text. For example, if you had a unit on the farm, then you could show live animals or how a farmer milks cows. As students get older they could search for their own videos. Create lists to share on a particular subject. As a teacher you could assign homework. Students need to research a particular subject and report with a video. Teach their own lesson. This could also be a valuable tool in verifying the accuracy of a subject. Have them research the video information. Is it correct? Accurate? Classes could also create video projects and post to share with the rest of the world. The possibilities are endless. I think the key to this site is its users. As long a we all make an effort to keep it clean and keep it safe it can be a very strong tool.

References:
Teacher Tube. Retrieved April 16, 2007 from www.teachertube.com

What Can The Web Do For You?

I was searching for the perfect Web2.0 application and I came across this great site called Go2Web2.o. It is all you need to find your perfect Web2.0 application. It is a listing of hundreds of sites that "can do for you". You can browse by hovering over a link. Click the link to get a small description of the site. Click again and go to the site. There is a search and a sort feature to help you look a little faster. Lots of cool stuff out there. This site helps you find it.