Chapter 8 refections

Week 6
Chapter 8

p. 110 – “The almost ubiquitous presence of photo-video-audio upload-it-as-you-go cell phones and free, as much space as you want hosting online have begun to blur many of the cultural definitions of privacy and communication that we’ve lived under for generations.”

This is something that I am acutely aware of as battles on copyright frontiers of music and video content rage within the music and film industry. I think it is important to continually reinforce such issues in the classroom by enforcing responsible and legal use of such content. This is another level of education that is sometimes overlooked by even well intentioned teachers.

p. 113 – “One way to get into the flow of education-related podcasting is to visit the Education Podcast Network.

If you haven’t done so yet, I would highly recommend it! Everything under the Education sun from math, science, social studies, language arts, to teaching with Smartboards, to current events and the arts is included. Some great ideas here for teaching. As a former teacher was wont to say, “we need to work smarter not necessarily harder”. Using this resource is one way to do so.

p. 117 – “If you have the means to create your own digital music, Garageband, for instance, you don’t have to worry about the copyright issues of using other people’s work.”

Not only does Gargeband (for Mac) allow you to easily create your own music, which you might use in the classroom in a number of different ways (such as creating songs to go with the content being taught), but it can also help you to create podcasts and other audio-based projects for use in the classroom. Yet another great free tool, but this time for the Apple platform!

p. 119 – “If the podcasting bug bites hard and you start creating regular “shows” don’t forget to go to the various directories to get yourself listed. Start with iTunes, but Podcastalley.com and Podcast.net are a couple you might want to go to as well.”

p. 120 – “These (videocasts) are done for real purposes, for real audiences, and are a great reminder as to the potential of the Read/Write Web.

I wondered what the best way to get the word out about a podcast outside of listing on one’s own blog was. Now I know. After all, the only way that these devices deliver is to publish to as many people as possible. Additionally, the realistic setting of any learning experience is what makes it valuable to students. If these podcasts and videocasts were created and then left on a hard drive to never be looked at again, their value to the students and (of course) to the audience is erased.