Preparing to Podcast-Speaking:Step Three

"Just because you or your students can create a podcast doesn't mean you should." (Williams, 2007. p.12) Consideration of the content for my podcast lead me to try to meet the need for audio texts for our ELL students and to record some of the stories in my repertoire.

Multitrack player option

To create my podcasts, two dual language books were chosen from the school library.  I chose to read the story We're Going on a Bear Hunt and made the recording using the Audacity program . After many attempts including deleting and rerecording sections of the tracks and cutting to correct timing errors,  I was finally satisfied with the results. I added a public domain music prelude and conclusion to the Audacity recording.

In order to provide a host for my Audacity recording I registered for a PodOmatic.com account and was able to upload my mp3 audacity file.
Upon closer inspection I found that I could record directly to PodOmatic with one button recording. Using the site's recording feature I created a podcast of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,  selected a photo for the podcast and promoted my podcasts by tagging, labeling them Education K-12 and embedding the codes in this post.

Note: PodOmatic does not allow access to the tracks for editing. I needed to record the story twice to correct miscues. 

Single-track player option

When I was prepared to add my podcast to the iTunes library I found that I was expected to register a credit card with the site. My hesitation to do so will limit my access to uploading to iTunes. I will depend on the PodOmatic site and this blog for promotion.

I recorded a telling of The Tailor using PodOmatic and was instantly successful completing the process and preparing to embed the podcast in this post.


PodOmatic allows users to select and embed either a multi-track player or single-track player. Listeners are able to scroll through seeing the photo representations and selecting the podcast of their choice.

I have added a page to the school library blog and embedded two of the podcasts for student access. The simplicity of accessing these podcasts does not require a screencast for student instruction. Instead I have created a jing.com screen capture to show how to use PodOmatic.
The jing.com screen cast is limited to five minutes and I found running both PodOmatic and Jing during the screen capture slowed down the internet connection considerably. Rerecording the jing screencast with all other windows closed allowed me to finish the screencast with time to spare.
I am proud of myself for being able to reduce the size of the jing image in the html embed code in order for the screencast to fit more neatly within the post. I will keep jing.com available on my desktop for future use.

 
In addition to creating podcasts for student projects, books for ELL learners, storytelling and teacher PD, Stodt (2009) suggests librarians can introduce podcasts
of "audio walking tours...to advertise new books and resources or to provide
information and news about the library." (p.104)

Preparing to Podcast-Listening: Step Two

I am not an MP3 owner, nor an iTunes user although I have purchased many iTunes cards for consumption by my nieces. 

There are many podcast hosting sites online. Most can be searched and podcasts selected for immediate listening, downloading or can be subscribed to using an RSS feed.
PodcastAlley.com, Education Podcast Network, Fairy Tale Corner, Podomatic.com, and Podbean.com are some sites where a variety of podcasts can be accessed.


Richardson (2009) wrote of the ease of `locating and subscribing to recent educational podcasts using iTunes. Simply put, ``Once you have it up and running, just go...and click.`` (p. 112)

Through iTunes I began by subscribing to:

• Two Tech Chicks       
• Writers and Company from CBC Radio       
• The Clever Sheep       
• Teachers Teaching Teachers #267                  
• EdTechTalk    
• Book Review  Podcast                      
• TEDTalks Education                         
• Storynory - Stories For Kids                         
• TVO Big Ideas (Video) and (Audio)                        
• K-12 Greatest Hits: The Best Ideas in Education 
• Teachers Teaching Teachers

Some of the podcasts are interesting, educational and will draw me back to listen again. Others I find are not very professional and lacking in content. Selective listening for  professional development, personal learning and entertainment will limit my use to easily accessible, clearly described podcasts.

A Google search for podcasts lead me to PodCast Awards.com and I identified interesting podcast sites amoung the Education, People's Choice, Best Video, Best Produced and Technology nominees which I subscribed to using Google Reader.

• Caustic Soda
• Kid Friday
• Quirks and Quarks 
• Tekzilla
• This Week in Tech
• The Audacity to Podcast 

Because podcasts can be created by anyone, evaluation is important. Criteria for website evaluation should be extended to podcasts. In addition to authenticity, credibility, and currency podcast evaluation should include "technical qualities, subscription availability and availability of additional support materials."(Berger, 2010,p.133)

 

Thinking about Thinglink: Step One

Interactivity in a "digital medium create a set of possibilities that did not exist before, facilitating a type of active student learning with public, visual, and kinesthetic properties that cross the boundaries of multiple intelligences. " (Schrand, 2008, p.83)  

I was interested to explore an alternate to flickr image notes and read in Free Technology for Teachers,   "Thinglink is a neat service that allows you to make any image on your blog an interactive image." Including interactivity in images will engage learners and encourage creativity in demonstration of their learning.
 

For my visually oriented self, Thinglink offers "to embed not just text links to pictures but also audio, video, images and other material brought in directly from other sites.” (Johnson, 2011, para.3) When a reader hovers over a tag they will have access to a link to much more than text. The reader can link to text, to Wikipedia, sound recordings, websites, Facebook, and to iTunes, YouTube or Twitter.

The Innovative Educator wrote about Thinglink,  "Well this is pretty cool." and I agree!