Boy, I'm sure glad that is done.

Yeah!  It is done and over.  My first ever podcast is complete.   

Actually, this particular task was not as dreadful as it first appeared.  I first had to make sure that I had all the necessary pieces to complete the task.  I had to download Audacity and LAME MP3 encoder.  I needed to search out the music and sound effect to include and pick a topic to discuss.  Picking the topic was probably the most difficult part.  I found the directions to be too broad and felt that I was spinning.  I respond well to boundaries.  So, when I was told that the topic needed to be a contemporary issue regarding technology and PK-12 learners, I froze.  The (old school) student in me wanted more direction.  I stumbled through several Google searches before turning to my local newspaper website for help.  Honestly, I got lucky when I found my article. 

All the pieces were in place.  Next, I spent some time looking at Audacity, and the assignment began to look, dare I say, fun.  Writing the script posed a small problem, because I do have a tendency to ramble and needed to stay within a 2-4 minute time frame.  I believe my first read through was almost 6 minutes, so I began to edit.  Of course, I believed that all I had to say needed to be included and could not be cut.  But, alas, some of it needed to go.

Once I got over the sleep inducing sound which is my monotone voice, the process was very simple.  I recorded what I had to say, inserted the music & sound effects, saved and exported.  I really felt as if I must have done something wrong, because I just could not believe it could be that easy.  It was.  I spent probably twice as much time trying to figure out how to upload the podcast to my blog.  I was aware that it could not be inserted into a blog post, so I spent time trying to add a gadget to my page to allow readers to hear my voice.  I followed the help directions, but was terribly unsuccessful at adding a gadget.

I must admit that this is a tool that I would use in my classroom.  If I could do it, then I am sure that my very tech-savvy students will be able to do it.  This short podcast incorporated many higher order skills. It required me to use my organizational skills, my research skills, writing skills, public speaking skills and computer skills very deliberately.  Everything needed to be planned out and in place before the podcast could be recorded.  I am sure that many a podcast are recorded on the fly, but I bet they lack a sense of direction or purpose.  Completing the task the way I did would ensure the students remain focus on the learning and not on the tool.  It could prove to be an engaging way to help students learn in a Literature classroom.  After reading short stories, plays, novels, poetry – whatever, students could then podcast not only reactions and literary criticism (“I liked it because…” or “It was not my favorite because…”) but they could record original works that mirror the same genre.

(How’s that for a turn around?  Perhaps there is hope for me yet!)

Social electronic butterflies

I have already expressed my feelings about social networks in the classroom in a previous post and since then, my feelings have yet to change.  I would like to address these two aspects of the social web: friendship based and interest-based.

First of all, I think it is ridiculous that people believe they need an electronic means, such as Facebook or Twitter, to keep up with those in their physical space.  If somebody is in your physical space, then just talk to them!  Call them!  Write them a letter or if you feel the need to use some sort of electronic technology, then email!  These methods have served me and my friendships well over the years.  I don’t need to go the Facebook to check up on my Goddaughter.  I actually go see her.  I talk to her mother.  I send her hand written cards and notes.  I have one friend who admitted that there have been times when she, her husband and two children have sat around the kitchen table at dinner and not spoken one word to each other but texted one another throughout the entire meal.  Not only is that the height of being impersonal, but how the heck are you suppose to eat your fried chicken if you don’t put your cell phone down?

I can understand the attraction to the Internet based on interest.  If something interests you, you want to find out more about that subject.  As we have discovered, the Internet has a wealth of information about all subjects.  But, caution needs to be used when connecting with people on the Internet who have the same interests as you do.  They are complete strangers.  Actually, they are worse.  They are faceless, complete strangers.  If contact is made base on a common interest, it can be confused for a friendship, after all that is how we develop our face-to-face friendships.  We align ourselves with those who have similar interests as ourselves.  Unlike face-to-face friendships, not much else is known about these connections.  With a face-to-face relationship, we can observe the person in all areas of life.  We are not just told who he/she is but we can see it and judge for ourselves.  I know that this is not a foolproof method for judging character, but at least it is self generated.  In an online situation, all I know about an individual is what that individual tells me.  It is much like using a word to define itself.  If I am going to use the web to expand my interests, I will stick to web sites about that particular subject.  I will not seek out new “friends.”

 I would like a buffer between the dangers of the web and students.  Consulting a credible website is fine but talking with faceless people based on a common interest is scary.  If I had to choose between a wiki page, which I am not fond of yet, and a social tool such as Facebook, I would choose the wiki.  It is interest based.  You wouldn’t visit the wiki unless you were interested in the subject matter.  And it is collaborative while maintaining personal space, if you will. 

I know that one argument for the use of the social web in the classroom is that kids are already using it, so put it to good use in school.  My argument is the opposite; kids are already using the social web, so lets teach them other ways to communicate and learn. 

"Somebody's watching me"

The idea of podcasting, video- and screencasting and live streaming is somewhat troubling to me.  This explosion of  “self-produce, homemade entertainment” is going to make navigating the web an even more difficult task.  Strategies can be taught and learned for judging the credibility of websites, but I cannot see that to be true as far as podcasts and videocasts.  In my frame of reference, these –casts are akin to radio and talk shows.  With those traditional broadcasts, you either like them or you don’t.  If you speak to the audience of the Oprah show, you will be told it is a good show because of X and that all others fail by comparison.  If you speak to the audience of the Jerry Springer show, you will be told it is a good show because of X and that all others fail by comparison.  Does content make a –cast better than another?  Does the technical aspect of the production make a good –cast?  Because these media seem so subjective, I don’t see a way to hold them to a particular standard.  Because they are so subjective, is there a way to evaluate them?  Does popularity alone make a good –cast? 

I must admit that the technology which make pod- and videocasting a reality is impressive.  Just to see the rate of progression in these technologies is impressive.  I can see these becoming useful tools in the classroom if used correctly.  I do like the idea of connecting language classes from around the world.  I truly enjoyed my high school and college German classes mostly because my instructors were from Germany.  It made all the difference learning from native speakers rather than somebody who learned German as a second language.  They were able to teach not only proper German but a bit of the fun slang as well and explain the meanings of those colloquialisms.  It was also just cool to be able to say that I knew somebody from Germany.  Frau Crull and Herr Jarosch taught me that what I was learning was relevant.  It was useful as well as fun because I knew two people who actually communicated in this manner. (And, yes I do realize that I may have just made a point for the pro-technology camp at this point.  I think perhaps I need to refine what my skepticism is all about.  I do not argue that using technology in the classroom is a bad thing.  I take issue with the type and amount to be used.)  Connecting students through technology can bring that excitement about the subject matter to today’s classrooms.

Publishing audio and video to the web, again, raises concerns about privacy.  Revealing too much information about students is a scary topic.  I admit that I am a mamma-bear; I protect my children’s lives with mine, as I am sure so many others do.  However, I think a lot of parents let their guard down in settings they perceive to be safe.  Lots of talk swirls about “safe schools.”  “My child is safe, she is at school.”  Not necessarily the case.  Once that Internet connection is made in the classroom, danger can potentially make its way into the classroom.  Therefore, I think that any use of audio and video should be restricted to the classroom and school itself.  One of the arguments for publishing to the web is to have an authentic audience.  Opening up these –casts to a school population as opposed to just a classroom population I believe has the same impact without the same danger. 

Podcasting, video- and screencasting and live streaming blurs the lines between public and private.  It feels a bit like Big Brother with this idea that everything should be transparent.  Everyone should know my every thought – write a blog, publish a podcast or a videocast.  Sometimes, my learning is just for me.  I am learning to play the guitar, but do I need to subject millions of people to my very bad rendition of Stairway to Heaven?  I think not.  As with so many things in life, these tools need to be tempered with moderation.