Brown Bags

PODCASTING

EQUIPMENT and SETTING are your biggest considerations.

-For simplicity all you need is a MIC, HEADPHONES, SOFTWARE (Audacity) and something to set up free pod feed.

-There are web based social bookmarking and hosting sites like Delicious or Podbean.com

-You can also use our new BTC media server OR Sharepoint-contact CISS for details. WAOL has a media server too!

My process takes a little bit longer but I am more comfortable scripting things out.

1. Plan to do your Podcast of a lecture directly after your actual lecture!

2. During your lecture use a clip board to make notes for things like- student questions and teachable moments.

3. Later in your office:) high light your lecture notes as script notes, use your class notes to help remind you of the important extra F2F points.

-If you do not have notes, imagine that you are interviewing yourself and write down questions that would help a student understand the content, that way you can ask each question and then give back the answer.

EXTRAS:

-Sit down and think it through

-Speak with confidence and talk directly at the mic to get the best audio effect

-Keep your content short and simple

-Remember you really are talking to just one person. If you put a photo with one person in it (maybe your significant other) you will feel more comfortable talking into the microphone

-Use Audacity for light editing-tails off, ummmmmmmms, silent periods

-Try to record in mp3, wma is not accepted by most hosting websites and is not iPOD compliant -record your voice and listen back, watch the audio lights to become familiar with what you like as sound

-Music is OK depending on your objectives. free or pod safe music can be found at a few different sites like:

www.archive.org/audio AND Music.podshow.com

*If you expect students to listen to a podcast make sure you are upfront about where to find the lecture and what equipment they will need to listen to it. They can down load to a phone, home computer, iPOD and other mp3 players.

*You can make an RSS feed too by using pod hosting social bookmarking sites. One more suggestion----the more your listen to other podcasts the better you get at making your own. Listening allieviates the fears you have about being yourself and acting natural. No one listens to Podcasts because they want the professional DJ-so just DO IT!!!!!

*for a good selection of free PODCASTS check out iTUNES pocast archives and Podcast Alley

Centers or Stations can be set up by placing computers in different areas of the classroom and having students travel to each to complete a learning activity. Learning Object repositories are becoming more and more available to instructors for free, two really good ones are, wisc-online and shoder shodor.org/interactive

Notetaking, or Writing assignments for draft processes.are other ways to utilize computers in the classroom. You are able to help with drafts on a right there basis and students can help in peer review and peer editing.You have teachable moments when the writing process or the notetaking process happen within the classrroom frame work.

Survey Survey Monkey can be preset and studetns can take a survey and view the outcomes in real time. This builds discussion points.

Searching 100 tips and tools for searching the DEEP web this blog gives you access to many different types of search engines

Wikis can be used to post questions and answers even if your groups are out in the field www.wikispaces.comThey are great for collaboration projects and portfolios.

Management tools-2 students to a computer is perfect for engagement and interactivity. If you want their attention for a teachable moment and they are not taking notes have them turn their computers sideways, or tilt the screen.