Podcast and vidcast

What?

A podcast is an audio file which can be downloaded to the Internet or placed on the computer with some sort of audio recording device. A vidcast is an mp4 or video based upload to the Internet. These tools can be used to show many different things on the website. They can be used to help explain what is trying to be shown on the Internet.

So what?

I have not really ever placed content on the Internet in the past. I was introduced to blogging and face book, which I have posted comments on here and there but never really did much of anything else with technology on the web. It is handy to use technology in the classroom to do anything that will make the classroom a better place for the students to learn. With podcasts a teacher could show the information in class on the web for the students who are not there during a class time, or that may have a question with the material explained. Parent would be able to see what is being taught in class. There would be no excuse for the students to not have the homework done.

Now what?

I don't know if I will be using it a lot in my classrooms. I don't know how I feel about children not getting work one because they missed the class time. If they don't take the opportunity to do the things that will get them the grade, then they should not ave parents have the information to get the work done for them. I believe in class participation in some degree. If I were to use podcast and vidcast, I would need to take the time for preparation and I would also need to make sure everything was exactly perfect each and everyday for all the parents to read. I don't know if it would be good to do that everyday, but I surely could do that some days of the year. It would be good to do for special projects that are worked on in class. I will us it some, but even Doc Waters has stopped doing it all the time. Great idea for someone who has all the time in the world, but the lesson plans still have to be created an lives have to be lived.

Video: Why let our students blog

I would like blogging if I could type faster and more efficiently. I like the idea of creating a journal for all the items that have been learned in class. It is hard to find the time to do it in a journal by writing. I guarantee that writing in a book would take much longer for me to get the information on the paper than for me to type it even though I am slow at typing. It is fun to read what is happening in the classroom from the students' perspectives. I like how it said that it broadens the classroom. It is great for reflection and fun. My wife reads her friend's blog an laughs every time doing it. Blogging is great for education, and all students need to take time to think about what they are learning in class everyday anyway.