Linking and Embedding Podcast Examples

This week your assignment is to make a podcast and link its URL to your blog.

My sample is a clip from an interview with Jason Alexander about photography. It's two minutes long.  The video was made from the step-by-step process listed in the link for Week 4 Assignment.

The URL for the Matthew Bamberg interview with Jason Alexander was  Podbean after joining and uploading my video. 

I also embedded my video below with the following code, which I got from Podbean after joining and uploading my video. The directions for doing this are also in the Assignment link.

<iframe src="http://www.podbean.com/media/player/audio/postId/5141983/url/http%253A%252F%252Fmatthewbam.podbean.com%252F2014%252F04%252F28%252Fsample-podcast%252F/initByJs/1/auto/1" width="100%" height="100" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Google Drive: You can also upload your  URL from a stored mp3 file in Google Drive. The Music Player in Google Drive (a Google Drive app you can download to your Google Drive (add the app to your Google Drive) plays music; however, it only plays music if it's been installed into a Google Drive so that the only people who will be able to listen are those people who have not only Google Drive, but also the player.  I don't recommend trying this because the technology is not yet ready to play audio files effectively online on any computer and you will not be able to complete the assignment as required.

EDT 660 Assignment Words for the Wise

Making a jing video is not difficult. Watch the following video and you'll understand all you have to do:



Keep the following tips in mind when recording your video in jing:

1. If you're nervous, just accept it and  move on.
2. When you record, it's okay to delete what you've done after a few seconds, but do this no more than three or four times. Move on, accept your voice for what it is and, if you have to,  pause for a moment to collect your thoughts.
3. Your video doesn't have to be perfect.
4. After you've recorded your video and watch it, think twice (make that three times) before you delete it because you want to make a better version. The video you created is probably better than you think (we're own worst critics when it comes to this type of thing).
5. If you find that recorded for longer than five minutes, STOP recording. Your efforts are still warranted, as I will accept incomplete videos. Remember that you can always make a Part 2 : )

Have fun with this. Don't spend more than an hour recording your video. Be satisfied with what you have if what you said is understandable and if students will be able to follow it.

Here's my video about writing a rough draft for an argument essay for an composition class that I teach.

All About CPS

CPS or Classroom Performance Systems is the technology referred to as "responders" or "clickers" for use in the classroom. Basically, it's a polling system that collects data from students' responses to questions, performing a variety of calculations for teachers to use as assessments and evaluations.

iResponse  is a system with two apps--one for the teacher called iResponse Utility for the teacher's computer (PC or Mac) and another for the students called iResponse for the iPad. These systems work with WiFi.

Other CPS Systems are available from a number of companies for free or cut-rate cost as downloadable apps from iTunes. A CPS system guide for Windows gives specific directions for setting up the CPS system. Another CPS guide details the guides and manuals for not only setting up the system, but also using it.

Transmitter (See Figure 1)--The round device in the middle of the figure is an IR system. It Most systems do not have a transmitter that extends from a laptop, but instead have a simple USB stick receiver. These systems work in the same way as a television remote. The IR transmitter has a different signal than that emitted by bluetooth technology, which emits a radio frequency signal that's able to penetrate walls. 

This technology keeps improving, so that the responders soon will be phased out as they are replaced with iPads and computers with improved and easier-to-use apps. 

EDT 660's Ideas for Classroom Technology Applications

1. Dude, That's My Garden

2. Mr. Coley's website has three video tutorials that do the following:

1. Make the flashcards in PowerPoint
2. Synching the flashcards in iTunes
3. Synching the flashcards in iTunes part 2

Take a look at the Common Core standards and find the flash cards that would be useful for supporting them in the grade level/subject you want to teach or currently teach.


3. Learning Spanish Resources:  Spanish verbs, conjugations, Spanish interactive flashcards

4. Facebook tutorial for teachers that you can follow to set one up

5. Consider that a Facebook page should have images of students that you don't want public. You can set it up so only your students can see it. Dave Taylor's "How to Create a Closed Private Facebook Group?" is a good website to follow in order to keep everything under control in terms of privacy concerns.

6.  Consider the flash cards' usefulness for assisting ELLs with acquiring English or for teaching Greek root words. See http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Greek-Roots-PowerPoint-Flash-Cards-Part-1-132146


The Greek root word flashcards would be help high school students study for the SAT and other students taking standardized tests. And...believe it or not these Greek roots are one of the fifth grade Common Core language arts standards.


Keep 'em coming! 

Digital Flashcards Google Docs Presentation Link

Digital flashcards are  just one of thousands of activities you can create using Google Drive.

In order to link the URL into a post on blogger:

Before you begin, remember to open the Digital Flash Card file that you created in Google Docs and copy the file’s URL on to your clipboard, then:

1. Create a new post.
2. Type in Go to Digital Flash Cards.
3. Select the words Digital Flash Cards by clicking and dragging over the words. 
3. Click on the word Link in the Blogger menu at the top of the post.
4. In the dialogue box, type in Digital Flash Cards into the blank next to the prompt: Text to Display
paste the URL of your digital flashcard presentation into the space provided.
5. Paste the URL into the blank under where it prompts: To what URL should this link go?

You'll end up with linked text exactly like what you see below. When you're finished click on Save and continue writing your post.

Go to Digital Flash Cards

Educational Technology in the Future

Once you learn a technology process doesn't mean that you won't have to review it frequently or even relearn it.  

 

Educational technology is changing rapidly, so right after you learn one platform, be cognizant that you'll have to review it (or relearn it) at least once a year, not only in order to know the changes that have been made, but also how to find the new version online. 

Recall that in my last post about the top blogs on the Internet, I pointed out that some of the most popular blogs are related to technology. Technology blogs are the newspapers of the technology world, providing resources and links to find out what's new in the technology you are using. They receive the most page views (millions) because people want to stay up to date with all of the new devices, operating systems, software updates...well...you name it...all that you do online and off.

On that note, I leave you with a video about what the future might look like in ed tech. 

Once you learn a technology process doesn't mean that you won't have to review it frequently or even relearn it.  

Educational technology is changing rapidly, so right after you learn one platform, be cognizant that you'll have to review it (or relearn it) at least once a year, not only in order to know the changes that have been made, but also how to find the new version online. 

Recall that in my last post about the top blogs on the Internet, I pointed out that some of the most popular blogs are related to technology. Technology blogs are the newspapers of the technology world, providing resources and links to find out what's new in the technology you are using. They receive the most page views (millions) because people want to stay up to date with all of the new devices, operating systems, software updates...well...you name it...all that you do online and off.

On that note, I leave you with a video about what the future might look like in ed tech. 

Let's Tee Off

Let's tee off!         Image by Matthew Bamberg

The first day of class can cause a bit of trepidation, not only by the students taking the class, but also by the instructor.

Note that I began this blog on a personal note because a blog is an online journal, a record of discoveries, ideas and innovations...and personal thoughts and opinions.

Blogging, this week's topic of conversation,  is a unique medium in that it adds a human touch to the Internet. Since it is less formal than, say, an academic paper or website, the language can be a bit more casual, sometimes even very casual.

Before you move on to this week's lesson, take a look at some very popular blogging websites, which, coincidentally, are mostly associated with technology:

1. Lifehacker

2. Mashable

3. Gizmodo

4. TechCrunch

5. Endgadget 

These technology blogs are listed in Consumer Reports top 15 blogs on the Internet, an amazing fact, showing just how popular new technology innovation is.

An initial student lesson about blogging should start as all lessons do, with an explanation of the why of the medium. In other words why do people blog? Be prepared to brainstorm the why of a blogging lesson with students before proceeding with any lesson or unit that either teaches the topic or integrates it into studies in various subjects of your curriculum.

Next, blogging involves a different kind of writing, writing that is geared toward easy reading on a brightly lit screen. The essence of this writing is white space, which is the space you see in this post between each paragraph. This is important to teach to students. 

One more note about blogging before I sign off: the medium is organized, oddly enough, in reversed time, with the most recent blog posts listed first, which takes some getting used to and some preplanning if you are doing a series of posts.

I leave you with this question: How will reverse chronological order affect the way you organize an ongoing blog?