What is a Podcast?

What is a Podcast?
It's not about the podcast, it's about podcasting.
A podcast is an audio or video presentation that can be subscribed to by interested listeners/watchers.  It is offered as a newsfeed (RSS) to make it easy for the public to access. Podcasting is the delivery system used to enable users to subscribe to a series of audio or video presentations.

Podcasting in Plain English


Podcasting carries four forms of media:

• Podcast - An audio session that is similar to a radio show.
• Bobby Bucket Podcast
• Enhanced Podcast - A podcast with still visuals.  It looks like a narrated PowerPoint presentation.
• Chicago 2008 - Educational examples. 
• Vodcast - A video session that is podcasted.
• UNICEF Ghana Lauches Vaccines -  UNICEF vodcasts
• Screencast - Using Jing or Camtasia or Screenr to share processes that are occur on the computer screen. This is usually used for tutorials.
• How to use Screenr
• 8 Free Screencasting Tools - blog posting, not a video.

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100+ Emerging Instructional Technologies

Web 2.0 (Photo credit: Daniel F. Pigatto

Looking for ideas for Web 2.0 technologies you might use?  There are 1000s of Web 2.0 tools in the world. Here are a few lists that may be useful. Don't be overwhelmed by the number of tools listed. Browse the lists until you find something interesting:

• 77 Web Resources for Teachers to Explore - This is a list of tools sorted by subject area.  You will find it in the embedded document half way down the page.
• 35 Best Web 2.0 Classroom Tools Chosen by You - This list is provided by teachers who voted for their favorite tools.  These are listed in no particular order but have good descriptions.
• Bloom's and ICT Tools - Web 2.0 tools that are aligned with Bloom's revised taxonomy. Lots of interesting ideas.

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Writing Rubrics

A rubric is a tool used to evaluate student work. The rubric presents a list of the criteria that are considered important. Each of these criteria are accompanied by descriptions of different levels of success in demonstrating proficiency in each of the areas.

Here is an introductory video that uses chocolate chip cookies to explain the basics of using a rubric for evaluation.



 Rubrics serve multiple roles. While people usually consider rubrics as evaluation tools, their most important task is to inform the learner of what is expected. Each cell tells you what is expected for each criteria.  Learners can use this tool to evaluate their work before submitting it.

Here is a video that is a bit more technical than the cookie video. It appears to have been created by a college student, but it is complete. The only problem with the  presentation is that they place the "unacceptable" column in the left column. 

It is generally accepted that it is easier for learners to place the "exceptional" column in the left column so that it will be directly next to the criteria name.



You can easily create a rubric using a table in Word or Google Docs, but you can also create a rubric using RubiStar (rubistar.4teachers.org)  The advantage to using RubiStar is that there are many samples of rubrics that you can modify to fit your needs.

Do you use rubrics?  What tips do you have building more effective tools?

Z

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Dr. Z Reflects on Reflectors

I started this blog six years ago so that I could share my thoughts about things that I thought should be shared.  Most of this deals with educational technology but I want to share something about another passion of mine - biking.

As you may know, I love biking.  Every year I ride RAGBRAI with Team Flamingo. It's an opportunity where I get together with 12,000 of my closest friends and we ride 500 miles across Iowa during the last full week of July. We call this fun.

This is my 10th year doing this.

The best part is the training rides that we make with our wonderful Team Flamingo members during the 3 months before the ride.

The other day I broke my mirror while putting my bike in the back of my truck. It costs $20 to replace so I went to a nearby auto parts shop and purchased a $3 convex stick-on mirror. What a find!!

I just love this. It shows so much more and you have a much larger field of vision.  It's made of plastic or metal so I don't have to worry about breaking it again. Even if I do, did I mention that it's only $3?

Sure, I know that this is a lame topic for a post but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to "Reflect on Reflectors."  BTW if you look closely in the photo above you can see the photo of my grandson, Tyler, on my phone. =-)

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6 Technologies that You May Find in your Classrooms in the Near Future?

www.nmc.org

Meris Stansbury recently wrote an article with eSchool News in which she listed 6 technologies that are on the cusp of entering our classrooms.  This is based upon the latest K-12 Horizon Report that has been produced by the New Media Consortium (NMC), Consortium of School Networking (CoSN) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) for the past 4 years.

You can download the 2012 K-12 Horizon Report here.

The Horizon Report identifies 6 emerging technologies across three adoption horizons:

1 year or less

• Mobile Devices and Apps
• Tablet Computing

2 - 3 years

• Game-based learning
• Personal Learning Environments

4 - 5 years

• Augmented Reality
• Natural User Interfaces

The K-12 Horizon Report actually contains twice this number of predictions so I strongly suggest that you download it from the NMC website and review it for yourself.  None of these predictions are earth-shaking but they are acknowledgements of the research and progress that have occurred in each of these areas.

What do you think?  Is the Horizon Report correct or do you think that there are some shades of darkness that haven't been considered?

Z

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6 Important Resources for Learning Google Apps

google.com

I was looking for some instructional resources for using Google Apps and one of my students, Randon Ruggles from Minneapolis, sent me a plethora of them. While I feel that writing this blog is important because I can share information with you. the real reason is so that I can put it someplace where I won't lose it.

Introductory overview video for Google Docs:

This video is great for those who have never heard or understand the concept of an online, collaborative document.

Short training videos:

This is an index page of a bucketload of videos. You can access them by the specific app if you look for Learn by App towards the bottom of the navigation column.

Training videos AND documentation:

This page includes documentation AND the training videos.

Google apps certification resources:

Interested in getting REALLY GOOD at Google Apps so you can be certified? Here ia a beautiful set of lengthy modules designed for people who consider themselves  certifiable. It might be helpful for those who have no background in Google Apps to run through a few of these.  They are lengthy, but beneficial if you are targeting an app or only one specific part of an app.  The chapters nicely break them down.

General support documents for Google:

This is a multi-layered collection of documentation for using Google Apps. You can begin by selecting the apps in the left column and then narrow it down the specific activities in the application you want to use.

Online support for Google Apps:

This includes everything (Blogger, Wallet, etc.) from Google.  It's all there, just click on "Show All Products" and you will see icons for every product. The support is supplied through a Help Center,  Forum Community of other users, or options for contacting support personnel at Google. 

Do these fill your needs?  Do you have other suggestions for resources?

If so, include them in the comments below.

It is ALWAYS good to hear from my readers.

Z

Joe's Non-Netbook

We are constantly talking about how our "digital native" students are trying to learn in our 19th century classrooms.  Our Millennials are connected 24/7 except when they come to class are expected to unplug.

Here is a video that I found where Joe is having problems making a book work because it doesn't have the elements of the ebooks he is used to reading.

What do you think?  Is this a problem in your room?

iPaper
I added this to the posting on May 21.  Just thought that this spoof fit well and didn't have to create a new posting.

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