Podcasts

Smartboards

I recently listened to six podcasts. The first one I listened to was by Ben Hazzard. His podcast was on using Smart Boards in education. His cast was very laid back, and seemed very improvised. He was talking about this topic while getting coffee. I like the spontaneity of it. It seemed like it was a last minute decision to create a podcast while he was ordering coffee. I like this approach to podcasts very much, it makes it seem less like work!

KidCast

The next podcast I listened to was by Dan Schmit. His approach was a little more serious, more focused. The introduction had music which made it fun to listen to. He was talking about why video podcasts are good for learning. Even though his podcast was an audio podcast he made it obvious how important he thinks video podcasts are to learning. I like the fact that there were no background noises to deal with in this podcast as there had been in the SmartBoard podcast I listened to earlier.

Connect Learning

I listened to Episode 92 by David Warlick. In this podcast he was talking to Chris Lehmann. There was music in the introduction, which like I said before makes it more fun to listen to. In this podcast Mr. Warlick was located in a school. He had been visiting classrooms most of the day. This seemed to be more of an interview than just one person's thoughts or ideas on a subject. Mr. Warlick asked the questions and Mr. Lehmann gave his responses. They both seemed very comfortable talking to each other and prepared for this podcast.

Ed Tech Talk

I also listened to episode number 62 of EdTechTalk. In this podcast they were talking about their favorite devices, such as an iPod Touch and iPhone. They were all female, one was from Australia. I like the fact that the podcast included women from different areas of the world. They were very laid back, just talking to each other but being informative at the same time. I like this approach a lot because it's not boring, just friends talking to each other.

MacBreak Weekly

This podcast seemed to be the most professional podcast of them all. The introduction was definitely different than the others. There was music but also mention of the underwriters of this specific podcast. There were several different people discussing certain AT&T technologies that they liked. One in particular was the iPad. This was the longest of the podcasts I listened to today. It definitely seemed more like a radio or television talk show than just a normal podcast.

This Week in Photography

This is the last podcast I listened to. This one also had intro music as well as an announcer. The introduction was very similar to the MacBreak podcast. The men and women were talking about racist cameras. To me it was just them discussing which cameras they use and why. They also talked about a new compact flash card that just came out. All the people involved in this podcast seemed very comfortable with each other, it's obvious that they are used to talking with each other. I like this cast better than most of the other ones. Again I thought it sounded more like a television or radio talk show.

They are First Grader's! Are you Ready?

Media Literacy In the First Grade

These first graders are so impressive! They speak very well and know so much more than I did at their age. These kids can tell the difference between fiction and non-fiction books. Also they can show us how to get to their class blog, how to comment and what to say when you comment. It's wonderful how even 6 and 7 year olds know how to post comments that are positive and uplifting. I plan on teaching high school after I graduate, and hopefully the children I will teach will have this wonderful of a background.

Ms. Cassidy's Class

This video shows the types of technology that these first graders are using to learn. They blog and love getting comments from their families. The children stated that they sound out words better and that their writing improves. They can use their class webpage to review their sight words. They also use wikis and skype. They are even allowed to play Nintendo DS in school, it has taught them how to be better at problem solving and sharing.

All of these technologies are teaching these children valuable lessons at such an early age. It is amazing how different education is now compared to when I was in first grade. I am excited to know that teachers these days are able to teach children in this way. It shows serious promise for our future leaders!

iPhone baby!

This video makes me feel very technologically illiterate! This little baby is using an iPhone. He can turn it on, get to the pictures, and scroll through them. He can even zoom in on the pictures he's viewing. When my sister first bought her iPhone it took me forever to figure things out. When my baby is one I hope he or she will be able to do things like this. Wow, that's really all I have to say!

Until next time. Thank you for reading!