Week 4: Podcasting and Communication

Podcasting is simply put, a blog and radio combined to create a new feed of news.  They are sound files or video files (called vodcasts), that are RSS feeds in which you to subscribe to.  These files are automatically updated and you are alerted when you have a new feed of news to listen to or to view and they sync to your gadgets!

There are many podcasting tools and uses in the classroom.  In this course, we will not go into the details of traditional podcasting but will look at some other ways we can use voice recording with other web 2.0 tools.

Take a look at Discovery Education's links for podcasting in the classroom.  They describe in detail the tools you need and how you can get started.

There are simple web 2.0 tools you can use to podcast like Audacity that are FREE.

Want to explore how you can become a podcast subscriber?  Did you know there is tons of professional development for FREE at your fingertips?  Apple has created an educational podcasting library for student and teacher use.  If you go to iTunes U you will have access to over 75,000 podcast feeds.

Do you have an iPhone or iPod Touch?  There's an app for it!!

So what do you think?  How has communication changed and what can we learn from this change?  What does this mean for the classroom?  Post a brief reflection on the Junkie Blog. 

Week 4 Thing 9: Got a picture? Don’t just post it…Blabberize it!

Week 4 is all about podcasting in different and simplistic ways.  We are looking at tools that can be used as podcasts with a focus on collaboration and digital images.  Last week, we focused on digital pictures and images-I am sure you have heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”.  Well, the next web 2.0 tool you will explore takes this saying to the next level!  What if I told you a picture can actually say your words?  Blabberize is a tool that allows you to upload a portrait of your choice, select a mouth and record a comment to share.  Go to this link to see it in action.

Here’s an idea: Students can create their own image (in Paint or other comparable software) or can use a photo to create projects which incorporate voice.  You could have your students research an animal, write a first person account and then Blabberize it!  Students could then post their Blabbers to your class wiki, blog or even edmodo.  The class can explore other animals and comment on each other’s work.  Look at the 3rd grade sample below:

Can you think of ESL connections??!!  What a great way to get these students involved…  if you search ESL and podcasting you find SO MANY ideas and uses which only increase learning.  Imagine what the Blabbers can do for vocabulary???!!

As of now, all of Blabberize features are free and accessible without registration.  It sounds like they may be changing this in time.  They seem very aware of the education world and its heavy use of their nifty tool.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope they create a free education version!

 If you do decide to register, make a classroom username and password using your general email account you created for your classroom.  All your student projects will be kept in one place.

Tech-tivity 9:  Let’s Blabberize it!

1.     Go to http://www.blabberize.com/ and watch the cute video introduction!

2.    Register or try it out.

3.    Upload a digital picture or image from your computer.  If you do not have a digital image find one on the Internet and save it to your computer so you can upload it and play.  Just make sure you are going to a royalty free image site like www.pics4learning.com or you orally cite your photos URL in your Blabber.  If you need help with this-watch the “saving an image” tutorial.

4.    Blabberize it!  Use the built in microphone on your laptop or podcasting headphones to record the voice.  Post your Blabber to your blog as Week 4 Thing 9.

5.    Finally, post a reflection on the Junkie Blog below about how this type of podcasting could encourage communication in your classroom.

Week 4 Thing 8: WHAT?!! Talking avatars? Free lesson plans... Sweeet!

Now that you get the gist of the course, let’s get movin’ and grovin’. 

Click play on the Voki (the > button).

Visit Voki for Education and bebop around the Teacher’s Corner to see how others are using Voki in the classroom.  You can even watch the video on the page about how a teacher uses social media and Voki in her class.  Better yet, go to the Voki blog for education http://blog.voki.com/ for ideas and to stay abreast of new ideas and features.

You are going to have so much fun with this web 2.0 tool!  It was one of my favorites when I first found it...

First, a few things about this great tool- you have to register with an email address.  Make sure you read the previous post about creating a technology/general email.  Voki does not offer student accounts, so you will need to register using a username, password and email address.  All of your students will be using this username and password to get to My Voki.

Let's get busy with Tech-tivity 8:

1.    Go to www.voki.com and register.

2.    Explore the education site, Teacher’s Corner and Lesson Plans for help and ideas.

3.    Create a Voki.  Have the avatar share one idea for the classroom.  Try to play with this web 2.0 tool on your own.  (Note: You can use your built in Dell Laptop microphone, a podcasting headset or you can type in the avatar's comment.)   If you need help here is a tutorial.

4.    Embed your Voki on your blog as Week 4 Thing 8.

After you play with this tool, please think about how awesome this is for the students in your class who are camera shy or who cannot have their picture shared…GREAT STUFF!

Feel free to share any comments with the Junkies you have about this tool.

Junkies, please register your blog today! REQUIRED

Hello Junkies!
Please register your blog here.  Remember your blog will remain unshared upon registration.  If you wish to share your expierence and creations with the other Junkies please share your URL at Junkies Unite.  Be sure to check out everyone's work and feel free to leave comments! 

You mean I have to create another username/password????!!!

A couple of general comments need to be said about these Web 2.0 tools, especially in regards to the registration monster…and our districts Acceptable Use Policy.

Many Web 2.0 tools require you to register with a username and a password.  An easy way to get around this feature, since we do not want to create student emails we can’t monitor (YET- anyway…), is to create a general technology/school email for all of your web tools.  You can have as many emails as you want with services like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. Why not use that feature to keep your VCS email and personal email junk free.  I know it is one more username/email to remember, but it will really help you manage.

By creating a general email you can use this to register all your Web 2.0 tools.  Not all tools, although education friendly, have made accommodations like student accounts (not requiring an email) or provide open access.  Many need those stats you are providing with registration to keep the free services available…

Here’s the idea: make a creative username for your classroom for all Web 2.0 tools you register for that DO NOT HAVE A STUDENT ACCOUNT feature  (i.e. mcginnocs).  Register with your general/technology email address you created and then make a easy password for your Web 2.0 account.  This will do two things:  allow students to have safe access without needing student’s email accounts and it will keep all your projects in one place under your class username.

You will see how this can work with the next few “Things”…

Week 3 Thing 7: Digital Pictures-Crop, Color and Creative Effects... Oh My!

Google really is the “bees knees” of web 2.0…is there anything you can’t do with Google and Google apps?  One the newest features of Google is a digital picture editor called Picnik.  Picnik is a simple photo editor with no registration requirements.  That’s right peeps, no username and password required!  Awww yea!

I briefly mentioned how Web 2.0 tools often “talk” with each other.  Picnik is compatible with Picasa, facebook, flickr, photobucket and myspace.   Picnik is a easy tool you and your students can use to make stunning presentations, digital storybooks, glogs, edmodo posts, mixbooks, and so much more.   Let’s explore how to edit photos before we move on to some more “things”, taking our digital images to the next level!

Even though the social networking tools like facebook and myspace are currently blocked by the web filter and are not used in our district, Picnik is great for these sites as well.  Try it today!

Tech-tivity Week 3 Thing 7

Let’s play with Picnik.  You don’t need to be an expert photographer, editor nor a software junkie.  I can tell you from experience-if you think Word or Excel is hard to master, try Adobe Studio products.  Adobe is definitely a product for the design pro, but with the beauty of Web 2.0 we have access to these tools for FREE and it is in a simplistic format.

PLAY TIME!!!!

1.  Watch the tutorial here or go play yourself at http://www.picnik.com/
2. Upload a photo of your own or use a demo photo and play around with the editing features on picnick.
3. Now that you have played with photo editing, upload a photo you have edited with picnik to your blog and label it Week 3 Thing 7.   Need help?  Watch the uploading tutorial here. Briefly note any reflections in this blog post about digital photos.

There are many photo editing Web 2.0 tools besides picnick that can really do some amazing things.  Check them out in my del.ic.ious links tag photos.

Here is one of my favorites it is a design suite called http://www.avairy.com/ and this is what the image editor can do: AWE-SOME!

Avairy now offers student accounts!

 http://www.aviaryeducation.com/



There are demos for all of Aviary’s tools from music editors to screen captures it is all there and FREE baby!  Another really fun editor is www.flauntr.com .  Happy editing!

Week 3 Thing 6: Digital Images-A Comic Relief

By clmcginn | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

Enriching our students is a hard task when we are so focused on “bringing up the rear”, so to speak.  By allowing and encouraging creativity, planning higher level thinking while still setting a foundation can be easier than you think.  What do you think of when you look at digital images?  How can digital images, more specifically comics, play in role in the classroom?

According to Rachel Marie-Crane Williams an Associate Professor of Art Education at The University of Iowa, “graphic novels and comics can be an innovative way to bring visual culture into the classroom. They can spark a wide range of interdisciplinary discussions and focus students on a variety of topics, ranging from war to fantasy to memory and childhood. Comics and graphic novels are tools to help teachers reach reluctant students and learn about youth culture outside of the classroom” (Retrieved from Iowa Research Online on March 13, 2011).

Take a look at this great resource which provides ways you can use comics in the classroom.  Feel free to explore the different sites and bookmark your favorites.

Tap Into The World Of Comics #2:Comic Version

View more presentations from S. Hendy.

Like the ideas in the presentation above?  Embed it onto your blog!  Click on "Share" for the embed code and put it into a post...

Week 3 Tech-tivity Thing 6: Create a strip

1. Go to www.toondoo.com and explore the comic creator site.
2. Register with toondoo.
3. Sign in and select “Toon” and “Create Toon”.
4. You need to create a two panel comic reflection about how our students learn today.  Be creative, there is no right or wrong way.  As you explore the site you will see that you can create your own characters, scenes, etc. or you can use what they have provided.
5. Embed your comic on your blog as Week 3 Thing 6 post.

Access Toondoo tutorial here.

Extra credit:

Share with the Junkies any ideas you have in the comments below.  Did you find any other neat comic creator sites?  How have you/how would you use(d) comics in the classroom?  Post comments here on the Junkie blog.

Week 3 Thing 5: Using Photos/Images Web 2.0 style...Mixbook and Smilebox

As you move through the course you will notice correlations between all the Web 2.0 tools you are introduced to.  Many of them “talk”, which eliminates extra steps in the creative process.  This also means more elements can be added to your creations.
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The next tools you will be introduced to can be used to share photos, videos and sounds in a creative and memorable way.    Let’s start our tech-tivities…I  mean PLAY TIME!!!
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Mixbook is a fun tool which allows you to create photo books, cards, calendars and more for FREE on the web- you can even share them (embed) or purchase them as a book (that is so Web 1.0 people…but still awesome)!  Just think, a scrapbook where the supplies are FREE!!  That’s right you no longer have to dedicate a room or a budget to your love of this art.

Week 3 Thing 5 Tech-tivity

To get credit for this “thing” you have two choices: (Pick one or you can do both…)*

*Remember, the more you play the more you learn!

1. Explore and register for Mixbook and create a 2 page book (can be more) on your own and embed it on your BLOG with a post Labeled Week 3 Thing 5.  You can comment on the tool, your creative journey or think of some classroom applications (1-2 sents).   Watch the tutorial here.

OR

2. Go to the Mixbook Gallery and browse the projects made by students and teachers.  Pick an impressive one and embed the book on your BLOG with a post labeled, Week 3 Thing 5. Comment on how you can use this in your classroom or include any other reflections (1-2 sent.).

Here is my favorite:

| View Sample Photo Books | Create your own Photo Book

Similar to Mixbook, Smilebox is another photo, video and sound sharing Web 2.0 tool. Click here to watch a 30sec introduction.  “Your classroom creations can be emailed, posted to a school blog or website, burned to DVD or photo frame, or printed for bulletin boards or backpacks. Parents will experience these learning moments as if they were sitting right alongside their child in class. Your kids will love to see themselves and friends featured in creative multimedia designs set to the music of your choice. You’ll be amazed at how easy Smilebox is to use and how quickly you can share classroom memories” (Retrieved from, http://media.smilebox.com/teachers/welcome).

Teachers can sign up or a free account where they can access a Premimun Subscription worth $39.99.  All you need to do is APPLY.  In the meantime, you can still play around with features of this great photo tool  by just registering at Smilebox.

Here is an example of an elementary school Smilebox project:

Okay, let’s wrap up “Thing 5” with a quick post here on the Junkie blog.  Post a classroom application for Mixbook or Smilebox, as a comment.  Feel free to post more than one or to comment on someone’s idea.  I will start by posting one...

[Did you notice Mixbook "talks" with Picasa and other Web 2.0 tools?  Learn more about photosharing by clicking on my Delicious links in the sidebar.  Tags: digitalstorytelling, photos]

Week 3 Introduction: Photos and Images

Congrats you have made it to week 3!  You now know how to embed and you have a blog!  AWE-SOME!  Embedding will play a major role in your Web 2.0 journey.  Learn it now and it will save you tons of time!  It’s as simple as copy and paste.   If you need additional help on embedding please go back to the tutorial from Week 2 Thing 3.

This week we will focus on photos and images in the Web 2.0 world.  Flickr and Picasa have changed the way we organize and share photos.  If you have never explored these tools and you take digital pictures you really need to register for these great library managers.  As a social network for family and friends or to chart your adventures around the world they are worth the play time.

If you have time use your Google Account to register for Picasa and play around with the features.  It is really great and I use it at home to share albums with friends and also as a professional tool.

If you don’t have time to play, watch the brief tutorial above to learn about Picasa and how it can benefit you personally and professionally.

Think about how we capture images and how methods have changed over time.  Cameras have progressed from big, clumsy and sensitive to small, sleek and durable.   Hey, there are even underwater digital cameras you can afford and the picture quality is superb!  That is phenomenal.  Cameras can be found on computers, phones, other hand held devices and come in all shapes and sizes.  Pictures are more accessible than ever with the technology we have today.

Since this media is easy, accessible and (this is the biggie...)affordable…How can we use digital photographs with our students?  Go to Discovery Education and go through some classroom applications for digital cameras.  Post one idea with the group and comment on how you could modify it with curriculum here on the Junkie Blog.   Feel free to post other feelings, reactions or additional comments to other’s posts.  We are here to collaborate!