Week 9: Podcasting Blog

Nathan Renfro

ETEC 424

October 27, 2010

I found it fascinating that the invention of the MP3 resulted in the development of podcasting. The book defines podcasting as a way for “…anyone to become an independent producer and distributor of audio and/or video content that can be offered worldwide through the internet” (Crismond, Howland, Jonassen, & Marra, 2008). The use of RSS and Mp3 technology is something that has been developed in my lifetime. I thought it was great to learn how to use this; not only for my teaching career, but for personal use as well. I intend to create a podcast that will, hopefully, include video for personal use by the end of this semester to become more familiar with the technology. When I do, I’ll provide a link in my blog to it.  Students can create their own podcasts and use it to become better public speakers. Podcasting is another technology that can allow students to collaborate to learn better. Telling stories electronically or digitally allows students to tell others about their personal experiences and make authentic, original videos and audio files. There are several different applications for this technology in the classroom. What is listed above barely touches the surface.

            Podcasting is similar with other technologies that we’ve learned about in that it is an advanced and modern technology that has only been applied to the classroom recently. It is not an old technology. Podcasts and video feed can be applied with other Web 2.0 applications that have been discussed. A podcast can be embedded by a link or directly onto a blog; personal or public. It takes the text-based discussion board to a whole another level and allows people to transfer audio or video files from their computer directly to an MP3 player. This allows the podcast’s accessibility to be maximized. I could see the use of videos that are made privately being used like podcasts.

            I do own an iPod. I mainly use it for music when I run or am driving; I hook it up into my car stereo via an auxiliary port. I could see myself using this technology in my classroom. I am not sure how I would use it, exactly. I may have students do an audio book report or presentation about how they respond to a written work. I could see this technology being a big hassle. It would not be helpful if the students did not have access to a computer to record and edit their audio file. Using this technoogy, I think, is a big assignment for middle school and certain high school aged kids. Though they do love technology at that age, it may take too much time away from the content of my lessons. It would take a lot for students to get comfortable with podcasting if they didn't pick it up right off the bat. The amount of time they would use creating the podcast would not last as long as the podcast. If I have time in my course to apply this technology, I will. If I need to spend more time going through the curriculum and maintaining department standards, I will not include podcasts into my lesson plan. Blogs and online discussion forums have a much better shot at making their way into my classroom than podcasting. I'll have to try it out and see how it works.

References:

Crismond, D., Howland, J., Jonassen, D., Marra, R. M. (2008). Meaningful learning with

technology. Columbus: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall.

Chapter 6 Blog

            I plan to use both wiki spaces and blogs throughout my curriculum. I will use these resources to generate discussion topics and for commenting further on what students may have said in the classroom. I plan to create a wiki for each class and host short discussions based on each week’s reading assignment. Each student could create a blog, similar to this course, and use that as a forum for discussion concerning course-related material. Blogs can be applied to almost any subject to help achieve meaningful learning. According to Crismond, Howland, Jonassen, and Marra, students should “…comment on postings, ask questions, and (do their) research” (113).
            Social bookmarking is a fantastic way to minimize search results and get to the content of the search. It is a great way to quickly share useful websites between teachers and students. I believe social bookmarking helps organize the over-abundant and often irrelevant websites that appear as search results. Social bookmarking will definitely be useful for my students. If a student is struggling with a concept covered in class, I can reference them to an exact website and accommodate to their individual needs. With social bookmarking, this can be done in a really fast. If good and relevant sites have been socially bookmarked, it could be a helpful tool to discover information that you may not have found.

I could incorporate a voice thread into my curriculum but I probably wouldn’t do it often. I could see voice threading being a distraction. I will probably use it as a small assignment, extra credit assignment, or reward for my students. If my students were mature and responsible with voice thread technology, I could find several uses in my curriculum. . I may have my students write a paper over their experiences with voice threading technology if it can be applied to what I need to teach. I think with the age I plan on teaching, it could be more of a distraction than a productive exercise. It could become redundant if too much focus was on voice threading. The students may have the opportunity to get bored or focus more on playing with the technology than learning the material they need to learn

            I have not explored Tapped In but I did read about the learning communities in the book. With information and cultures being integrated at a faster rate via the internet, the authors mentioned there is a great “…need for all citizens to understand and respect other cultures and to be able to communicate with those who are culturally different” (Crismond, Howland, Jonassen, Marra. p.120). These learning communities allow students to experience so many different cultures, places, music, videos, history, and languages in such a short amount of time that removes barriers that helps promote a larger awareness of global communities. This can help the students make connections they may not have made without the knowledge they learn from these communities. This is very important with online learning and technology integrated in to the classroom.

Reference:

Crismond, D., Howland, J., Jonassen, D., Marra, R. M. (2008). Meaningful learning with technology. Columbus: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall.

Chapter 10 BLOG

Nathan Renfro

N_Renfro@tamu-commerce.edu

ETEC 424

October 5, 2010

Assessment activities are used to “determine if intended learning outcomes have been achieved (Gagne, Bridges, &Wayne, 1998). Assessment activities can be used in several different ways to create data you can use to improve the performance of the learner. Popular means of assessing performance are by the use of “…scoring grids, scoring schemes, ratings scales, and rubrics" (Crismond, Howland, Jonassen, & Marra, 2008). E-portfolios can also be used to monitor the outcome of a lesson. E-portfolios are “…a collection of digitized artifacts that may include video clips, graphics, sound, writing samples, artwork, and multimedia presentations” to show the accomplishments of an individual (Crismond, Howland, Jonassen, & Marra, 2008).

E-portfolios help teachers and students monitor their learning and teaching processes to find out what strategies work with retaining information and what strategies need to be adjusted. They also encourage meaningful learning and can be used to show an infinite amount of learning outcomes. They provide students with the opportunity to reflect on their work and  provide the opportunity for teachers to assess their lesson plans. Computer-based tests are tests or surveys that can be completed from a computer terminal. The computer-based test grades itself, allowing the student to see what questions were missed and, on certain computer-based tests, what steps the student missed to get the problem wrong almost immediately after the examination. Students also have the ability to take tests on scantrons that use a computer to grade their answers from a scan sheet or bubble sheet. This is a very common way of test-taking and has been used for several decades.  These forms of technology-based test-taking has made getting student test results faster and more convenient. Yes, the use of computer-based tests impacts validity and reliability. It is noted that computer-based tests focus on people of “average ability level… but do not work well for learners at either end of the spectrum” (Crismond, Howland, Jonassen, & Marra, 2008). It is also noted that if a test is made to adapt and increase learner engagement that meaningful learning will occur.

In conclusion, technology applied to assessment can be a valid resource in ensuring meaningful learning. It allows the teacher enough data to ensure his/her lesson plan is adequate to teaching the students that s/he has in the classroom. It allows the student time to reflect on what they have learned and ensure the information has been used in a meaningful way. So, like many things involved while teaching and learning, assessment activities, when used properly, can make the learning environment more effective. By combining the use of content and presentation a teacher can ensure that meaningful learning occurs in the classroom.

References:

Crismond, D., Howland, J., Jonassen, D., Marra, R. M. (2008). Meaningful learning with technology. Columbus: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall.

Gagne, R.M., Bridges, L.J., &Wayne, W.W. (1998). Principles of instructional design. Orlando:  Holt, Rinehart and Winston.