Digital Video Professional Development Resources for Educators

August 24, 2007 at 12:53 am | In K-12 education, Media Literacy, Professional Development, Video editing, Vodcasts, educational technology, technology, video podcasts | 3 Comments

Digital Video Professional Development Resources for Educators

visual.jpgEducators would never consider teaching children to read but not to write, since both are essential for effective communication. Today educators are recognizing that communications in the world of their students are primarily through media and technology and that they must teach student not just to “read” electronic media, but also to create it.

Resources are now available to help educators incorporate digital media and visual literacy into their classroom curriculum to help their students meet their educational standards and benchmarks.

Press “Play” to watch the video.

Wiki Basics

August 21, 2007 at 3:39 am | In K-12 education, Web 2.0, wikis | Leave a Comment

Wiki Basics

collaboration3.jpgA Wiki works as a combination of a Word document and a Web site. The wiki can be read like any other web site, but users can work collaboratively on the content using nothing but a standard web browser.

A teacher begins a wiki on a particular topic and invites others to participate in creating the content. Each time a user makes changes to a wiki page, the revision becomes the current version, and the original document is stored.

The wiki can then track the history of the changes made to each version of the document so they can be compared side-by-side, and edits can be made or versions rolled back if necessary.

Since users come to the same place to create and edit, the need to keep track of multiple Word files and compile edits is eliminated. In addition, wikis typically include forums that let users discuss the content they’re creating. collaboration21.jpg

The Wiki has become an ideal tool for increasing the amount of collaborative work done by teachers and students. Students use wikis to share research and data while working on a group project; while faculty can use wikis to collaboratvely author lesson plans and curriculum necessary to help students meet their educational standards. 

Using the wiki format helps teachers capture the students’ combined knowledge and present it in a manageable way, making it accessible to everyone. Because of this, more and more classes are writing their own textbooks built upon the wiki concept.  

Choosing Podcast Software

August 13, 2007 at 9:26 pm | In K-12 education, Podcasts, Professional Development, Vodcasts, Web 2.0, iPod, technology, video podcasts | Leave a Comment

Options for Choosing Podcast Software

girlmicrophone.jpgThere are three schools of though in selecting software to record podcasts. The first consists of a combined hardware/software package such as Podcast Factory. This package includes microphones and sound mixers along with audio editing software.

The second option is to obtain the hardware of outside sources and to select an all-in-one software program that can record, edit, and distribute a podcast from a single interface. These programs use a simple step-by-step process which makes it easier to handle the more technically advanced elements of podcasting, such as the creation of the XML files RSS requires. The more cost effective all-in-one software programs include Propaganda, and ePodcast Creator.

The least expensive method is to use a general purpose audio recording and editing program — even free programs are available. With this option, there will be more steps involved in creating a podcast, since the program isn’t designed sound_waves.jpgspecifically for podcasting. Audacity is a free, open-source multi-track audio editor and recorder that is widely used by podcasters. Although it is not made specifically for podcasting, it includes a number of useful features and plug-ins, and has an interface that is intuitive and easy to use. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

When generic audio editors are used, a separate RSS Feed Creator is necessary to creat the XML files that RSS feeds require. Such programs include RSS Feed Creator by SourceForge, the RSS Feed Creator by Toucan Multimedia, the one by  Feed Craft. By searching the Internet, podcasters will be able to find a wide selection of RSS Feed Creators that will add the necessary files to change their audio file into a podcast.

iPods and Handheld Computers in the Classroom

August 8, 2007 at 2:31 pm | In Internet, K-12 education, Podcasts, Professional Development, Vodcasts, eBooks, educational technology, handheld computer, iPod, technology, video podcasts | 1 Comment

student_mediaplayer.jpg

Professional Development Resources

The iPod has swept the ‘Net Generation’ by storm and the primary source of media entertainment. Handheld computers have been used in the business world for a number of years while the educational profession ignored the growing phenomena around them. In recent weeks this has been changing. 

Resources are now available to help educators incorporate the iPod and handheld computers into their classroom curriculum to help their students meet their educational standards and benchmarks.   Press "Play" on the video to gain ideas.

Importance of Web 2 in Schools

August 4, 2007 at 2:25 pm | In Internet, Web 2.0, educational technology | Leave a Comment

World Wide Collaboration

The ‘Net Gen’ have it right!

The World Wide Web (WWW), now often referred to as Web 1.0, was intended to be used to share ideas and promote discussion, and for several decades it has served us well. However, technology has matured and Web 2.0 is becoming a common vehicle of mass communications. Web 2.0 is described as a participatory Web or the Read/Write Web which facilitates collaboration and sharing between users.  
Web 2.0 increases the presence of the individual allowing anyone to create and upload print, audio, and video to the Internet without knowing HTML programming codes. This interactivity is possible because of RSS technology. (RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.”) RSS is an XML format for sharing content among different Web sites.
Due to rapid changes in technology, demographics, business, the world is entering a new age where people participate in the economy as never before. New low-cost collaborative infrastructures now allow thousands of individual and small producers to co-create products, access markets, and share knowledge. This new level of mass collaboration in the workplace using the Web 2.0 environment is based on openness, peering, sharing, and acting globally.
The “Net Generation” is already comfortable with this environment with boy_computer3.jpgtheir use of such sites as My Space, and Facebook. For the Net Generation the Web is no longer a library of information, but a web of openness, sharing, social interaction, and community. The Net Generation is already familiarizing themselves with the tools of Web 2.0 in spite of the lack or efforts of many K-12 schools and the level of the settings of the school Internet filters. Now is the time for the K-12 schools to put aside their fears of the abuse of Internet Resources and educate their students as to the full potential of Web 2.0 tools and prepare them for the 21st Century workforce.

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