Sunday, October 28, 2007
Podcast 101
Whew! That was a LONGGGGG assisgnment. I feel like a total goober for trying to watch a video from every link in that long list but I did it. Does it make me feel more comfortable about podcasting on my own? No. I think this is because like most teachers we want our work to be of the "highest" quality. Lets face it, some of the podcasts were enjoyable, some were not. Some played like they were supposed to, others did not play at all. Another problem I had was that I didn't really find what I was looking for. I will say this though "Shelly" from our class has a link to something called Voicestreaming.com or something that did get my creative teacher juices flowing and I encourage all to visit her blog and find out what it was. The problem is that I want to start in the "kiddie pool" and still appear to be swimming along with the big fish and that is what the "voicestreaming" site seems to do. It merges a slideshow along with voices and comes out with a great product. One of the most annoying things to me was that some videos buffered constantly making me think my computer was outdated and others zoomed video with amazing crispness of picture. I am confused by the mechanics of this which is why I get scared off by the whole idea of podcasting. What did you all think? My favorite podcasts were the one on why astronauts seem to float in space on the NASA site I think and the one about the Water Buffalo that made me cry. What can I say I am a perfectionist!
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3 comments:
I'm not going to claim to be an expert on video or audio technology and podcasting, but I will say this much. I think that quality of picture and sound is nowhere near as important as quality of material presented.
If you want to try audio - record with the best equipment you can find
If you want to try video - again, use the best equipment you can afford or borrow, but don't be concerned if the quality is not as "perfect" as you'd like it to be.
Let me share with you what a good friend and mentor once told me when I was writing songs for my first album - "Write what you want, play it the way you want, and enjoy the whole process. Don't worry about what other people think. There's always going to be some ***-**** out there who will tell you that you could have done it better."
I agree with your comment- to an extent. Impaitent people will not wait for the buffering. We won't even tolerate it. Teachers want the best for their students. I observed a teacher who downloaded a streaming video that she thought was really cool and the buffering was so disruptive that her students lost interest. When students lose interest they find ways to get into trouble and the class behavior falls apart.
Now, here is the part where I agree with you- If you never try you have already failed. I do believe when I get over my first year teaching, and I am more confident about new technology, and I have had "adequate" time to plan what I want to use this technology for I will revisit my notes and look into it. I really appreciate your last sentence because I hope I did not come across as a small minded person like that. Thank you for your insightful comment!
I, too, am often considered to be a perfectionist--although you'd never know it from anything you've seen from me in this podcast--and you sure wouldn't think it in many other aspects of my life. But Jay is right. Even we, as perfectionists, and even more so as veteran teachers, will state that the content and quality of the material is so much more important. I am scared to try even recording just the audio--as I hate the sound of my own voice--but know that I'm the only one that can do it--my students sure can't. And I know that when I do start recording, I won't have access to the best quality equipment. But I also know that my students will enjoy it-and if I'm ever out they will be able to have me "lead" circle time with all of our normal activities and songs without having to have someone else come in and do them. As far as video goes? Well, I can't see where I would ever do any video taping--and yet I video taped (with my digital camera) a child's birthday party at school so that his Dad (who is deployed) could see him enjoy his cake and his present and all. I taped it--very poor quality and I realized that you can't "turn" a video like you can a "still" picture--so the whole thing is taped sideways. Won't that be great for his dad to watch? But I don't think he'll care, he'll be able to see his son on his birthday with his cake and "blowing out the candles".
Sometimes the nervous giggles and silliness will come through from your students. But that is ok too--it is natural. It will become easier for not only you but also for them the more you try it. And remember voicethread.com also has the ability for written work to go with the picture--not just spoken word.
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