Young Adult Lit/Crit

Hey, a Tech Article!

S. Florida Educators Use Latest Technology in Classroom

Here's a pretty intriguing article from the Miami Herald about how a high school in Broward County is using streaming video technology to confer with other classrooms around the nation, go on "virtual field trips," and even to allow students to download teachers' lectures onto their iPods.  Very exciting stuff!

The most intriguing part of this article to me, though, is how they are conferencing with students in a classroom in Dunkirk, NY.  Dunkirk is literally in my backyard, only about 15 miles from where I grew up.  I don't know a lot about Dunkirk High School, but I do know that it has a high percentage of minority students and is far from an affluent school district.  We often talk about worries about technology reaching the lesser-funded schools, but this article shows (to me at least) that these technological advances are creeping into schools everywhere.

Blackboard Blogging

Here's an interesting article about all the different ways teachers can use blogs: personally, pedagogically, and educationally -- Blackboard Blogging

I hope everyone enjoyed the discussion of various websites last week.  If anyone wants to learn more about any of them, please feel free to e-mail me and/or talk to me in class and I'll try to help you out.

As for this week's tech tip... how do iMovies sound?  I can tell you all about how they can be used for student projects, or for recorded lectures, or for an internet show (a video podcast), or... you know, other stuff.  Sound good?

-Dave

Tech Tip!

Several weeks ago, you all got a handout from me with a list of super-cool websites which are worth becoming familiar with.  Tonight, I hope, I'll finally get to talk about them with you and answer questions and whatnot.  Just to refresh your memories, these are the websites I mentioned.  Check 'em out before class, if you get the chance.

http://www.flickr.com - free webspace to upload your pictures!

http://del.icio.us and http://www.furl.net - save your bookmarks online, and see what others are bookmarking!

http://www.bloglines.com - a free RSS page to keep up with all your favorite blogs!

http://www.suprglu.com - the place where you can bring it all together!

http://www.technorati.com - a search engine specifically for blogs!  See what the blogosphere is buzzing about at any moment!

And this is a new one, for all the teachers out there:

http://www.marcopolo-education.com - project ideas, unit plan models, handouts, the works!

Tonight, we shall discuss.

-Dave

Will Richardson on Podcasting

Hi all, I like to browse Richardson's weblog as often as possible. It's a constant source of stimulation and new knowledge for me. This recent post supports our own podcasting experiment and the value of exploring these technologies as we prepare to reinvent ELA classrooms. DO read and comment.

****

The most interesting thing about yesterday's MassCue Technology Leadership Symposium at least to me, was that two educators came up to me at different times of the day and said the same thing almost verbatim:

"I have never seen a technology that has turned my students on more than podcasting."

Seriously...almost verbatim, and kind of out of the blue since I was talking about RSS (though I was hawking my book...I have no shame.) And to both of them I asked why they thought that was. The answer was basically the ease of it, the audience, the ability to hear themselves piping through the speakers wherever they were. And these teachers were downright giddy with the excitement of it all. Very cool.

I'll be the first to admit that I didn't "get" podcasting at first, and to be honest, I'm not sure I do still. But that doesn't much matter, does it? Kids get it, especially elementary kids. And even though it may not be the best tool for conversation (though a blog built around a podcast can help in that) it is a great tool for teaching writing, among other things. That's the other thing I hear a lot. These kids are really motivated to write and think and prepare these podcasts because they know they are going to be published, that others will hear them. And it's different strokes with these tools, isn't it? You don't like text (like I do) try audio, and if that doesn't engage you, try video or screencasting or whatever. And there is more to come, don't forget. We're only just starting.

Isn't it cool, however, that in some small measure, the little kids are leading the way???

Hey, I made a podcast!

OK, I'm hoping this works for all of you.  I've made a podcast of sorts, simply using the text of my most recent post "Lit Circle Thoughts".  So, anyway, here's what that post would have been like if it were a podcast.  We'll talk about podcasting more tomorrow when I do my tech tip (hopefully, more prepared than I was two weeks ago!).

Oh, and by the way, for anyone who hasn't discovered the podcast interview of our new friend Mary Pearson -- here's a link to that.  Great to have you here with us, Mary!  Thanks for your interest.

-Dave

Another Take on the Uses of Podcasting Technology

I teach, therefore iPod

Interesting snippet: "if an archived lecture is just as effective as a live one in transmitting the basic subject matter, that can be an opportunity to shift the role of the teacher to a higher, more interactive level. Lectures can be assigned and class time can be spent integrating knowledge through conversation and creative assignments that deal with real world applications of the subject matter."

Very interesting to see how lectures may be handled in the future!

Podcast Article

Davey again.  I noticed no one posted about the podcast article.  Podcasting is such an amazing thing.  One of the teachers quoted in the article says "Just the word 'podcast' scares a lot of teachers away."  I hope it didn't scare you all away.

Have I ever actually done a podcast?  No.  The whole idea scared me.  It seemed like too much work for too little reward.  Then I had the opportunity last semester to attend a workshop put on by David Warlick, who is also quoted in this article.  So I can attest, firsthand, that when he says in this article that making a podcast is simple, he ain't lyin'.  I saw him do it with my own two eyes.

How does this fit in with young adult literature?  Why not, for a project, having students do book talks and placing them online in podcast form?  It's one thing to write a long paper or something about a book and then place it online, but it's an entirely other thing to have a real-live kid talking online about a book he/she enjoys and wants to share with others.  Kids would be much more interested in listening to another kid talk about a book than they would be with reading a long, drawn-out essay about a book.

I think that would be a superb project.  It would force kids to think hard about their book and what they want to say about it, because their review will be available worldwide for other students and other teachers to listen to and comment on.  Students wouldn't want to sound silly or uninformed about their topics, so they would work harder to create something they can be proud of.  And, as one of the students in the article said, "you're actually doing something with what you learn."  Instead of writing a book report that only he/she and the teacher will ever see, a student will be learning to create a form of media that is broadcast worldwide.  Far out!