I am at the Tech Forum Conference in Schaumburg, Illinois, today. I will be attending two sessions and will summarize the notes below.
EduPodcasting
Steve Dembo, Ben Gray, Dick Diener
This is an informative session on Podcasting.
In 2004, there were only 24 Google search results on the term, "Podcast." The same search on the same date in 2005 returned over 100 million results. Quite a leap!
Podcasting facts...
Podcasting is easy to do and does not involve any complex technology. A digital camera or cell phone is all that is needed. Software can be used ranging from easy to complex depending upon what you want to do; Audacity, Audio MP3 Sound Recorder, GCast, and Gabcast are a few pieces to consider. Web tools can be used, too, like Drop.io, hipcaster, and clickcaster.
The Barrington 220 Podcast Network is an impressive effort to bring school events to the community. Their goal is to create better communication through interaction. It is important to get "buy-in" from administrators and School Board members, so they create podcasts with members of these areas. Students always host the interview and learn how to create and publish the podcast.
Cell Phones in Education
Steve Dembo, Discovery Education
Check-out the Angry Professor on Youtube...and the extended version....
How can cell phones be used in the classroom?
www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls
This site lets students send a text message responding to a poll made at this site. This can be used as a student response system. Multiple choice questions can be made, too. This can actually be downloaded into a PowerPoint presentation. Free and cost versions are available. The messages can be moderated and you can actually download the messages and see the phone number of who sent the message, if you interested in doing that.
Other suggested uses: (from those in attendance)
Take pictures as a lab progresses
iphones allow internet access when there is no internet available. So do most other cell phones.
Why use expensive camcorders and other video equipment?
Visit www.filmonthefly (A mobile Phone Video Challenge); another free service. Students can create a cell phone video response to a prompt a teacher puts up at this site. See http://filmonthefly.ning.com/ for some examples of cell phone videos.
Liz Kold(b?) is holding a picture challenge. Also, see http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com/.
Scott Meech runs http://www.iear.org/, an iTouch site that reviews Education apps. There is also a ning associated with the site, http://ieducationappsreview.ning.com/. Join his site to be a reviewer!
What's the Debate? (discussion from those in attendance)
We live in a fear-based society. Many other countries embrace the use and educate students and parents on the use of cell phones as educational tools.
Cheating. You can have kids bring them to the teacher desk before the test.
Age. Ask when it should be appropriate to use it in the classroom.
Ignorance. Teach decision makers how to use their cell phone.
Safety. So many people send out wrong information during an emergency. However, parents are for cell phones in terms of safety. There has to be a balance. It is worthwhile to go to http://www.helium.com/ and search on cell phones for safety related articles. The debate goes on!
http://www.udefn.com/ can be set up to send you back what you are looking for; weather, news, etc.
http://plodt.com/ provides real time feedback on many topics, like opinions on a debate. You can also rate the debate as it is going. Students can rate your lesson, too. Wow, instant feedback with comments from the students. A graph is created of ratings vs. time. This might be great for evaluating your lesson from an understanding/confusion aspect. I'll have to investigate this site further, but I like the concept.
Nice job presenting, Steve!
I would like to let everyone know about TxtDrop.com, a free online service that allows text messages to be sent to cell phones from the internet. I've used it and can easy reply to the message so that it gets sent back to the email address that sent it. Give it a try!
