Podcasts

PodCasts: This is an area that I find a bit tricky. At school my partner, Giesu and I decided to create a script for using a podcast in school. We thought that an “Author Podcast” would be a great addition to the school library. We recorded our preamble using Audacity and of course we did not really have the time to edit it. I have to devote more time to working with the program. If you listen to it, I sound a bit like Mickey Mouse. However, the application is exciting. For what it is worth, I uploaded the audio file into my Wiki. Podcasts add the audio component to the wiki and allows students to create some interesting script or add some sound effects or music to the wiki. Exploring Movie Maker, etc. would be I think another course! However, it will be interesting to find out what sound recording software (Sound Studio, GarageBand, or Audacity) and video recording software (iMovie, Adobe Premier, or Movie Maker) is available in our school district.
Podcasting is a good segue to digital stories. I think that as an elementary school teacher this would be an enticement to get my older students into the library. My technical abilities are limited, but I am sure there is a student that is very capable. Chapter 11 in our text, Library 2.0 and Beyond lists the seven key elements of a digital story:
· Point (of view)
· Dramatic question
· Emotional content
· The gift of your voice
· The power of the soundtrack
· Economy
· Pacing
These are my useful sites for digital storytelling:
http://www.coe.uh.edu/digital-storytelling/introduction.htm
http://www.ourstory.com/
http://powayusd.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/projects/edtechcentral/DigitalStorytelling/default.htm
http://animoto.com/

The possibilities are endless and I can imagine the presentations that can be created that will impress our learning community!