I can't believe I did it!!

I have conquered my fear of the podcasting. Weren't there Pods in Wrinkle in Time??? They sound so familiar. So, for the only person who doesn't own an iPod, I'm doing pretty good with playing around with it. I can lightly scroll up and down and click on the menu. I still keep putting it up to my ear like a cell phone. What a dork! Or as my number one daughter tells me, "you are so lame". Speaking of LAME, now I know what it is. I also have the AUDACITY of HOPE, and I'm mixing soundtracks like a professional. Well, sort of. I'm sure I'm making it more difficult than it has to be.

Cool things I found -- podsafe audio network has lots of good music to use for the podcast. I really wanted to use some of my favorite music tunes, but, alas, I don't want to pay royalties for using it. I also found some cool audio sounds. People are so fascinating. Some people just love to go out and record sounds. Dripping water, rolling dice, the fast trains in France, a forest, whatever you want is out there. I'm really glad that the creative people of the world get to go out and do their thing and publish it for the world to see. What did they do before the Internet? They had to keep it all to themselves. They all look so happy and pleased that people are sharing in their interests and art.

My first podcast was way too long. I thought that I wouldn't be able to find enough to talk about, but for some reason, I had a lot to say. I've tried several different ways to record. I only had a cheap microphone headset, but Audacity seemed to like my voice. I finally got the file down to a manageable size. I want to use my podcasts on my Blackboard class that I am teaching, but I need to make the audio files less than 3mb. It seems like this translates to 3 minutes worth of podcasting.

My students took it out for a testdrive and the young ones really seemed to like it. They thought my scary voice was "way awesome". They really knew the material already, so they weren't interested in my topic. The older adults who were learning algebra for the first time were interested in hearing it. I don't think anyone will be downloading it and working out to it on their iPod. It's more like a computer listening thing.

I'm now in the mood for more, more, more. I do feel a little self-conscious sitting in my office with the door closed while I"m recording. I wonder what my office mates are thinking that I'm doing. I already have a reputation as an introvert, so this isn't helping my cause. But, I'll get over it. They don't even know what a podcast is anyway.

Algebra for Neophytes Trial

Try this out if you want to hear my trial run.

Wikis

I've always been able to fly under the radar, so I wonder how I would do in Survivor.... But I'm really talking about starting up a wiki for my department because I was tired of waiting around for a website to be built for the department. I knew that none of the big bosses would have any clue about the wikis, so I just decided to build one and invited everyone to join. Even though I invited everyone in the department to join, I also knew that only the tech savvy ones would dare to click on the link that would take them to the blog. And I'm glad that they did!

We use this wiki to share information among the different instructors at different locations. We teach at different times and we only get to see each other at professional development workshops three times a year. That's not enough time to share ideas and resources with my colleagues! The wiki allows us to have discussions --- why are students dropping out of our classes? what are some ideas for keeping them engaged? what's a great way to teach fractions? who is having problems with reading comprehension? The wiki also lets us post cool websites, personal teaching documents, and my favorite YouTube videos.

I'm still disappointed that only 4 or 5 instructors are actively using the wiki. I'm getting a little tired of talking to the same people. JK. I probably need to work on cleaning it up so it's a little more user friendly. I've learned a few new things in this cool class I'm taking, so now it's time to apply my new found knowledge.

I also like the idea of the wiki being used in lieu of a website. I'm so tired of having to get every flyer and piece of paper approved. So far, the approvers don't even know that instructors are using the world wide web to get out information. It is still unofficial, so it's all good.

I'm going to be starting a new wiki soon. I'm working out the details so that it will be PERFECT. If I build it, I hope they all come!

Medieval Helpdesk

I added one of my favorite YouTube videos to my Blackboard Basic Skills class. I asked the students to watch the video and then comment about it on Blackboard. I introduced the video by telling students that this was from Norway, and therefore was done in Norwegian, but it had English subtitles. I gave them an overview of the video and told them it was about learning a new technology. Since they were learning a new technology, Blackboard, I thought they would appreciate the connection to the video.

If you haven't seen the video, it is about a monk who is trying to learn the new technology of the day -- a book. He has only used scrolls in the past, and he has no idea how to open a book and read it. He's so frustrated that he "calls" the medieval helpdesk. The helpdesk technician comes in to show him this new technology.

I asked the students to think about new technology in their lives. What was it like to get a cordless phone, cell phone, HDTV, cable TV, remote car key, etc. How did they feel when they didn't know how to use it (but everyone else was using it). Were they first on the block to get the new gadget or did they resist until there were no more 8track players left to use?

Now that I have made this a long story.... I had my group of 15 students "playing" on Blackboard. They learned how to post a thread on the Discussion Board and then reply to another thread. Most of them could do this. Then I had them click on the link that took them to YouTube to view the Medieval Helpdesk. I start laughing and smiling every time I see the poor monk. There was silence in the computer lab as my students watched the video. Only 2 or 3 of them were chuckling and understanding what was going on. After the first student finished it, I asked him how he liked it. He looked quizzical. I asked him if he thought it was funny. He told me he didn't get it at all because it was in a foreign language. Could he not read the subtitles? Does he even know what subtitles are? And then I realized that hardly any of them understood the humor of this video. I was soooooooooooooo disappointed. What did I do wrong? I thought this was a subtle but funny way to show how to learn new technology. Was I ever wrong.

What did I do wrong? Why didn't they get it? What am I missing? Am I the missing link?

You can tell I'm new at this

I keep fooling around with the name, the layout, and I'm even having trouble where to find the "post a new post" button. So this is a good example of a new technology and the learning curve. I think most of us know the forgetting curve. If we don't use it within minutes of learning it, we will totally start forgetting all this stuff. I need to remind myself to use this every day. Or at least every other day. I need to practice what I preach.

So what do you think about technology training? Is it overrated? Would you rather just read a manual, or do you think it's worth finding an hour or two to really learn the technology? I wish I had more professional development time to learn and then actually PRACTICE using the technology. A quick one hour overview watching someone else show me how to use the new gadget is just too short. I don't think there's any easy answers on that one. There's never enough money, never enough time. Oh well.