Screen capture from the podcast -- full video available here.
Some good discussion here -- I think it's fair to say that the class members believe the most important element of being a "tech literate teacher" is the willingness to adopt and integrate new technologies aggressively, without fear. More important than any baseline competency, according to this panel, is the correct attitude: that tech literacy is import and attainable, and that it is the educator's job to both create passion for new and newly-enabled strategies and to learn with students as new technologies become available. One panelist raised an interesting point about developing awareness of new technologies that I think bears repeating: once you invite collaboration via technology, knowledge self-aggregates. In other words, wider exposure begets wider exposure.
As for improvements, I have one issue regarding the medium and one suggestion regarding the content. First: this particular podcast makes no use of visuals, so extra bandwidth/storage space/etc. required for the video element is superfluous. Putting faces to names is nice, but I'm certain there are ways in which visuals may be utilized, especially with the benefit of pre-recording (i.e., since the podcast is not broadcast live, visuals -- for instance, captioned URLs, or montage style clips of the referenced videocasts underlying the discussion). Video allows for a more dynamic presentation, and I'm interested in ways to make use of the camera. (Closed captioning in foreign languages... sure, why not?) As for content, well, what IS a tech literate teacher? What is state of the art in education, or does it matter to know? What's the difference between tech literacy, technical fluency, and technical mastery, and where along the spectrum should the average teacher fall? I don't think the panel failed in their discussion whatsoever, but I'd like further analysis of the topic at hand, including examples of how technology may provdie distinct advantages in the classroom (such as wider collaboration, as was raised by the panel).
Judy Scharf has some excellent tips for the aspiring podcaster, including some very basic considerations that shouldn't be taken for granted. For instance, remember that the "success" of a podcast is really a matter of having a successful conversation, so its beneficial to allow students to pick a topic they're excited to discuss and a panel they're excited to talk to. Similarly, at Langwitches, this advice: have an authentic reason to do it, make it real and make it age-appropriate. Exploring this list linked in the syllabus, I found some more great advice regarding podcasting in general: FrogBlog's 20 Ideas for a Great Podcast.
As for why? Again, from Ms. Scharf: it's a great way to take education out of the classroom and make it portable, available to students and parents 24/7. Harry Dell notes that today's kids are comfortable with the concept podcasts already, so this is one more tool to make education interesting, accessible, and relevant. He also notes that podcasting promotes role-play and encourages innovation and creativity. As aspiring educators, we should all be on the lookout for any and every strategy that enables creativity, critical thinking, and outside-the-box (where "the box" in this example is the traditional classroom, which is generally and unfortunately reminiscint of any standard box) learning styles.
In this episode: we listen to, compare, contrast, and opine on six podcasts, in preparation for our own adventures in lo-fi. I'll proceed chronologically, posting thoughts after I sample each, in something approximating a liveblog. Disclaimer: I'm generally loathe to publicly commit to an opinion regarding any media I've only just sampled, unless its a band that I already totally hate. All of these impressions are based upon limited exposure, and I'm focused many upon their relative effectiveness as a podcast, so anything negativity should be regarded in that context and excused on account of my charming naïveté.
Described by the host as a "fast paced roundup of news and resources from the world of education and technology, EdTech Weekly plays out like a rambling, collegial conference call, in which (in episode #132, at least) four participants in different Midwestern cities discuss what's new and what's news on the net. Like any conference call, the discussion features no shortage of technical bloopers, and the hosts sometimes struggle to answer follow up questions regarding the links they've brought to the table. There's some interesting stuff here, some of it tangentially related to the classroom and some not at all (the episode I sampled began with the news of Facebook's allowing vanity URLs, which all the participants agreed was a giant deal that week, but probably won't cause many progressive educators rush to amend the ol' syllabus). Overall, it's hard for me to commit to 45 minutes of a scattershot roundtable weblink barrage, when the discussion only occasionally really sparks.
The yin to EdTech's yang in tone and production values, Kidcast is more consciously episodic (theme music, even!) and the discussion, led by our host "Dan," is far more focused and substantive. This episode, #62, is subtitled "Some Thoughts on Video Podcasting," and while the podcast doesn't seem overly scripted, it's clear the host came to the mic well-prepared, with an outline of material flexible enough to allow for brief digressions but tight enough that the program remains concise, informative, and compelling. "Dan" also has a great bit of advice in this episode for ersatz podcatser: 80% content, 20% production. Dan stays conscious of his audience throughout, and offers advice regarding tailoring a podcast to its intended audience without specifically using the phrase "a face made for radio."
Teacher 2.0 benefits greatly from brevity, which may be the soul of wit, but is the invisible unicorn fairytale night terror of a lot of bloggers and podcasters. Like Kidcast, we have one host -- Rodd Lucier -- very directly, but conversationally and in good humor, challenging teachers to think about new classroom strategies. In the episode I sampled, he advocates open exams, in which students may use any materials and outside resources, so that teachers might design a test that more accurately reflects real-world "test questions." And he does it in just over 6 minutes, thirty seconds, which is a reasonable estimate of how much time the typical stress-fried educator might have "free" in a given week. Know your audience. Also, it's broadcasted from the far away land of "Canada," but it's okay, because he speaks fluent American.
First impression of this episode, TTT160 (subtitled "Cell Phones, Spinning, Diigo, Databases, Administrators, Inline Linking and More!" but from a title like that, how much more could be left?): wow, you can hear a ton of edits to the audio track. Not that I'm complaining about editing; I appreciate the effort to tighten the material. But this is instructive -- while it's certainly tight, this podcast is shorn so aggressively that it's almost TOO machine-gun fast. It's a shame, becuase those first-person educator anecdotes are incredibly valuable, bringing interesting views and divergent experience to the table, Each of these teachers has an interesting perspective, and the show remains interesting by virtue of their inclusion, but take a breath, better establish and introduce the topics of discussion, and clean up the audio track. Says the totally uninformed, unexperienced, newly minted podcast authority.
Well, you'd hope a show featuring technophilic Mac addicts would sound professionally produced, and MacBreak nails that, sounding like a morning radio show replete with panelist in-jokes and phonemes clearly enunciated in sonorous tenors. The cast offers widely-ranging media experience, and it comes through -- here's a podcast that has well-informed panelists that also know how to perform for mass media. That's a heck of an advantage to have (probably because someone is, um, paying for this podcast to be made), and one most podcasters won't have. They should pay attention to the little things here, such as how to speak comfortably and clearly for the mic and avoid awkward vocal tics ("umm," "err," excessive "likes," crying uncontrollably). An entertaining little show, which manages to sidestep the casually insufferable nature of many Mac zealots. (And I'm an iTouch owning graphic designer, so I speak from experience.)
I'm calling an audible here (look! A topic-centric link pun!), veering entirely from the suggested listening list in favor of a podcast of megaton wattage. This American Life, the Peabody-winning, long running, internationally acclaimed, adapted-for-Showtime, generally-best-selling-every-week-on-iTunes radio digest from WBEZ in Chicago, is avaialble in podcast form. If you're not familiar with the show, I urge you take a listen -- their staff has some recommendations for you here, but be warned, it's a gateway drug. To be fair, This American Life doesn't strictly fit in with the criteria of the previously discussed shows (though many of their stories have dealt with matters of education and new technology, and their worldview is broad enough that no subject would surprise me), but I'm examining these podcasts on their merits as podcasts, and what is a podcast if not an audio program tailored to a specific audience? Public radio -- and, I'll grudgingly admit, some for-profit broadcasters -- have been doing this stuff for years, and it's revealing to listen to NPR and American Public Media podcasts to hear, first, how to professionally compose an audio feature, and second, how they've adapted and changed their programs to work as podcasts.
And since I'm nearing the end of this over-long post (remember how I was complaining about a lack of brevity on the net a few hundred words ago? Ta-da!), I'll keep veering: below, This American Life host Ira Glass discusses what makes a good story. These clips aren't about education or technology, and won't help you in a recorded groupthink discussion of bleeding edge teaching concepts or on in a Crossfire-style screaming bout with your mosted hated philosophical nemesis, if that's how your podcast rolls, but it's informative, and I like it, and anyone who's going to the trouble of recording themselves talking should first think really hard about what they have to say. Parts two, three and four here, here, and here.
I sense a theme developing. As with the Georgian classroom, I marvel at the technology available to Hogwart's School for the Casual Lending of Laptops, and would love to see such a reality possible in my lifetime, in my country.
There's a definite "Write your Congressman!" vibe at play here, and schools -- ALL schools -- need to better integrate current technology, but I'm disposed to be wary of inequitable school funding, and worried that technology initiatives may benefit only those who already enjoy most of the benefits.
But maybe not. Stranger things have... er, might have... er, could possibly, eventually happen.
Also, Wii Sports? No. No, no, no, no, no. In most cases (that don't involve a disability), that's a poor substitute for the real thing physiologically, biologically, and developmentally. They are definitely doing it wrong.
I'm certain I'm missing the point, but the question burns: how the *&%# did this school fund this technology? Does Ms. Davis own incriminating photographs of her superintendent and Congressman? Maybe that's one advantage of being a net-savvy scholar: you have the necessary skills to discover blackmail materials.
I fully support her practices and philosophy, and won't dispute the results. True story: my mother, a pre-K teacher, just got a SMARTboard in her classroom, and she says it's a truly amazing tool. She's also just one of four teachers in her school system that got one. How do we make such tech-centric classrooms feasible in a country that often struggles to provide students with first-world bathrooms and a functional roof?
There's another discussion regarding technology that I won't get into here, but deserves some critical thought: when does "virtual experience" cease to have value, and how often should children be encouraged to step away from the monitor?
I'd like to have a pint or twelve with Sir Ken. Beyond his wit and charm (man, now it sounds like I want to make out with the guy), he's absolutely and totally correct in everything he says, without fail, not to put too fine a point on it.
I think his points about dance and drama are exceptionally insightful: at the risk of insulting Cartesian dualists who might be reading this post -- let's pretend that is even slightly probable -- the concept of mind/body separation is sort of silly given what we know about the human brain, and frankly, schools worldwide would do well to integrate more physical learning into the curriculum. (Insert rant about obesity rates here.) And drama offers very basic and entirely vital educational merits beyond essential creative development, especially in linguistics. (Insert volumous studies and references here.)
As for the Picasso quote ("All children are born artists...") -- well, he nailed that one, but he also said that "Love is the greatest refreshment of all," and he's obviously wrong there, since the greatest refreshment of all is single malt scotch. Q.E.D., Pablo.
The clip -- slick, graphically appealing, jump-cut edited like a video game, or a bad movie, or a bad movie based on a video game -- is a fine commercial for awareness of international technological growth rate, and the facts (factoids? factlets? factty snacks?) are certainly interesting. But without any greater context or substantive backing, and delivered in a long sequence of seconds-long snippets, it's difficult to draw any meaningful conclusion from the whole. "So what does it all mean?" Well, presentation, it means that this is all nifty stuff, and fascinating to really think about, and maybe some people should think about this stuff more often and expand their horizons, and that's perfectly valid.
But to me, the presentation itself raises a greater concern with this "new" age of exponential growth (though, this "exponential" growth can't be new; the very nature of exponential growth means that the growing starts slow and snowballs, and human birthin' is surely exponential and nothing new, but I'm nitpicking vocabulary): as more information becomes available, unfiltered, often unattributed, in great heaping mounds, valuable information becomes more difficult to discover within the white noise. These are neat facts: where'd they come from? May they be trusted? While the statistical flashcards prompt us to think about big questions, we should maybe include some thoughts about sources, incongruities, and biases.
I'm not saying I don't cherish the nifty democratization of information and publishing in the interweb age; I think it's grand, and have gleefully added to the noise myself, generally via profanity. But I also don't necessarily believe that if Twitter murders Journalism in the conservatory with a Kindlestick, that's a good thing. I like that there are professionals who are payed (often as much as tens of dollars) to discover information, attribute and source their facts, and present those facts to the public in clear language. I like the cloud, and I like well-edited material. We need homeostasis.
Also, I wish that Fatboy Slim song wasn't stuck in my head again. Hey, it's new years, 1999, all over again, and the only songs that exist are this one and, um, Prince's 1999! Y2K! Everybody freak out!
ADDENDUM (8/19/09, 9:00 PM)
Per additional instructions, I watched Mr. Winkle Wakes -- man, if this decagenerian technophobe is freaked out now, just wait until he drags his two-dimensional carcass to a Pixar film. His poor mind will explode.
This is cute -- the premise is well executed, and suceeds in making the point that educational practices and philosophies should adapt with the times, but remain mired in the past. It's a gross generalization, which fails to account for the development of a lot of progressive educational strategies in recent years that have little to do with the utilization of technology, but the point is valid. Schools here in the futuristic year(s) of 2000 need to participate in the future.
Lucky for him the school he visited didn't have one of those scary mechanical metal detectors that are tragically commonplace in urban districts, else he wouldn't have made it past the front door.
Howdy, reader! This is the blog of John Woolf, who will as of now cease to refer to himself in the passively and in the third person, which is to say: I'm John, and this is my blog, developed and published in accordance with my Fall 2009 EDM 310 curriculum, but created... with love.
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