North Carolina Pottery Lesson
26 02 2007 Comments : No Comments »
Categories : Teaching
Categories : Teaching
Student Breaks Teacher’s Neck Over iPod
25 02 2007Two students accused of attacking a teacher in a hallway of Germantown High School on Friday morning are now behind bars. The attack happened after 60-year-old Frank Burd confiscated an iPod from one of the students who was using it in class. The 14-year-old returned later with an 11th grader.
Technology in schools can get you killed. This makes me sick. I think this is about as bad as it gets. My heart goes out to the family of Frank Burd and hope justice is swift. This is not unlike what happens on a daily basis on the streets of large cities. It reminds me that it could happen to me.
Let’s get metal detectors at all school house doors. Who cares if they have x-ray machines at airports– this kind of junk must be stopped. Talk about “homeland security” how about school house security. I just wonder what kind of out burst these two “students” had on their school/court records. I bet it was not their first offense.
Categories : Science Teaching
Podcast Player for Educators
21 02 2007Dave Winer has been thinking about the features of an ideal podcast player on his blog Scripting News. As a classroom teacher that has struggled to teach my students how to use Garageband on Apples, I agree with Dave’s wonderful characteristics. The recording feature is the trick. All my students have USB flash drive MP3 players. I load then podacast mp3 files on their devices so they can share them with their family and friends. This task is time consuming at best. So, to add RSS feeds to this idea device, wireless is a must.
Dave says:
Podcast player
I’m still thinking about the ideal podcast player.
The features that matter most to me are:
1. Self-contained, untethered synchronization, much the same way a Blackberry gets email.
2. Read-write, two-way, should be able to record and connect with a publishing system for automatic upload and feed production.
3. Must be a platform, that is, people other than the manufacturer can add apps.
That’s it, those are the three main features that PPs need and don’t today have, imho.
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Categories : Science Teaching
What? Huh? I am sorry, what did you say?
18 02 2007Last night, my daughter, my wife, and I attended a wonderfully pleasant wedding. At the reception, the DJ spun his magical mix of jazz, rock, hip-hop, Top 40’s from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. I am not sure how close my old ears got to the speakers, but my ears are ringing a little louder today than usual. My hearing is not what it once was. Add to that loud music and I know I missed some really interesting comments made by fellow attendees at the wedding reception. I could see lips and mouths moving and could catch parts of what was being said. The people at my table must have thought I was ignoring them, but I could not hear what they were saying. The stress from trying to hear conversations made having a conversation a real challenge.
Not to be a grouch, I actually enjoy all kinds of music. So, if I cannot hear well, why not get a hearing aid? My excuse is they are not cool. Call it vanity if you want, but IMHO, hearing aids equate old age. It is like realizing you are too old to ride a Harley without everyone in town laughing at you. Look at that Old Fool, they would say. My father paid several thousand dollars for a set of hearing aids. He would not wear them. He complained that they did not fit right. He kept leaving them here and there. My mother constantly complained about him not wearing them. He had a battery for them. I do not mind wearing ear buds while at the gym working out. IMHO, hearing loss is the redheaded stepchild of the worthwhile diseases, but it is a personal issue to me. This is a depressing predicament for aging Baby Boomers.
While reading the article linked below, it hit me: iEar. Someone please design your fellow Baby Boomers some cool hearing aids. Maybe Apple could launch a set. How about iEars. Imagine “digital hearing appliances” from Apple. Taking design clues from the products like their original iBook and how it transformed the boring black laptop into a cool “must have” tool. Then it was the iPod. They are fabulously popular and user-friendly. Steve- your fellow aging Baby Boomers need a favor- design us a cool hearing aid. If you are planning it already, could it have bluetooth, so we can hear our podcasts, music, iPhone, video, and Apple TV? Also, whip up support and the cool factor by celebrity endorsements. Maybe folks like Bono, Ozzy, Mick, and James Taylor could lend a hand to raise awareness for “iEars for Baby Boomers”. I can see the ads for it now: [wide-shot] Are you tired of the what? huh? Tell me that again? [two-shot] I’m PC and I cannot hear a thing you are saying. I’m Mac, and I am wearing the new iEar from Apple, Inc. I can listen to my iPhone, and all my Beatles music without having to drag around my laptop and iPod. [fade-to-white] iEar, from the corporation that damaged you hearing, we now offer these products to you at a low cost of 99 cents.
[TagLine] iEar: hear like a hawk. Now available at an Apple Store near you, or online at Apple.com.
While reading my RSS feeds on Google Reader, I skimmed across a post from WIRED Blogs about hearing being a worthless cause.
WIRED Blogs: Bodyhack
As one scientist just put it at a briefing for reporters at the AAAS annual meeting, “hearing is considered to be the sort of poor cousin of vision. It also doesn’t have the sex appeal of aids and malaria and other worthwhile diseases.”
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Categories : Editorial, Personal News
Rep. Dewey Hill, Democrate, Visits our LSTD Booth
16 02 2007
Dewey Hill and John Blake visit in Raleigh as part of the 2007 Legislative School Technology Day. Students from North Whiteville Academy in Whiteville participated in the event held Feb 13, 2007. My students discovered lots of talented kids doing things they had never heard of before. My students commented they did not know small kids could do things like that. This was a very interesting comment. It is important to attend events like this. One reason has to be that we not only shared how we are using technology to create podcasts, but the three students that participated from the Whiteville City Schools will never forget what they saw kids doing. They will hopefully share how important it is widen the scope of what our students are exposed to. Listen to their podcasts at http://web.mac.com/blakej78 .
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Categories : Podcasts
Where in the World is David Warlick?
16 02 2007David is off on his private jet (that would be nice) to visit educators in Shanghai. Having a global view of literacy is important. If you are reading this, we missed you at the North Carolina Legislative Technology Day in Raleigh. I have posted three podcasts my students created that day. Check them out over at http://web.mac.com/blakej78
I am devoting some class time the next few weeks to creating podcasts. Today, my students even wrote and performed a computer skills terms Rap. They titled it: “Spreadsheet- It Means What?”
technorati tags:DavidWarlick, podcast, LSTD
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Categories : Podcasts
2007 Legislative School Technology Day
11 02 2007
Instructional Technology Division NC Department of Public Instruction
North Carolina school districts are cordially invited to participate in Legislative School Technology Day, Tuesday, February 13, 2007, from 10am until 2 pm at the North Carolina General Assembly Building. This event is designed to showcase for our legislators the exciting ways that technology is being used to support the teaching and learning of 21st century skills in the classrooms across the state. Every North Carolina legislator should be able to point with pride to the ways that schools in his or her district are using technology to enhance teaching and learning. Visit the Legislative School Technology Day web site for more information.Our participants will be leaving NWA at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning and travel via an activity bus to Raleigh. Join us later this week as we bring back audio files and edit a podcast for our listeners.
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Categories : lstd, podcasting
Podcasting FAQ
11 02 2007What is Podcasting?
Podcasting is like Tivo for your computer. For consumers, it’s a way of time-shifting and subscribing to Internet media. For content creators, it’s a way of distributing audio or visual content using syndication, such as RSS. The process is surprisingly simple, and by making content available using RSS, podcasters give their audience more control over what media they consume and when.
Podcasting is an effective tool for:
1. Music
2. Training and instructional materials
3. Recruiting
4. Self-guided walking tours
5. Talk shows, including commentary and news
6. Videocasts
7. Sales/Marketing/PR
8. Churches and pastors
What is RSS?
RSS (Generally defined as Really Simple Syndication) is a standard used to deliver updates to web content. Using this standard, webmasters provide headlines and fresh content in a succinct manner. Meanwhile, consumers use RSS readers and news aggregators to collect and monitor their favorite RSS feeds in one centralized program or location.
Content viewed in the RSS reader or news aggregator is known as an RSS feed. RSS was initially used by news services to provide up to date information and news summaries. The RSS format allowed the news content to be easily syndicated in a very quick manner. The RSS standard has evolved into a popular way to distribute all types of up-to-date information, including podcasts.
Why use RSS?
RSS can significantly increase website traffic. Consumers feel less threatened using RSS than traditional e-mail based or other subsription model. With RSS, the end-user has complete control over the communication and the sender never knows the identity of the subscriber. Subscribers can obtain content without giving away their personal information and can cease a subscription at any time.
What are the common RSS specifications?
To read more about the RSS specification go to Wikipedia.
How do I create an RSS feed?
You can create an RSS feed manually if you know how to program using XML or you can use any one of several commercial services such as FeedForAll, Libsyn or Feedburner. All three make the complex process of feed creation very easy.
How do I make my podcast iTunes-ready?
If you want to make your podcast iTunes ready, you have several options. Before we explain those, let’s look at how iTunes treats podcasts differently. iTunes uses a namespace extension that expands RSS. You will need to add additional tags and information to your RSS feed. You can manually add tags to your RSS feed, or you can use software (like GarageBand if you’re on a Mac, or PodcastMaker on a Windows machine.) You can also use web-based services to accomplish this task. FeedForAll, Libsyn and Feedburner all create iTunes-compliant tags.
Declaration: The namespace for iTunes is defined at Apple’s Web Site.
What is the difference between a broadcast and a podcast?
Podcasts are formatted in an RSS file, and contain specific information. A broadcast is simply an audio or video recording. A broadcast can be included in a podcast, by including the audio file or broadcast in the enclosure field.Some radio stations stream audio, which means that they provide a broadcast over the Internet, but it is not actually recorded. A file really needs to be recorded and syndicated via RSS in order to be considered a traditional podcast.
Don’t you need an iPod to listen to podcasts?
No you don’t. You can download podcasts to any portable media player or computer. You can even listen to and watch podcasts on cellular telephones and televisions. Many podcast sites support downloading shows directly from websites.
Do I need a Mac to listen to or create podcasts?
No you don’t. You can listen to and create podcasts if you use a Mac, A Windows machine or even on some Unix computers.
I have a podcast, but how do I make it appear in the podcast directories and podcast search engines?
iTunes is the most popular podcast directory. To submit your podcast to Apple for inclusion in iTunes, or find out more about the iTunes specification, go to Apple’s iTunes Web Site. There are a large number of additional podcast directories that will allow you to submit your podcast. Be careful in selecting the appropriate category, since many of the directories group podcasts by topic, and this helps browsers locate your podcast.
Refer to the following podcast directory comparison to prioritize your podcast submissions. http://www.podcasting-tools.com/submit-podcasts.htm
If you link your podcast to a website or blog landing page, you can submit the website or blog to traditional search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN.
What file format can podcasts be in?
The term podcasting has come to mean any type of RSS feed that contains any enclosure rather than just a feed that contains audio content. Below, you will find the popular formats for all enclosures and the popular formats for audio files. Because of the popularity of the iTunes namespace, here are the file formats that support iTunes.
Popular podcast formats
Audio file formats
MP3 (iTunes supports)
M4a (iTunes supports)
WAV
Popular podcast formats for any enclosure type
Video file formats
.MP4 (iTunes supports)
.M4V (iTunes supports)
.MOV (iTunes supports)
.AVI
.WMV
image file formats
.JPG
.GIF
.PNG
Other file formats
.PDF (iTunes supports)
.PPT
.DOC
.EXE
.ZIP
.XML
.SWF
What software should I use to create a podcast?
GarageBand 3.0 is one of the easiest and most powerful programs you can use on a Mac to create your podcast. PodcastMaker is another great Mac program. Podcast Station is a Windows PC-based piece of software that makes podcasts. You can also use any audio editor that will create an MP3 file, and if you have the ability to add the ID3 tags and enclosure, you have a podcast.
Can I use music in my podcasts?
Yes you can but you may need to pay a fee or buy a license from the Copyright holders of the music unless it is already cleared for public performance. You can use “Podsafe” music, which is music that has already been designated by its creator as suitable for redistribution via podcast. Music from big-named, established musical groups like the Rolling Stones or Michael Jackson is usually copyrighted and requires a license form ASCAP, SEASAC or BMI before they can be made part of your podcast.
You can also create your own music. If you are the author of the music, you may use it as you see fit. And finally, you may use royalty free or clip-music from established libraries like the Music Bakery, typically, for a low one-time fee.
Glossary
Aggregator - Two main types of aggregators: web-based aggregators and desktop/software aggregators. Web-based aggregators allow individuals to subscribe to feeds online and read feeds in a web browser. Desktop aggregators are software programs installed locally that updates when feeds are updated. The aggregator shows new information and allow for users to read feeds.
Atom - An XML-based file format. Although Atom is not the same as RSS, it has similar functions. FeedForAll will convert Atom feeds to RSS v2 feeds.
Bed - Audio that is used as a backround element, such as music or effects.
Blog - Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.
Feed - An xml file containing headlines and descriptions also called news feed, content feed, xml feed or web feed.
Feed Validator - Tests the formatting of feeds to ensure that they are correctly formed.
OPML – OPML is an XML-based format that allows exchange of outline-structured information between applications running on different operating systems and environments.
RDF - Resource Description Framework is the frameworks for RSS version 1. Unfortunately the RSS v1 format is quite different from all other RSS versions.
RSS - Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary for additional detail see what is RSS
Skype - an Internet telephony service that lets you talk to others via an Internet connection.
Stinger - a short musical phrase used as “audio punctuation”.
Syndicate - To supply information or content for simultaneous publications in several periodicals or web sitesWeblog - An online journal or diary that is frequently updated (also referred to as a blog).
XML - eXtensible Markup Language. RSS is based on XML.
AUTHORS: Scott Bourne / PodcastingTricks.com (www.podcastingtricks.com) – PodcastGearGuy (www.podcastgearguy.com) – Sharon Housley / FeedForAll (www.feedforall.com) - Licensed Under Creative Commons 2.5.
Some Rights Reserved. Please feel free to use this document as long as
you properly attribute it to the aforementioned authors, and leave the
links to their respective websites intact.
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Categories : RSS, podcasting
First Impression of H4 Handy Recorder ZOOM
11 02 2007I just picked up a H4 yesterday. Tried to record a podcast while riding in the truck to pick while making a quick trip to town. However, nothing recorded. I read the manual when I got home. I found that starting a recording is a little tricky. To make the H4 record, you turn it on, then press the REC button, then press it again. I did not like this feature, until I realized that by requiring that extra button push allows you to monitor the recording settings before recording.
Using a good headphone, I can listen for background distractions like a fan running on my computer. I like the one clip button on the front so the file type can be selected. For the price, ZOOM should at least include a set of batteries. Maybe they do, I did not get any. Also, my copy of the free software was missing. Not to complain, this was just my experience. I am saving my money for a couple of XLR mics and cables to use with it. One last point - if you use the H4 as a handheld device, set the mic gain to L and use MP3. The L or low gain cancels most of the noise that results from holding the device in your hand. MP3 compresses the file. Go ahead and buy a 2 GB SD card when you buy it. Look around for cheap 1 GB cards if you do not need to record a long presentation. Also, buy a tripod. I found a cheap one at a store called Big Lots that was designed to use with a camera. Also, I recommend investing in recharge AA batteries and a charger. I am looking for a carrying case for it too.
One last impression- if you are over 50 years old, make sure you have your reading glasses nearby when operating the H4. I was not designed for farsighted users like me.
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Categories : H4, podcasting
