technology

Podcast for Teachers

This site also looks like it's worth checking out - especially since it seems to embrace teachers wanting to utilize podcasts and go beyond listening to them.

Yahoo and Podcasts

Yahoo has a a beta for searching podcasts here.  There aren't many history podcasts out there yet but there is great potential - especially since teachers can easily use them in their classes. The challenge will be organizing them and making them easily accessible and readily usable for teachers and students.

my first podcast!

I just finished my first podcast for my online course. I don't have to worry about hosting yet since I can put up the podcast in Blackboard and the university's BB server takes care of that. I've uploaded the file here but since I am still learning about altering audio file sizes, there may be some tweaking later on. Now to figure out an avatar to go with my voice :-) Download introf.mp3

The Doom of the Unknown Poster

This is via the Wired Campus Blog from the Chronicle of Higher Ed:

The Doom of the Unknown Poster

Is anonymity killing the Internet? To some computing experts, it might seem that way.

In the wake of Wikipedia's recent struggles, some commentators have argued that the online encyclopedia is finally experiencing a phenomenon that has happened on many an online message board. "In every system that I have seen where anonymity becomes common, the system fails," writes Kevin Kelly, editor at large of Wired.

But some critics say Wikipedia's problem isn't anonymity; it's lack of accountability. Web sites like eBay have managed to gain users' trust -- and keep most members on good behavior -- by adding mechanisms for rating the performance of anonymous users, according to Bruce Schneier of Wired News. "History is filled with bandits and pirates who amass reputations without anyone knowing their real names," he writes. (Wired News)

Posted on January 12, 2006 at 09:27 AM | Permalink

Here's the December 5 article mentioned above that gives more details:

December 05, 2005

Debate Over Wikipedia Heats Up

After being stung in the past week by a pair of much-discussed mini-scandals, Wikipedia is about to change the way it does business. But the popular online encyclopedia won't stray far from its open-source ideals.

The Web site's founder, Jimmy Wales, says he will soon bar anonymous users from creating new encyclopedia entries, leaving that job instead to the site's legion of registered contributors. Wikipedia will still permit anonymous posters to edit existing articles, though. (CNET News)

The change in policy comes after an ugly week for Wikipedia. First, a former administrative assistant to Robert F. Kennedy wrote a sharply critical op-ed piece for USA Today, complaining that a Wikipedia article falsely accused him of having been a suspect in the Kennedy assassinations. Just two days later, Adam Curry, a former MTV host often credited with inventing podcasting, was accused of anonymously editing a Wikipedia entry to minimize the contributions of other seminal podcasters.

Mr. Wales says that the recent incidents have been exceptions to the rule, and that Wikipedia maintains a high accuracy rate. But some commentators are less sanguine about the online resource. Dave Winer, a blogger whose name reportedly was among those Mr. Curry deleted from a Wikipedia entry, writes: "Wikipedia is so often considered authoritative. That must stop now, surely."  [Editor's note: This entry was corrected, see comments for details]

Posted on December  5, 2005 at 04:13 PM | Permalink

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History Teacher Podcast and Handhelds

Still googling, I found this History Teacher's Podcasting Blog. It was a great idea to blog from last year's NCSS meeting. Also found a blog about podcasting and handhelds. I think it will be helpful in better explaining why you don't need iPods to listen to podcasts. I also like the teacher's use of the term "studycast".

American Experience Podcast

PBS' American Experience has a series of podcasts that appears to have begun last fall. Some are only a few minutes but one is closer to 23.

wikis as brainstorming

This post illustrates an excellent use of wikis - a collaborative exercise at a professional conference. This could easily be adapted to a classroom setting. The question is - where will we store all those wikis and what will we be doing instead a few years from now?

Another plus, I just noticed the strike-through feature on the Typepad Toolbar - something I've been trying to figure out how to do on blogger but couldn't find html code (or at least not easily find). And, since I'm an obsessive listmaker - even with a PocketPC and Kate Spade DayPlanner. . . .

wikis as brainstorming

This post illustrates an excellent use of wikis - a collaborative exercise at a professional conference. This could easily be adapted to a classroom setting. The question is - where will we store all those wikis and what will we be doing instead a few years from now?

Another plus, I just noticed the strike-through feature on the Typepad Toolbar - something I've been trying to figure out how to do on blogger but couldn't find html code (or at least not easily find). And, since I'm an obsessive listmaker - even with a PocketPC and Kate Spade DayPlanner. . . .

Moving Forward on Podcasting

You know how you sometimes miss opportunities that are so close that they are right in front of you? We have some existing grant money that our grant director suggested we spend on podcasting. I had only been thinking about it in terms of future grants but this totally makes sense. Now, I'm glad I didn't get this email until this morning or I would have been up half the night looking around online!

I was already going to work on my podcasting for my classes but this will add another dimension (and another writing possibility!) to explore history blogs to more fully document what is already out there. I know Colonial Williamsburg has a podcast and Talking History has converted their programs into podcasts.  It will be interesting to see what else is out there in addition to a few other sites I've already found.

Pocasting 101

From previous research, I discovered that Audacity offers the best platform for podcasting on the PC. (I'll explore Mac options later.)

The software was easy to download and, by reading some of the information on the website, I discovered an easily downloadable plugin to export as MP3 files. I'm sure I will be learning a great deal more about audio codecs before this is all said and done.

I have a Logitech headphone/microphone speaker system that I am going to start with before investing more money in any "recording equipment".

My initial goal is to offer a more personal touch to my courses on our Blackboard server. I utilize BB for both F2F and online courses as well as teacher workshops. It's been a great way to deal with copyright issues since you aren't putting any materials up on the larger web and are behind a password-protected site only for "students."