Week+3

Quick discussion on Wiki spaces: Items for completion: =__Audacity__= Awesome software. So simple to use too, I can't believe it is completely free. Being able to record podcasts now will allow for greater methods of delivery as opposed to the standard chalk and board. =__Windows Movie Maker__= This software works well when the imported files are .wmv format. It seems to have issues with .avi files. Working with it to create an edited video became highly cumbersome as it would shut down when a file couldn't import properly. I eventually gave up trying to put together a video with various .avi files as the issue never fixed, even after multiple restarts. I would not recommend this product to be used with students unless they were briefed on how to convert files beforehand. Even with converting, the sound quality degraded quite substantially.
 * Work with table of contents
 * Personalized Introduction
 * Quality - not quantity
 * Change colour scheme

Pod casting: I have become comfortable with the following software using some of these helpful websites and have created a fun little podcast of my own, including some video snippets and images.
 * Audacity, Moviemaker, Freeplay music.com, flickr.com, stock xchg. photosmedia type="youtube" key="3pHYeHbhkas" height="344" width="425"

Obviously I had a little too much time on my hands to play around with the technology. I can definitely see uses for this. I will be able to create customized introductions or hooks suited to the material I want to teach. This will be a great way to share ideas with others, and maybe even become a method of teaching a lesson to students that are away (I may be getting ahead of myself there though).

I found the whole process fun and exciting and look forward to making more in my years to come.

I also really appreciated the idea raised in class that we each take time to respond to student queries if we're not sure or put on the spot, but occasionally we must be prepared to be able to respond to tough situations. An example of the student asking about another teacher's sexual orientation is a good example. I have the view that these occurrences can be used as teachable moments for students to help them better develop their moral and social skills. Obviously, a question of this nature is uncalled for and having them understand this would be helpful.

In response to the following questions: **Do you see yourself using pod casting? Why or why not?** Definitely yes. This is a perfect way to create content directly related to a particular concept and allows complete freedom of expression. Having a way to edit what is viewed/heard is another method of controlling the content that you want taught. Having a summative task would also be great for students to create. Teaching physics, math, relaying a message to the whole class. The perils would be that it is a bit time consuming. Also, the user must be aware of copyright infringements. An easy way to spread the on a topic. It will definitely help auditory learners. Could be an annotation to a question.
 * Theoretically, where could you use pod casting?**
 * What are some of the perils of pod casting?**
 * What are some of the advantages of pod casting?**

__**Response to Reading:**__ =I Don't Need Your Network= []

I think that allowing phones in the classroom at this point would require teachers become familiar with what websites are out there. The trouble is, the internet, currently, can't be censored. You go into any computer lab and students inevitably have found ways to access the sites they want. Allowing this in every classroom is a bit of a stretch to the way a school needs to operate, I feel. The curriculum is in place to teach certain skills. Opening the curriculum up to allow students access to whatever they wish ultimately throws the whole curriculum out the window. Students coul be surfing game sites in the middle of an English class, for instance. That's fine if you don't want them learning English, but then what's the point of having school at all. I think there need to be boundaries for technology. Such as having designated classrooms that have computers. Oh wait, that already exists. It called the computer lab room. If a teacher wants to teach any lesson using the internet, its already there. So are any interesting sites, with a projector and a laptop. But really, what's the point of having students pay for a phone and a cellphone carrier plan except to pay the big companies more money. I feel students will learn this technology on their own and that phones should be left in the lockers