Journeying With Podcasts

I found it amazing that The New Oxford American Dictionary chose “podcast” as its 2005 Word of the Year over words such as “bird flu,” “sudoku,” “rootkit,” and “lifehack.” Podcasting has become a way to share information.  It is a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.   Many podcasts contain music, voice, sounds, video or photos.  To access podcasts you can download it from a website or subscribe to a podcast series. When you log onto the Internet, the software downloads newly posted podcasts to which you’ve subscribed. To listen, you can use devices that play digital audio files on your computer such as Windows Media Player, iTunes, or QuickTime.  You can also listen on MP3 players like the iPod of the Sony Psyc.  The new files wait on your computer or MP3 player until you’re ready to listen.  Many like podcasts because of its immediacy.  This medium allows you to choose what you want to hear, when you want to hear it, and how you want everyone else to listen to it.

Podcasts are something I really want to use in the future with the library program. I think before you begin implementing, you must ask are podcasts the best format for the learner task; does it support learner goals; and how will it enhance student learning.  Many teachers on the primary grade levels at my school are implementing podcasts within instruction.  Many use the podcasts to help students build fluency by recording a reading passage and timing themselves.  Students reread the passage until satisfactory fluency is accomplished.  Teachers and students also keep a reading log of their passages as well as reading rates.  I think it would also be a good idea if teachers (or librarians) used podcasts for readers' theater.  Not only will it improve fluency, but students can edit the audio by adding sound effects and varying the voice levels in order to produce more professional broadcasts.

I like that podcasts are portable. They can be played on MP3 players which is a huge benefit.  I was thinking of creating a walking library-orientation podcast for students to carry around on an MP3 player, following instructions as they learn about different areas and resources within the library.  This would be especially helpful for students who enter the school late in the year or for teachers and staff new to the school.  The podcasts could also be used for promoting the library program, books, and literacy events and projects that occur throughout the year.

Hi Ho...It's Off With Wikis We Go

It’s nearly impossible to ignore technology these days.  Knowing and using digital technology and resources helps teachers and students succeed.  Integrating the most current technology such as wikis with your daily instruction can spark student learning.  Wikis have grown in popularity because of its ease of use, it enhances teaching, and most importantly, motivates students and keeps them on task and learning. Unlike blogs which focuses on the individual or personal interests, a wiki is an open forum for users to share ideas about a particular topic.  Wikis, like blogs, can center on personal experiences and observations, academic matter, and political topics. However, wikis allow users to create and edit interlinked web pages in order to share and create content.  Wiki web pages can be edited, deleted, or created by anyone who visits the site.  In contrast, blog comments can only be edited by the blogger, but one can comment on the content and the blogger can comment back creating a dialogue. The wiki web tool is also nonlinear allowing users to navigate, click, retrieve or submit content information.

So, just what does wiki mean?  Wiki means quick or fast in Hawaiian.  Wikis allow users to edit posts almost immediately.  Wikipedia is probably the most popular wiki used.  This “encyclopedia” is mostly written anonymously by groups of volunteers, but anyone can access the wiki to contribute text and write or make changes to the content.  When using wiki or any technology tool requiring students to post information or communicate through the Internet, it is very important to remind students to not provide personal information.  As a librarian, I am constantly making sure students are aware of being safe on the internet.  Privacy settings are available for wikis as well as blogs.  Most important, it is necessary that teachers teach students proper wiki etiquette such as writing in complete sentences and using correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation; no name calling, slang, or cursing; and be brief, stick with the facts, and negotiate and create truth.

Although there are many ways wikis can support teacher instruction and learner outcome as well as bring fresh ideas into the classroom, I have not used wikis or had any prior experience using wikis until this semester.  I would certainly like to implement this tool within instruction.  My only worry is having to constantly monitor and keep track of student postings.  With so many classes to teach and each on a different grade level, this can prove quite challenging.   

Once Upon a Blog....

As a librarian, I have not yet experimented with blogs with my students in library classes.  However, I do feel that blogs can be a very powerful and educational tool (and one that I will use in the near future).  Blogs can provide students with new forms of participation, new learning resources, and a new form of engagement that offers unique learning opportunities.  Also, students develop knowledge through interaction and dialogue rather than lectures and memorization of facts, they develop interpersonal and communication skills, and its quite easy to use and integrate within class instruction.  

I know that you are probably thinking, "Wow, this blogging thing sounds great! Now, how do I go about actually using this in my class?"  I think when first deciding to integrate blogs (or any technology tool) within instruction, one must identify the learning opportunities or "affordances" associated with the specific uses of classroom blogs, rather than blogging just for the sake of blogging, so as to help decide whether or not the tool is "worth it" for students.  Further, a teacher would need to know: how such a blog needs to be structured, how will students use the blog, and what benefits would teachers and students get from using the blog in order to achieve the instructional goals the teacher desires.  Will your blogs be utilized for the posting of assignments, lectures, homework, quizzes, or notes; writing reflective journals; as online notebooks to differentiate instruction for those with special needs; for small or whole group class discussions; or maybe used individually for personal expressions?

I think that when I do decide to use blogs ( I am creating a blog lesson on book talks) it will be more learner-focused and community-focused rather than teacher-focused.  A library project that I would love for my students to help me with is book talks.  So often I have students asking for book recommendations, or which books are amongst the favorites of students at the school.  I think it would be great for students to recommend and write reviews of books for others as well as for students to post comments as to whether they agree or not with the particular book reviews.  This would extend conversations and allow more students to contribute, take ownership for their learning, and it places students in the role as subject experts.  Further, to make it more community-focused, I would love to involve "experts" from outside the class and school itself such as the actual author of the book participating in the discussions.  I think this would definitely make this library project "worth it."    

Adventures with Web 2.0

There are some who may view the school librarian as the “invisible professional.”  You know the person who wears the thick bi-focal glasses with the bun in her hair, the one who stays to herself locked within the confines of the library and only looks up for that brief moment to check books in or check books out, and who occasionally gives you that mean stare if you speak above a whisper.  Well, you’re in for a surprise. 

The role of a librarian is one of being “visible.”  The librarian is a teacher, an instructional partner, an information specialist, and a program administrator.  We work directly and on a full-time basis with students, teachers, and the curriculum.  If your school is like mine, then you know that the library is the hub of all activity ranging from scheduled classroom visits and collaborating teachers to it serving as a place for students to do independent research, helping them become good information users, and how to appropriately use computers, equipment, and research materials.  In addition, students come to the library to enjoy books and reading as well as literacy events such as author visits, RIF, and book fairs. 

I look forward to my journey with Web 2.0 and learning how to create fantastic projects and superb tech-based instruction while engaging students in the learning process.  Not only will students learn how to use these tech tools, but discover how to use them to their fullest potential to help them function in a virtual learning environment.  This tale will definitely have a good ending.