Odds and Ends December 21, 2009

Too big to be a country, too small to be an insane asylum

I am still have a problem believing this story and that it comes from my native state. South Carolina Attorney General (and candidate for Governor) Henry McMaster sent a message to Georgetown County claiming the county’s ban on concealed weapons on school campuses violates South Carolina’s law on concealed weapons. Georgetown banned all concealed weapons on school campuses in an effort to make schools safer. South Carolina state law says concealed weapons can be carried on school campuses as long they are locked in a center console, glove box or trunk of a vehicle.

Okay would someone please tell me how Georgetown’s children are served by having firearms on campus? What floored me even more was people who were interviewed supporting the right to carry firearms on school campuses. There have been incidents of parents being arrested for disturbing schools because they decided to get into a fight at school, and we are not talking a high school sporting event either. Someone will get a gun from their locked trunk and finish one of these fights one day. Once again South Carolina will make national news for all the wrong reasons.

Story from My Lowcountry 3, SCNow.com

 

I’m trying to cut down

Mashable relayed a New York Times story about teens realizing they are spending too much time on Facebook and are pledging to either cut down or totally give it. This sounds like a positive step by some teens or these are teens who are not getting enough friends. Teens taking part are promising only to login at certain times and “punish” those who break their promises. Let’s see if peer pressure makes a dent in Facebook.

Reality Camera, really?

Tech Crunch announced one of its Tech Crunch 50 favorites, Tonchidot has released it’s iPhone app to a worldwide audience. Tonchidot is an augmented reality application which means people who use the app can leave notes, pictures, or audio recordings at whatever point you are in the earth. Users can also see posts other users have left. This is made possible by the iPhone’s GPS and compass abilities. The education use is students can see what other people have said about about museums, historical places, zoos, etc…. This information could help in completing reports about field trips and other educational outings. Of course this is also another way to see reviews of restaurants as you walk down the street.

Interactive displays go on a diet

LG announced what is billed as the “World’s Thinest” 42-inch LCD panel. This is another step in what I believe where interactive whiteboards are headed. Classrooms of the future will have thin display panels that can be manipulated via touch and/or tablets carried by teachers and students. Of course these displays will be 3-D compatible as well. Source Engadget.

Podcast or Pencast?

Earlier today I decided to give podcasting another try. I have been thinking about this for awhile now and just decided to go for it. The new thing is I used my Livescribe Pulse pen to create this episode of the reborn Teacherbytes Podcast. I jotted down some notes on a my special notepad then tapped the record button. As I talked about topics I made some notations on the pad next to my notes. When I was finished I uploaded the notes to the Livescribe site and set it as a pencast in their community section. Then I exported the audio into Audacity to convert it into an MP3 file then finished uploading all the files to the proper sites to finish my podcast. Look below for the audio and pencast.


Teacherbytes 12.21.2009
brought to you by Livescribe

The Other Side of Podcasting

I know this is a bit late coming since we are in the first few days of October but life has been hectic for me around school this first couple of months.

This past July my family went to visit a sick relative in Birmingham, Alabama. While we were there my son told us he had never been to a zoo in his life. I found that rather incredible but it was true. Fortunately, Birmingham is the home to fairly modest zoo so my son and I made plans to go. My first stop, as I do with all attractions I visit now, was the zoo's website. Naturally, the website had photos of the various animals, visitor information, educational opportunites for individuals and groups, and ways to financially support the zoo. There was also one other thing that interested me, a podcast tour.

I know that places like zoos, museums, and other places have been using podcasts to enhance or educate potential visitors for years now. However, I have either been creating or listening to podcasts about particular subjects of interest to me. The Birmingham Zoo's podcasts were designed to enhance a visitor's experience to the zoo, a first for me. Fortunately, they have an option to subscibe to the podcasts via iTunes which made uploading them into my MP3 player a snap.

When we got to the zoo, the first thing I checked to see if I had was my MP3 player then my camera. It was exciting as I walked up to view an animal and found out there was a podcast about it. The recording usually was just about a minute or two but during that time it told me way more than the brief written display near the animals habitat. I was able to learn far more about the animals than I would have without the podcasts yet it did not take much more time than normally walking through.

I looked at some other attractions in my area and unfortunately I found none of them did not have companion podcasts. Hopefully they will consider adding them. It is a great resource.

Video Killed the Podcasting Star?

Yahoo will be shutting down Yahoo Podcasts on October 31st after two years. According to a Yahoo News story from Associated Press, the move is part of the company's cost cutting program to make the company more profitable. Other podcast listing services are also hurting as interest is shifting to online video according to a Tech Crunch article.

Most people, including myself , who jumped on the podcasting bandwagon are finding that keeping a sustained podcast going is a difficult task or they get bored and move on to other things such as video. Another thing is most commercially successful podcasts are done by those with broadcasting experience and better equipment which will attract and keep audiences. Finally, like all hot trends, the market gets saturated and cannot sustain 100 podcasts on a particular topic.

This does not mean podcasting is no longer useful in education. While sustaining a podcast on one topic can be tough, schools can always come up with fresh material as different students use their talents and personality in a podcast. Schools and teachers that use podcasts to showcase their school and its students will always fill a niche that no one else can fill. It still is a good exercise for students to open up or do something new to do for projects. It still opens the door for those outside of school to see what is going on. This audience can be from grandparents living miles away or local community members who want to know what their schools, for which they pay hard-earned tax dollars to support, are doing. Video production may be increasing but nothing beats podcasting for being a cheap, easy, and quick media for education.