Blogging, Vlogging, and Podding

I spent several hours this afternoon in the computer lab next door to my classroom installing Audacity on all of the machines, tracking down microphones, and generally ensuring that we are ready next week to start working on producing podcasts. A good screencast is a place to start with the kids as they begin learning to use the software. Audacity is actually quite simple to use and the kids will spend some time playing on their productions before anything hits the air (or the bandwidth....). As with giving kids math manipulatives for the first time, I am a firm believer in the fact that kids need time to play with digital tools, simply spending some time pursuing their own agenda before they are asked to produce anything. I like to spend some time teaching the basics of any piece of software, and then give kids time to play, pointing out valuable points of learning to the rest of the class as kids come upon them.

The experience of blogging this year has made me wiser (hopefully) in anticipating a few problems that kids will come upon when producing digital content. I'm wondering about their responses to timelines and deadlines, to the needs of production, and to finding content; the same issues that I found arose when blogging.

I'm still not positive that I'm going to require kids to both vlog and podcast. As I mentioned before, I know I wouldn't have been comfortable vlogging when I was in junior high and I'm still not convinced I'll have kids who will want to do this. Depending on their comfort level, we'll see where we end up.

I'm also wondering how this will effect the learning network the kids are working within. Vlogging and podcasting are much more a one way affair then blogging is. Obviously comments can still be left on vlog and podcast feeds, but it is not the same as the conversation that can happen with blogs. Are these forms of representation tools for learning as blogs are, or are they more about content creation, one - way conversations, and summative forms of representation? Blogs are very much about kids lives, their thoughts, and about formative conversations. Vlogs and podcasts are more about getting voices and opinions out there for others to listen to. They are about production, digital skills of representation and content creation. There are vital differences between these three things (blogs, podcasts, and vlogs) and the differences need to be understood and worked with.

I think this could be a valuable move for a classroom of kids, but it needs to be fully understood. I am greatly in favour of kids acquiring digital creation skills, but not for their own sake, their must be a reason and a propose; and it needs to be authentic otherwise the efforts will be doomed from the start. Creating digital content for its own sake may be of value to computing companies, but not necessarily for classrooms. I need to ensure that the process of creation still is one of reflective practice and understanding.

I could be in for an interesting week.

technorati tags: vlog, podcasting, classrooms

Comments

[Jeff Utecht]

I'll be interested to see how long it takes the students to learn the program. When I did this with my 5th graders. I let them explore the program for about 1/2 hour showing them the ins and outs then we started producing. Including the training it took the students about one hour 15 minutes to produce their first podcast. The second podcast took most students less then 45 minutes. I'm keeping track of the time to show teachers how quickly students learn to run the program. The slowest part of the whole operation at this point is that I have to upload the mp3 file to the web and then give the students the web address to their podcast to put in their blogmeister blog. I'm betting we can get the whole operation of creating a podcast to 30 minutes. Let me know how it goes.

[Susan]

Kudos to you for giving your students so much opportunity for voice and choice within the classroom. It will be interesting for you to see which students grativate to which mediums. I hadn't thought of the implications of these formats being less interactive than blogs, but you are absolutely correct. However, mp3 players are becoming so ubiquitous that possibly there is a way to bridge that gap. Is there a way to track the number of downloads?

[Erin Armstrong]

Hi Clarence,
I have been anxiously following the progress of your students since learning of their math instuctional videos earlier this year. Only 4 short months ago I was introduced to blogging, and it has drastically enhanced my teaching methodology. I now find my students eager to reflect on their learning and anxious to accept new challenges. The blog offers voice to students fearful of speaking out in a classroom setting.
I too am now planning for my S1 math class to produce instuctional math videos. I have been working on creating my own video as a way to introduce the project, not to mention troubleshoot the software. I was hoping that you and I could communicate about this project and that I could learn from your experiences. At this time, I am outlining the components and timeline of the project.
1. Choosing a math concept - identify key vocabulary, process of problem solving, creating a problem to solve and explaine the concept.
2. Storyboard - unifying theme or story, identify all transitions, timing, scenes, props, costumes, narration etc.
3. Practise and rehearse
4. Videotape all clips.
5. Edit and import all extras.
Would you be willing to share the outlines and/or assessments that you used with your students? I appreciate any advise or input that you can offer me.
Sincerely,
Erin Armstrong