Audacity 2

My Podcast is finished.  This assignment has been one nightmare after the next.  The beginning was relatively easy.  I downloaded Audacity and LAME, then started to work on the project.  For the first several days, I could not figure out how to import my music from my Real Player library.  Fortunately, I paid attention to the class discussions and simply conducted a "drag and drop" to get the music imported.  I  went through days of editing, adding, deleting, and starting over.  I'm still not satisfied with the final outcome, but finally had to throw in the towel to save my sanity.  You can listen to my Podcast  here or below.

Podcast Powered By Podbean

After my Podcast was complete, I had to export my project as an MP3 file.  From here I needed to obtain a Podbean account to use to publish and embed my Podcast.  This is where I ran into a great amount of trouble (and even a few tears).  It was extremely late for me to be up and I could not get my file to upload, so therefore, I could not embed the file.  I spoke to several friends for help, but failed to get any.  So... I turned to my best friend ately, Google.  I searched for information and "how to" upload, publish, and embed an MP3 file to Podbean.  I found the coolest tutorial.  Armed with the tutorial and a "hint" from Dr. Pierce in which he asked me to think about where I had saved the file, all was well.  I loggged into my Podbean account and followed the following instructions:

1.  Pubish
2. Publish a show
3.  Tag
4.  Upload file (browsed and found my file)
5. Publish
6.View site
7. Listen/check
8. Manage
9. Find new and embed (get the code and copy/paste to HTML on Blog)

Believe it or not, it only took about a half hour to watch tutorial and complete the process.

The ISTE NETS T which relates to Audacity is number three.  This would be a great way to discuss certain topics with students, especially older students.  Relevant information could be given while adding a little bit of fun with music or audio from videos. 

Audacity 1

The current assignment is to create a Podcast using Audacity.  I downloaded Audacity and then LAME so the podcast would work properly.  I chose to create a Podcast on my husband's favorite band of all time, The Replacements.  I have been hearing about them for years (24 to be exact) and we have every album that they have ever made.  I began my project by compiling my research on my topic.  I then ripped all the music that I needed from CD's and saved them in my Real Player library.  The next thing that I needed was to download some cool video footage of the Replacements from You Tube and convert them to MP3 files.  I felt like I was ready to go.  My narrative was written and I had the music and other files that I needed.  Off I go...

I have been working on this assignment for over a week already and I am still running into major problems.  Earlier today, I lost all of the information that had been saved in my project.  The project just disappeared.  I looked in different locations on my computer, but was unable to locate it and had to start over.  However, I now have voice recordings, songs, and pieces of videoes that were saved and converted into MP3 files in my project. I will continue to work hard to complete the assignment by the due date.  The following is the marrative that I wrote for the recorded parts of my project:

 

The Replacements, hereafter referred to as the Mats, first came onto the music scene in 1981.  The band members were Paul Westerburg, singer/guitarist; brothers Tommy Stinson, bass guitarist, and Bob Stinson, lead guitarist, and Chris Mars, drummer. 

Their first album, 1981’s Sorry Ma, I Forgot to Take Out the Trash was your basic hard-core punk thrash - but only on the surface.  Songwriter and lead singer Paul Westerberg was already beginning to show off his musical talent with undertones of irony and intelligence all wrapped up in that masterful noise.

Their next two albums Stink and Hootenany would be released over the next two years, 1982 and 1983.  They were on a roll and beginning to clean up the rawness of their sound.  Without loosing their manic energy, they began their journey of branching out into ballads and pop.

The Mats would finally arrive with their Let It Be album.  Up to this point, the Mats had been releasing albums on the small label called TWIN/TONE, but the success of Let It Be in 1984 would lead to them signing with a major label (SIRE).

After signing with SIRE, The Mats released Tim in 1985.  The band members seemed to be conflicted about whether to turn toward mainstream commercial success or staying with their original ideas.  During a January night in 1986 on Saturday Night Live to promote their album, The Mats showed up intoxicated and behaved obnoxiously.  Lead singer Paul Westerburg used unacceptable language and became criticized by Lorne Michaels, then producer of Saturday Night Live.

After going out on tour for Tim Bob Stinson left the Mats.  His departure from the band left questions for the loyal fans, but the consensus was that he was fired due to drug and alcohol abuse.  Some say he was the scape goat for all The Mats destructiveness and drug and alcohol abuse.  However, it didn’t matter.  Paul Westerburg took up the slack by taking on the guitar chores for the next album, Pleased to Meet Me, which would be released in 1986.  For the tour Slim Dunlap, a guitarist from Minneapolis, was asked to join the group.

It didn’t matter that Tim and Pleased to Meet Me contained some of their best, most critically acclaimed work The Mats had ever produced, The Mats still didn’t break through with the kind of commercial success that they, or their label, had hoped for.  Their next album, Don’t Tell a Soul, which was released in 1989, was possibly the answer to the problem.  The new sound, often referred to as “glossy and over-produced”, won many new converts, but left several longtime fans wondering what was going on and asking what direction The Mats were heading.

Don’t Tell a Soul would be the last album that the entire band played on together as The Mats.  By 1990 lead singer Paul Westerburg had decided to go out on his own.  SIRE had a different plan and All Shook Down was released as a Mats album even though many different musicians were used in the recording studio.  When it came time to hit the road, for the Mat’s final tour, drummer Chris Mars was already gone.

The last performance for that The Mats was on July 4, 1991 at an outdoor festival in Chicago’s Grant Park.

In reality, the Replacements’ sole secret was their glaring lack of one; their agenda wasn’t so much a smokescreen as a blank screen.  Indeed, the Replacements’ story may never be over, judging by all of the current interest in the group. The Replacements were rock ‘n roll’s brats in Babylon, who broke every rule, kicked down every door, and knocked a hole in every fence imaginable.  Their influence far exceeds their actual record sales.

So here’s to the Replacements, individually or collectively; things just wouldn’t have been the same without them.

Voice Thread

Today's assignment was to participate in a Voice Thread by responding to two videos by Ken Robinson.  Ken Robinson is a facsinating person and said many things that really made me think about the style of teaching in our system today. 

I loved Video #1 titled Ken Robinson says School Kills Creativity.  My younger son, a junior in highschool,  is extremely creative.  He enjoys drawing, writing poetry, and playing music just to name a few things.  I discussed with him Mr. Robinson's thought about school killing creativity.  He agreed.  He said that they rarely get to create anything.  There are not many open-ended tasks or assignments.  Teachers are in such a constant frenzy with having to teach to the tests.  Tests dictate everything and students need to be taught how to take those tests.  There's always a right and wrong answer, very black and white.  The grey area where creativity lies (in my opinion) is becoming obsolete.  My favorite quote from this video was that "if your (a student) not prepared to be wrong you'll never come up with anything original."    That statement is profound!  We, as teachers, often do not give students the chance to be "wrong."

Mr. Robinson also says that "academic ability dominates our view of intelligence."  Again, a profound thought and I DO see evidence of that in the classroom.   I have a student that appears to be very intelligent when carrying on a conversation, and she can discuss a multitude of different topics thouroughly.  When it comes to her product, she can't produce.  All of her test scores earn a failing grade.  I think that she is very intelligent, but her academic ability is lacking.  I am in a quandry.  I allow her to do some of her assignments orally, but worry about her ability to take a test when she has to.  Again, teaching to the test.  I feel that this student will be able to function in society, but I don't know how she will ever make it through a college/university degree. 

I think the theme of Video #2 is that we need to educate our youth for the future.  OUR future.  He discussed the fact that our education system was designed for a different age and in the past, an education was a must to ensure employment.  That was the purpose of an educaiton.  He thinks that "we are trying to reach the future by repeating the past."  I agree.  Our future is going to look very different from the past.

Lastly, ADHD.  Mr. Robinson said that we live in an age with a lot of stimulation with the advent of new technology.  Our students are stimlated outside of the classroom and are then expected to come into a classroom and "sit still" and "stay on task" when it is boring.  He actually found a correlation with an increase in the diagnosis of ADHD and standardized tests.  WOW!   What's the solution?  I have felt for years that ADHD has been over-diagnosed.  When my son was in preschool, a fellow mother (and teacher) told me that she thought he had ADHD.  I was beside myself.  I shared the information with my sister-in-law who has a PHD in Child Psychology.  At the time, she actually worked with some children diagnosed with ADHD and conducted testing.  She explained to me then (13 years ago) how over-diagnosed ADHD was.  I have to say that I agree with Craig, who in our Voice Thread stated that probably only 10% of those diagnosed actually have ADHD. 

A Voice Thread is a great interactive tool to engage students in a dicussion.  It allows individuals to comment on various topics by recording and/or typing a comment.  I looked at several different Voice Threads and many of them were extremely interesting.  The ISTE NETS T standards which relate to this assignment are one and three.  Using Voice Thread is a great way to promote student reflection and engage students while demonstrating fluency in technology.  A Voice Thread is also a way to communicate information and ideas and collaborate with students.

BenderConverter

Today's assignment was to rip a video from YouTube, download it onto your computer, and then to place it in your Blog to be viewed by all.  What a nightmare!!!  I worked on this one for three days.  I am finally beginning to get a clearer picture of the process.  

First, I downloaded Real Player from the course list.  Using Real Player, I searched and found several videoes from You Tube that could be used in a second grade classroom, and I downloaded them.  This is the point where I had a lot of problems.  I could not figure out how to convert them into MP3's.  WMV was simple, MP3... not so much.  In order to convert files to MP3's, Foxtab (Video to MP3 Converter) was downloaded.  I added a file from my Real Player downloads to Foxtab and converted them to MP3's.  I then signed into Google Pres, created a one-slide presentation, and inserted my video (fairly simple compared to the rest of it).  I just hope it works.

The next part of the assignment required that I embed my Google doc into my Blog.  I tried this at least four or five times.  Now it seems so simple!!!! Your Google doc presentation needs to be open.  Click the pull-down arrow beside share and click publish/embed.   View video for clarification.  A link will be displayed at the bottom of the page.  Copy and paste the link in the "Edit HTML" tool of your Blog.  The video should appear (hopefully). 

The ISTE NETS Standards that relates to this assignment are:

2) Design and Developo Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assesments

3) Model Digitl-Age Work and Learning

This assignment allowed m to demonstrate fluency in technology systems while customizing and personalizing larning activtes for different types of  learners.  In my (little) experience, I have found that many learn a lot by watching educational videoes.  This appears to double when you add music to that video.  I still remember the Preamble from my childhood (long ago).   However, I do still have to sing it.

The following is the downloaded video.  Enjoy!

Jing Screencast

Today's assignment was to create a Jing Screencast that can be used to teach and/or display how to do something on the computer.  I chose to demonstrate how to log into IXL.  I teach second grade and we use this site to practice learned math skills.  It has always been a nightmare to talk the class through how to log in.  They always seem to ask the same quesiton, "where do I type that?"  This is a great way to show them exactly where items need to be typed.

First click the capture prong on the Jing "sun" icon and drag the cross hair to the size that fits your need.  In this case I chose a full-screen because I needed to show the address bar and be able to scroll down.  The first several takes did not show enough screen to ensure that students could see all that needed to be seen.  Click the video button and a count down will let you know when to begin.  A Jing video is automatically assigned a URL, and saved to your clipboard (that can be sent to a Screen cast location), and in your Jing history as a PNG file.  Once in your history, open the video and use the drop down box to save to your preferred location: pictures, desktop, or even a flash drive. 

This assignment was brutally challenging for me.  I must have recorded twenty takes: I didn't like my voice, I stuttered, and I got toungue tied, just to name a few problems.  I fianlly finished it to the product that I refer to "as good as it's going to get."  I learned that I could save it to my flash drive (which made me very happy) because it has become my life-line.  I never leave for school without it.

The ISTE NETS T standards that best relate to this assignment are two and three.  I was able to design and demonstrate fluency in technology systems, communicate relevant information to students, and model the use of digital technology.

Jeopardy

When I first saw today's assignment, which was to create a review using Jeopardy, I almost had a heart attack.  I have tried time and again to create one without success.  To my good fortune, the activity sheet sent me to JeopardyLabs.  The first thing that I noticed was "This is... not PowerPoint!"  Thank God!  This site allows you to create a Jeorpady game in a matter of an hour or so.  I clicked the link for Jeorpady on the activity sheet, clicked start building, and created a password. 

Once there, I simply clicked on the "point value" and typed in my question and answer.  The thing that I like the most about this program is the ability to save and continue creating later when necessary.

I chose to create a review for a second grade reading unit, which I plan to use this Thursday to review for their weekly exams.  The topics used are: Spelling, Grammar, Phonics, Vocabulary, and Amazing Words.  These are many of things that are discussed throughout the week.  

The ISTE NETS T standards that relates to Jeopardy is number two: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.  To create a Jeopardy review teachers must customize and personalize learning activities and skills that have already been covered with instruction.  And what a great formative assessment!  Teachers can observe students and reteach when needed.

I wish all of our assignments were this simple.  Believe me, I was worried until I got involved in the assignment and learned that it was NOT a PowerPoint.  Been there, done that (unsuccessfully).

Give my review a try at JeopardyLabs.

Word Cloud

Today's assignment was to create a Word Cloud using Wordle.  A Word Cloud is a great visual tool that can be used to reinforce a skill or concept.  Simply type your text into the cloud and click go.  The more times you type a word, the bigger the word is.  I love Wordle and have used it before.  It is "usually" idiot-proof.  My favorite way to use Wordle is with the parts of speech, but I can think of many ideas for a word cloud in all subject areas and grade levels; family members, different digraphs and/or other phonic skills, parts of the body, West Virginia counties,  and presidents,  just to name a few. 

I chose to create a word cloud using adjectives.  I went to the Wordle website, typed in my information, and clicked go.  I then explored some of the different options to change my product (layout, color, edit, language, and font). 

The ISTE NETS T that relates to Wordle is number one: Facilitates and Inspires Student Learning and Creatity.  Students can create a peice of art for mom while (hopefully) remembering the lesson that lead to the product.