I have been spending a great deal of time in K-12 computer labs and classrooms this past month. It would be great if I could claim I was making a conscious attempt to get a better view of what goes on in the learning environments I often write about. While it works out in this way, I am primarily in Twining Middle School two days a week because I must move Cindy and her equipment around. Cindy broke her leg during the holiday season and can now neither walk nor drive. So – I either push the wheel chair or carry the bags.
Today was T-Rex day at Twining school. I never did figure out what T-Rex stands for. I am guessing the reference is to a dinosaur, but the mascot is the Thunderbird. This is a special events day during which the students get to select from among several “special” recreational/learning activities. Some left early this morning in the below 0 temperature and wind to ski. Some went to a water park. Some stayed in the school for a variety of activities including podcasting, art projects, and rocket building.
Cindy worked with elementary school children to help them create simple podcasts in KidPix. We have been around KidPix a long time and like so many products you have to pay attention because the companies keep adding new features. A recent option allows the slideshow created from individual images to be exported as an “enhanced podcast.” You hear the audio associated with each image (I guess you could call this the podcast part) and see the images, animated embellishments, etc. matched to the audio (this is the enhanced part).
I have also been waiting for a chance to provide a link to the weekly podcasts generated by Deb Canton’s sixth graders. Deb works with curriculum technologhy partner Carla Haaven to orchestrate a process by which a rotating set of three students generates a weekly one-minute podcast. The students have from Monday through Wednesday to generate a script related to an event or topic relevant to the class (a list of possible topics is kept on the board). Carla meets with the group on Wednesday (with a camera in case an image or two is needed) and they turn the script into a podcast with Garageband. Check a few of these out – the quality is great.
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