Not too long ago Vodcasting was new media. Like many technologies that have hit the scene over the last few years, they come fast and furious. Not every technology makes it (we usually don't even notice the ones that do not) but the ones that do tend to alter the way we get our information and interact with others in our world. Vodcasting is certainly one of those world changing technologies.
It used to be that the majority of our information came from written text. Even with the advent of the internet, people were still getting their news from written online news. But the tides have turned. More and more people are actually getting their information from online through video. Even straight audio is on the decline.
What is so great about vodcasting is that it connects the viewer to image. Like the transition from radio to TV, people like to be able to see the speaker. This kind of technology enables anyone to share not only their voice but also their facial expression and body language with their audience.
The downside to these technologies is that everyone under the sun can produce one. And so everyone under the sun seems to do so. Which means that there is no dearth of of vodcasts. This can be a little overwhelming when looking for something specific that meets your goals and is something of quality. But with the ease of use, students can become engaged in producing their own related to in class work as well as begin to follow others that may be of interest to them or related to a class they are taking.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Mishna if there had been Twitter
As I read about micro-blogging, I can not help thinking about what the Mishna would have looked like if there had been twitter. There would have been Rabbi Yehudah Ha'Nassi, typing tweets to his followers. 140 characters or less. Every letter would count. Every word would be packed with meaning. Precise and to the point. Isn't that kind of like what the Mishna is already but on paper?
At the same time, now that I have signed up to follow a whole bunch of tweet feeds, I can't help but think that the twitters that are sent today are by no means as concise or meaningful as Mishna. Everyone under the sun is tweeting - when they are brushing their teeth, where they are having their coffee, and a thought that came to them while on the bus commuting. How does one weed out the useful from the mundane and yet not be over-inundated by 'useless information overload'; it escapes me. I even hesitate writing this blog and putting it out there for others to read because really, as if these are truly original thoughts that you the reader has to spend the 30 secs to read rather than putting that 30 secs into something more useful.
What can I say? I guess I am still old school. I know I need to move past it and get with the flow of the times.Hey, I'm blogging aren't I? It's a start, no?
At the same time, now that I have signed up to follow a whole bunch of tweet feeds, I can't help but think that the twitters that are sent today are by no means as concise or meaningful as Mishna. Everyone under the sun is tweeting - when they are brushing their teeth, where they are having their coffee, and a thought that came to them while on the bus commuting. How does one weed out the useful from the mundane and yet not be over-inundated by 'useless information overload'; it escapes me. I even hesitate writing this blog and putting it out there for others to read because really, as if these are truly original thoughts that you the reader has to spend the 30 secs to read rather than putting that 30 secs into something more useful.
What can I say? I guess I am still old school. I know I need to move past it and get with the flow of the times.Hey, I'm blogging aren't I? It's a start, no?
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Blogging about Blogging
Seems rather funny that my first blogging assignment for my ed-tech class is to blog about blogging. Anyway, I thought that I would take the opportunity to reflect on a part of the reading for the class. In our reading for this week, it mentions the use of blogging as a tool for facilitating a professional development community. I never really thought about the use of a blog to be a running PD dialogue for a school community. I know that it also discusses the ability to go beyond your school walls to connect with other educators. But, I found the possibility interesting to have all teachers in one school on one internal blog so that they could cross pollinate ideas, share reactions to a common PD book (kind of like an online book club), and just generally post links to other articles or ideas that they have which could help their peers professional growths. The one questions which I ponder is how motivated teachers would be to actually check the blog or post to it, especially if they are not so tech savvy. But even if they are, it is still one more thing to do in an already busy line of work.
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