Feb 04 2009
“I’m completely hooked!”
Woooooooweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
I’m now totally in the throw of the podcasting thrill / extravaganza / craze. It REALLY is FUN – FUN – FUN!!! I’m completely hooked!
Alright… so I started a guided reading book with a bunch of really smart grade 2 readers. We extended by making travel brochures. Yet again, taking it to another level and the best level of all… PODCASTING!!! Each student in the group will make their own travel commercial podcast for the country they researched and made a brochure for.
I’ve been taking it slowly, learning as I go. I get it now… and LOVE it! I’ve recorded all the voices, downloaded them, I take each kid out of class individually so they can pick their sounds, and we build their sound effects and background music together. I will have a total of 14 once I’m finished with this group of fine readers and podcasters from our 3 gr.2 classes.
I proposed that we show these country commercials off on our school web page. They are 30 second podcasts at most. I’ve been saving as wav and mp3 files.
My next cautious step is getting them on the website. How the heck do I do this??? No idea where to start. Help!!!
Thanks!
-sonia
… from jack donohue
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It was so great to get such an excited and upbeat letter today about podcasting. Made my day.
Nathan…the picture is cute but I was thinking more of a hook….
[Reply]
Nathan Toft Reply:
February 4th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
@Jane Smith,
I agree. I think the new picture is a better fit.
Sonia’s letter made my day as well.
[Reply]
Hi,
See? We told you this stuff was fun! Glad to hear you’re hooked.
A couple of suggestions for the next step of getting your sound on the web. I hope I don’t slip into too much gobbledygook:
1. This may be the easiest route: Try out Netcaster. This is created by the OCDSB. You’ll need to get the password for your school (your Computer Contact Teacher might have it, or contact Hotline). It’s kind of like YouTube for teachers. Follow this link for a document on how to upload your audio. Start at page 3 and ignore the fact that it is talking about video. It will work for MP3 audio the same way:
http://blt.ocdsb.ca/netcaster/help/Post_video_With_Netcaster.doc
2. This is what Jane and I do: set up a blog at Edublogs.org. Be prepared for a bit of learning curve if you take this route. Follow the instructions at this link for uploading video.
http://rrisd-its.wikispaces.com/file/view/Uploading+Your+Podcast+to+Edublogs.pdf
We plan to spend a large part of our next workshop explaining how to use an Edublogs blog as a “host” for podcasts. You’ll be ahead of the game if you can get your head around this before then.
3. Upload the audio files (make sure they’re exported as MP3s) to your school site. This works the same way as uploading photos. Create a page for yourself and create links to each audio file. That all depends on how your school manages their website.
I don’t recommend this route unless you are the one handling the website. Plus, after a little time, you’ll find your principal passing on messages that your are exceeding your webspace.
[Reply]