Educational Discourse

 We did it! Yes, the grade 1/2 class at my school took part in our first school podcast that has been uploaded. I am in the process of uploading the bunch of them to be available for people to listen. The big thing that was noticeable was the excitement of the students as they took turns recording their reading. The were excited and eager to take part, practicing together, helping one another to get the words right, rereading their selections to ensure that everything was right. Those groups that were not quite ready asked for more time to prepare. Because this is a split class, the grade 2’s were willing to forgo reading a “harder” book in order that their grade 1 partners could be successful in their reading.

As the teacher and I worked with the students, we noted that they were taking this process very seriously, more than we had anticipated. They were very serious about what they were doing. When they were done, I would ask them if this recording was okay. I showed them how I was going to edit the long pauses to shorten the the overall length of the recording. They were very keen to know exactly what I was doing. Why I highlighted certain sections, how I got rid of those parts, how I made sure that it sounded right. We even got into a discussion of what would happen once we were done and began to upload the readings. It was here that I ran into some trouble as I wasn’t exactly sure how the process worked myself so I explained what I knew and explained once I had done one or two we would do a few together.

Later that same day …..

I ran into one of the parents while dropping my son off at hockey practice. The mom began to tell me how her daughter, who plays hockey on the same team, had come home and told her all about what they had done and how they were going to be able to listen to her on the computer. I was filled with fear at this moment. “How would she react to us using this at school? What would she think about what we were doing? How would she feel about her daughter’s reading being on the web? Was this going to be positive or not?”

The mother was so excited that we were doing this and using the technology to expose the students to such things. Whew! She wanted to know where she could find the posts so they could listen to them. I told her that I wasn’t finished with that yet but would be working on it and thngs should be ready soon. I had to leave but, from what I understand from my wife, the group of parents were very enthusiastic about this.

Bit of a dilemma ….

So now, we must cross the “Where does this fit in our technology plan/computer use” bridge. I don’t know of any other schools doing this, I haven’t even found any schools using any of the new Web2.0 tools. I know that a few of the websites like YouTube, MySpace and some of the gaming sites have been blocked as has some of the public email servers. So, all of you if the blogosphere, where is the best place to host these podcasts? Right now I am registered at podomatics  but I want to know if there is another place to do this. Also, I am looking for a place to host blogs and wikis. I know many of you have experience and I’m looking for your suggestions. If you could offer me your insights at what works best, I would be truly appreciative. I would like to get things rolling and demonstrate the usefulness of the technology when I take this further.

To add to this, I am in the process of hosting my own podcast in which I will discuss various things that I have noticed about this whole technology phenomenon and interview some of the teachers who are experimenting with these technologies in our school. I may even be able to convince an administrator or two to jump on board and take part in Scott McLeod’s 100 principals in 100 days Project. All I know is that things have to start moving and moving NOW. With the announcement of the iphone, we are seeing the advent of yet another tool that will push the communication sphere even further. ($600.00! I think I can save enough by June to get myself one. WooWee! This is going to be fun!) Steve Jobs has just made things easier/harder for educators and schools, never mind Motorola and Windows! However, we must get past the hype by the media about the problems with on-line predators. Reading Scott McLeod’s post today and then Pete O’Reilly’s, it is amazing how these facts always come about with something new. I still remember the outcry over having to wear a seat-belt. My grandfather even cut his out – no way anyone was going to make him wear it. Now, this may not be the same type of change but things like the printing press and other such advances must have been met with great opposition. Now, my students study change and we talk about the 4 parts of the change process.

• Denial is the stage at which the person completely rejects the change. Any acceptance of change at this stage is coincidental.
• Acknowledgement of change occurs when the new idea is given some credence and recognition.
• Acceptance of change means that more of one’s behaviour centres on the new approach than on the old.
• Defense of the change occurs when the old idea is seen as wrong and the new idea is basically common sense. (SaskLearning)

I’d say we are in the denial/acknowledgement stage when it comes to using technology in education. Now there are three influences that force individuals and societies to deal with change: environmental change, contact with another culture, and changes from within a culture such as technological. (SaskLearning)

As the technology “flattens the world” and cultures come together, we are having two of these influences impact on our youth at one time and the one place where there is “control” is in the schools so it only makes sense (somehow?) that the influence be kept to a minimum in this area, especially with the highprofile cases of the “negative” affect it has had on youth and society. (Sorry, I have no links for this!) What these people do not see is that these are not things of the future! They are of here and now and we need to come to grips with how we can use them to their full advantage. Like the students today who were so excited about what they were doing and we were just touching the tip of the iceberg. Their excitement and passion mixed with our wisdom and knowledge is such a powerful combination. I know I’m preaching to the choir but it was such a great thing to watch these students so excited about reading, so intent on what they were doing and willing to collaborate to make sure their end products were acceptable to them. It was a great 2 hours!!

Again, if you have any ideas about wiki posting, blogging and using/hosting podcasting, drop me a line. I’ve a grade 9 social class that is “pumped” to get started.

Kelly