The Flu PSA

This is Pace and my very first VLOG!! Who knew we could get so creative? We decided to use photo story for our program of choice! As with most projects this one took a little getting used to. First, it was tough to figure out HOW to present our ideas in an audio/visual format. Once we knew what we wanted to present we had to find pictures and sounds to go along with it. So I'd say the organization of the project is what took the longest. Once every picture was in the right order it was much easier and flowed much better from then on. The text on the pictures took a little while to adjust and to make look nice but it ended up great. I think the voiceover is what got me the most confused. I think I recorded 12 different versions before I got the volumes levels and fade outs...etc all right. In the end We were able to compare what we wanted to convey with what was actually conveyed and I think we got the point across like we hoped! Getting to know how to use photo story was fun and if we did this again we would be much more prepared and could probably venture into some more advanced options that we wanted to try!

Vlogging?

I had no idea that this term existed. Mainly because I don't really "follow" people on youtube really. I know my wife loves the Shaytards and another one of my friends loves the talking fruit thing? I dunno...though I do suppose I follow David Mitchell's rants that he posts on youtube. If you haven't seen him before you definitely need to check him out. Search David Mitchell Soapbox and you will have hours of small 3 minute rants to make you laugh to your heart's content. Anyway...I guess I do follow him but I guess I never knew or understood the term "vlogging" until now.

I see this being used in a myriad of ways! There are so many different lesson plans that could correlate a vlog into it. Whether it is a teacher creating a vlog to watch in class, to post on the class website to view for homework, or by having each of the students create their own vlog! With all of the different options available it's hard to think of a reason NOT to do this in the class! The different programs also allow students with different talents able to use them better. Some kids might like to use a camera while others can find better use of photo story and being creative that way. No matter how they do it they will all end up with a pretty professional looking video by the end. What a cool way to communicate!

Podcasts

This was a very informative lesson this week. Mainly because I have downloaded and listened to podcasts but I never really gave much thought to creating my own. I always just shrugged it off as something that "professionals" do for their websites and something I wouldn't even begin to try to understand or try. But, little did I know, it was much easier and much more practical than I ever thought that it would be.

What a great way for students to have classroom access from their own homes or from any computer for that matter! If there was a lesson that was either important or complicated or whatever...the teacher can make a recording of it and make it available for the class to listen to at their own convenience. Students who might have extra trouble in the classroom could benefit GREATLY from a resource like this. It doesn't matter if they might miss something in the class so long as there is a backup plan for them online for them.

It's also a great tool to teach students how to do themselves! How awesome would it be for students to team up and make their own radio shows or PSA's or (insert a million ideas here)? It can encourage them to A) learn how to make podcasts but also B) take things that they have learned and turn it into a practical application for them.

You could also do a lot of spelling exercises repeating letters over and over. Repeating sounds (A says AHH sort of thing). There could be a whole world of things you could do to let students listen to their teachers outside of the classroom at their own pace. Really cool concept!