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http://ia331209.us.archive.org/1/items/DaveCrowderCleverWithWeatherLab/WeatherLab.m4v

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October 20

Cell-Y-Wood Project

by Kristin Donley

on 10/20/2009 9:56 AM

Hey all...I had the kids create tutorial vodcasts on a cell part to teach each other...check them out!

1 Comment(s)

October 12

Recording a Powerpoint Presentation

by Ben Boyer

on 10/12/2009 8:56 AM

One use of a video podcast is to record a PowerPoint presentation and make it available to our students. In order to do this you need to have access to screen capture software. This software will record everything that is happening on your screen and will simultaneously record audio (your narration). I downloaded a free 30 day trial of Camtasia. They have both PC and Mac versions. With this software you can also record a picture-in-picture. For example, you can record your screen and have a smaller window recording you from a web cam type camera. Check out this example: Recording your screen can be a powerful tool. Try it.

Podcasting can be the gateway to READING literacy...

September 23

by Ben Boyer

on 9/23/2009 8:43 AM

At our last meeting we were discussing ways to effectively use podcasting within our respective disciplines. In the back of my I have had this idea for creating a "study guide" tutorial via the podcast to walk students through the studying process. In our discussion, our group came up with the idea of a "reading guide", where the podcast walks the student through the process of active reading using their actual science textbook. So this week my podcast includes a reading guide for one section of the Campbell, Concepts and Connections biology book that we use for advanced biology. I walk through the SQ3R method of reading the section on Nucleic Acids. I am excited about the potential of using podcasting to teach reading skills and anxious to see its effectiveness. I have posted the "reading guide" portion in our podcast library on this site. Happy podcasting.

Student Science Podcasts as part of a Science Club project jigsaw

September 19

by Dave Crowder

on 9/19/2009 7:07 AM

I've got a Science club that meets after school on Tuesdays. 3:30-430 There are two CU grad students who are helping. We decided to do a "jigsaw" for the year. We'll have 6 "teams" where each will work on a separate project. One team will make solar cars for an end of the year race. One will make working renewable energy machines. One will use an online program to create origami, pop-up books, and prefab objects for various other projects. One will make radio shack electronics kits and other components. One will make rockets to be launched at the end of the year. And finally, one will make Science concept podcasts to be shared with other students throughout the country.. Each team will rotate throughout the year, with the goal being that everyone has gone through each piece. I also have ideas about how "project leaders" - self selected group members will rotate duties throughout the year. Speaking of which, yesterday a lady came in to my class from Huntsville, Alabama who I've been in contact with for the past few weeks. She wants to skype video conference between our two sets of kids. We'll use the weather as a main topic,, but this will also be a conduit for our Rocketry kids and theirs.. They boast their state's winning rocketry team.. Some exciting times!!

Keepin' it REAL and simple.

August 09

by Ben Boyer

on 8/9/2009 10:23 PM

When I first started my podcasting project I needed a name that was catchy and meaningful. "Using the iPod to deliver currriculum in a cool and engaging way" just wasn't going to cut it. So I settled on "Keepin' Biology REAL". "REAL" meaning authentic, but also standing for Relevant Engaging and Accessible for all Learners. My podcasts, in a radio show format, were well-received by my students. But, putting out weekly 30 minute podcasts, can be tricky to maintain. As teachers, we all know there just isn't enough time to do all the things we want to do. So podcasting for our students must be extremely valuable and relatively easy for us to warrant the extra effort of adopting yet another pedagological tool. Having done this now for quite some time, my advice is to keep it simple. I think a short and simple podcast that is delivered in a timely fashion and at regular intervals (once a week, once a unit ...) is more effective than a gee-whiz-pull-out-all-the-stops podcast delivered sporadically. The beauty of the podcast is being able to subscribe one time and then receive podcasts automatically. Keep them engaging for sure, but keep them coming at regular intervals. Keep it REAL and (especially in the beginning) keep it SIMPLE.

Used Ipod for recording purposes on my trip!

August 08

by Dave Crowder

on 8/8/2009 10:42 AM

Pretty much everyone brings small recording devices to the camp so that they can record all of the classes for further review. Lots of people were eye-balling my little ipod with Italk for recording. A few asked about it, and decided that would be their next recorder. I un-synced all of the stuff that I had on it, so that it would be empty and just used it as a recorder. I ended up with about 6 Gigs of sound! The sound quality is good enough, after learning when to use the low gain setting, and automatic. We'll see y'all at Monarch K-8 on Monday! Dave

July 21

The Virtual Field Trip

by Ben Boyer

on 7/21/2009 11:04 AM

My summer has been really busy. I've been traveling quite a bit and going on local adventures with my kids, ages 7 and 3. These both lend themselves well to a particular type of podcast that you might consider using with your students- The Virtual Field Trip. I love listening to stories, as do my children. In fact, my high school students love stories too. A virtual field trip is a chance to tell a story, or "paint a picture with sounds" of an experience. Well-chosen segments can be recorded that bring the listener along on the journey. But, because you are relying on an audio-only medium, the journey becomes personal for each listener. It's kind of like listening to a baseball game on the radio versus watching the game on T.V. A really good radio broadcaster uses timing, carefully chosen vocabulary, and the background sounds of the actual game to weave together the experience for the listener. Ultimately though the listener puts together a "picture" in his/her head of what is happening in the game. A virtual field trip is similar. Besides imparting knowledge about the area or the experience, it is a chance to tell a story for the listener that will become personal as they create the images in their mind to go along with the narrative. The virtual field trip as a podcast is a great opportunity to impart knowledge, personalize learning, and share an experience with a large number of "listeners" that would be logistically impossible. It's also just a lot of fun. So whatever remaining adventures await you this summer, take along the iPod and do some recordings. Then use the podcast format to share your experience. Try it. Everyone loves a story!

feed://mrcrowder.us/tinc?key=6onNYW9a

July 08

by Dave Crowder

on 7/8/2009 8:52 AM

I've set up a feed that's separate from the educational ones for my class. This one is for interviews with my drumming and musical influences, as well as some blogging for my trip to the West Coast. This blog can't make feeds be a link,, so just paste this in your browser, or subscribe to the feed in Itunes: feed://mrcrowder.us/tinc?key=6onNYW9a I found out a few interesting details about recording with a mic through garageband. If I don't chose [mono] but instead chose [stereo] in the mic tab, then the computer will automatically chose only one channel to play the sound out of! That's why if you listen to that first interview with headphones, it only plays in the left channel. Now wouldn't you think that [stereo] meant play through two channels? Nope that's not what it means,, it means using two mics to record each channel separately. The other thing is that the mic hiss fluctuates. So, there's a mechanism in the computer - or the mic which squelches the sound when nobody talks. You can hear the background hiss go off and on throughout the entire interview. I'll be tracking down the cause of this for a while. I suspect that it's part of the "Male Voice" selection that probably has an auto squelch function in it. I'll try using a [basic channel] with no bells and whistles next time, and if it doesn't squelch any signal then I'd be proven right.. We'll see.. All the best, and happy summer!! Dave

July 01

Hey all!

by Kristin Donley

on 7/1/2009 12:47 PM

I'm back from TIE and learned some cool things to share in August. Meanwhil I sent the link to the poster/digital storybook site called "Glogster." You or your students can post vodcasts and podcasts on the site for in class projects...when you sign up as a teacher you can make up to 200 sub accounts for your studnets. No one sees the pages, but you (unless you give out the URL to someone). This protects the students and also protects you if you had questions about copyright. Hope all is going well...keep on 'casting!