Podcasts, Vodcasts, & More!

To be honest, when I first sat down and looked over the activities for module 4 I was a little intimidated. Usually I feel confident in learning about new technologies. I love integrating new ideas into my classroom and find it exciting to be challenged instead of just doing the same thing over and over. But when looking at the module 4 activities, I saw the word podcast and I started to worry. I thought it was going to take me forever to learn how to create a podcast. I have been to conferences where teachers have talked about attaching a microphone to them while they teach, using an iPod to record them, etc.

It was my time. I was going to do this podcast thing. I stayed late after school one night and was determined to figure it out. Luckily, I have a Mac in my room and I knew that Mac's had the capability to create podcast. I love Mac's and always find the software user friendly. I opened Garageband, found the podcast section, and started recording random things in order to get used to the program.

I loved it. It was easy! It wasn't hard. I found myself worrying for no reason. I had written down a couple of key points from the Classroom Web 2.0 podcast that I had listened to and started recording my thoughts.
I then got a little fancy and created a presentation on Keynote. I had a presentation and audio. Now what?  After doing a couple Google searches on how to combine the two, I had my first ever podcast. It took me roughly an hour to complete the entire thing. My podcast ended up being about two and half minutes and included slides.

This was a wonderful learning experience for me because I had to accomplish something I wasn't familiar with. I was the student. It made me realize that this must be how some of my students feel, especially those who are not comfortable with technology.

Overall I am thankful for the opportunity that module 4 handed me. I have always wanted to learn how to create a podcast but never took the time to try it. My intentions were always there, but this module forced me to step up to the plate and take a swing!