How to make a student iPad podcasting studio.
#edtech #ipaded #mlearning
This past summer I converted our conventional podcasting studio with PCs over to iPads in hopes of improving the workflow. To be honest, I amazed at how easy podcasting is now for my elementary students. Here are the basics:
iPad number 1: Sound Effects. The host of each episode has this iPad his/her desk in the studio, this iPad used the Soundboard app from Ambrosia for all of the different sound effects that we use to make a show; laughter, applause, ohh-ahhh, etc. Before converting to iPads, the sound effect were handled by a different students, which often led to some mis-timed sound effects, now that the host Han control his/her own sound effects, the show is much better.
iPad number 2: Music. Before each show we play about 10 minutes of music while students come into their classrooms, this allows teachers to adjust the volume of the show. We mostly play Kidz Bop songs from the Music app since the lyrics have been scrubbed clean for our young audience.
iPad number 3: AudioBoo. We connect our sound mixer's USB cable into the bottom of this iPad through the Camera Connection Kit. Each show is recorded into the AudioBoo app and then we add album art and upload to our AudioBoo account which is then picked up by iTunes within an hour. AudioBoo also sends out a Tweet using our school's Twitter account.
That's it. What used to take us about 13 steps to get each episode from our studio to iTunes, now happens in three. Here is a link to our show on iTunes. http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bethke-elementarys-boos/id556878539
- Brad Flickinger, Tech Teacher, Bethke Elementary
Posted with BlogsyPart 3: Edtech Badges for Elementary Students
#edtech #edchat #mlearning
Here is my video update to my edtech badges program in my elementary students. Things seem to be changing every week, improving and getting better as I plan the program.
Read MorePart 2: Edtech Badges for Elementary Students
#edtech #elemchat
I made this video to help explain my new program for edtech badges for my students…
Read MoreEdtech Badges for Elementary Students Part 1
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For the past year there has been rumblings in the edtech world about the “Gamification of Education.” When I first heard this term I panicked thinking that people wanted to turn my classroom into a video game, I soon found out that this was not the case. Which was a good thing, because I am not a video game player. My research into gamification took me in many different directions, but what really intrigued me was the use of badges to show students competencies. Badges are the reward system used by many video games to show the progress of players to complete certain tasks.
As part of my research I even started to play a few video games, the first one I tried was Cut the Rope. I was impressed with how the game taught me as I progressed through the it — just in time learning. I couldn’t help but think back on how we sometimes get this wrong in education; we force Spanish language students to learn years of conjugating verbs and still they still can’t speak the language. Music lessons are similar — we get students bogged down in music theory instead of just teaching them how to “rock!” So many student give up before they get good. If we reverse that and teach them just what they need to know to get to the next level the conjugated verbs will still happen, but later.
So I liked the idea of badges, but groups like the Open Badges Project focus on digital badges and here I was teaching young elementary students, they don’t even have social media pages, so how were they going to show off their badges? The showing off of your badges is important to the success of gamification. So I started to look for physical, real-world, badges for my students. I looked at lanyards and tokens (like at summer camp) and “Live-Strong” type bracelets. But it wasn’t until I stumbled across little one-inch buttons that it hit me.
You see, every elementary student has a backpack, the perfect place to put badges, or buttons as I discovered, so that they can show the world that they have earned something for their tech skills. Another unseen bonus that I discovered from the badges going on backpacks was that the student’s backpacks hang at the back of the classroom, which now act as a reminder to their teachers that they have tech skills. If a teacher needed a student to take photos during an upcoming field trip to the museum, she just needs to scan the backpacks and find a student who has earned their Digital Photography badge.
Here is the button maker I use: http://stores.americanbuttonmachines.com/Detail.bok?no=43
So last year I did a small test with a group of 20 students to see how it would work, next time I will tell you how that worked out.
Students Filming with iPad
#edtech #edchat #ipadded #mlearning
Here are some shots of my elementary students filming with the new iPad.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56155476@N08/sets/72157629833466506/
Here is a link to the finished movie.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9UQYqOaFnc
- Brad Flickinger, Tech Teacher, Bethke Elementary School
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