Do you hear what I hear?

Podcasts can be fun to play with, and fun to listen to. The challenge that I always have in creating a podcast is to have something worth saying to a larger audience. Those who know me well know that I am rarely at a loss for words, but that does not necessarily mean that I should be listened to. Creating podcasts of book talks seems to be a good use of podcasting for the busy librarian. Nancy Keane has created many many wonderful talks at her "Booktalks Quick and Simple" site http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/ . I've added one of my own here.

Knights of the Kitchen Table You'll also find that clicking the Title of this posting brings you to the same podcast which is stored on podbean.

Having booktalks, whether Keane's or my own, as podcasts allows me to share more booktalks with my students. It is difficult to prepare 10 booktalks for a class, and then need a totally different group for the next class. Podcasting also saves my voice and can be a great alternative lesson plan for days when my voice is going, going, gone!

Using these podcasts can then develop into having 4th and 5th grade students create booktalks and podcast them as well. This would fall under NETS-S 2. Communication and Collaboration
Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance,
to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:
a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments
and media.
b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.

Split Rock Lighthouse

Split Rock Lighthouse
Originally uploaded by acoelke

I've created my Flickr account and added some of my favorite pictures from our summer 2008 vacation. This is Split Rock Lighthouse on the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. I also joined a group on Flickr on Split Rock Lighthouse and added 2 of my pictures to the group. This is my first experience with Flickr even though I think it may be one of the best known sites. I've visited Picasa webshare and a few others (wherever my sister happens to be landing her pictures at the moment).

I think using a photo-sharing site for a class such as digital photography would be a great tool. Students could then view and critique each others work as convenient. I certainly might use it in my teaching role as a 4-H photography leader and judge.

In the classroom (library) I think I would use it to have students comment on a picture from a group of pictures. I would ask them to reflect upon what they noted in the photo, the details, how it made them feel, and ultimately have them write a short essay or a short story involving the picture. This would meet NETS_S 2. Communication and collaboration.