pod casts

The first pod cast that I listened to was the Smart Board Lessons pod cast. This pod cast was pretty informal and I listened to various parts of it. According to the description of the pod cast it is supposed to be about smart boards and their applications in the classroom. The various portions of this pod cast were things like joking around and talking about random conferences to reading mail from various listeners. I honestly was not interested at all by this pod cast; however it did give me a good look at what they are all about.

The next pod cast I listened to was titled This Week in Photography. This pod cast could be related to a radio show that is focused on tech help for all things related to cameras and photography. The hosts of the show used many technical terms related to photography that I really didn’t understand, partly because I have never really picked up that hobby. Despite this they kept the interviews and discussions interesting, and unlike the previous pod cast this one was more organized. I actually listened to what was said instead of staring at the wall wondering what they were trying to say.

The MacBreak Weekly pod cast was not that bad either. They did wander off the topic several times and reminded me of a radio show at times. These guys love everything that Apple has done or created, and it definitely showed. I did learn a thing or two and also realized that pod casts are really close to radio shows that try to focus on a topic.
The last pod cast I listened to was Kid Cast and it was run by one man. He started with a brief introduction, then he spoke about students pod casting and how there is not enough being done to get kids into it. At times it seemed like he was just rambling, and more than once I just wanted him to get to the point. Although I could see where he was just trying to paint a picture, but I thought it was excessive at times. It was fairly formal and I could understand using this pod cast in the classroom.

International Blogs in the Classroom

i found a blog titled Mrs. Cassity's Classroom Blog and it was made in Canada, which isn't too far from home compared to some other places. Anyways this blog had it all, she used videos, pictures and games on here site to keep both the students and their parents interested on the blog. Click here to view this blog. Mrs. Cassidy did an excellent job on editing her site with plenty of videos and many links to check out.

the next blog was also great. It was from a canadian class in Ottawa. the class was for 10-11 year olds and these kids were actually making animated movies, which is something i have not even figured out yet the link for this site is here. i was very impressed with the technological prowess of the students in this class and it made me realize that our country may be behind on these types of things.

International Blogs in the

America's teachers blogging

In this first website paperless journal the teacher was very clever in using technology. She effectively used blogs to spark the interest of her students, which in turn enabled them to learn quicker. I was quite impressed how the educator made use of quizzes and also employed several pictures for visual references.

The next blog was not as good in my opinion. It is titled Mrs.D and this educator made good use of the Internets resources to keep her class blogging over the summer. This blog felt too formal to me. She also did not make good use of pictures in her blog. I feel that the kids may lose interest and want to do something else with their time. i definitely felt that the first blog was more effective in its approach.