Month: August 2005

I was informed on Monday that the three podcast files from the teachers’ discussion at the Downers Grove Summit were not playing. A little investigation revealed that there was a problem with the files on Archive.org, so I uploaded them again, and re-linked them yesterday morning.

I urge you to revisit Connect Learning (http://connectlearning.davidwarlick.com) and listen to Episode 36 — Audio Files 1 – 3. They are recordings of a discussion held at the Downers Grove Summit, where high school teachers suggested and discussed applications of the new information environment for teaching and learning. Also participating were:

• a couple of administrators,
• 1 media specialist,
• 1 guidance counselor,
• 1 elementary teacher, and
• 1 student

This is a must listen.

Keywords: downers grove warlick

Early morning checking e-mail

Early morning checking e-mail Originally uploaded by David Warlick.

Early Morning in North Myrtle Beach

6:30 in the morning getting ready for an all day work shop with middle school teachers. The school I’m woeking with is one of only a few who have received a vey large investment in technology funding over the past few years, in North Carolina. Also, sorry for all the chocolate cake last night. I was sending that with my mobile phone, and it kept saying that the message had not been sent. So I kept trying. And, hey. I like chocolate cake 😉

Early Morning in North Myrtle Beach Originally uploaded by David Warlick.

Waiting for chocolate cake

I’ve just arrived at the Spring Lake retreat at the regratable location of Myrtle Beach, Soouth Carolina. We’re enjoying a late afternoon banquet right now, and I knew that if I waited long enough, they would bring out the chocolate. My day is made. More serious work tomorrow.

Waiting for chocolate cake Originally uploaded by David Warlick.

First of all, I’m not really happy with iTunes at present. I recently posted podcasts of some of the discussions at the Downers Grove Summit, only to find that iTunes was only picking up the initial introduction file (there are four files in all). Then I re-posted the three main files as three new blog articles, so that they would show up as separate “items” in the RSS file. They do show up as separate items, but iTunes still does not pick them up. Does anyone know of an e-mail address to send “issues” to?

On other iTunes fronts:

• Barnaby Wasson has posted a new interview from NECC in their Apple Distinguished Educators’ Podcast, and talk with Drexel University Education Director, William Lynch. They discuss Drexel’s iPod program and efforts to instill innovation in their education students.
• Eric Langhorst, a master social studies teacher in Kansas, has posted his forth program (Speaking of History), and is talking about a Microsoft Innovators conference that he attended in Redmond. In proper podcast fashion, Eric is in route on I35 driving to Texas while recording the program. He has more audio from the conference on the way, but Eric talks about some of the similar problems faced by teachers around the world. This man makes a lot of sense.
• I also rediscovered Engadget’s podcasts yesterday. Boy, iTunes sure makes it hard to track a subscription back to its original blog pages. “Listening Apple?” Anyway, although I pay a lot of attention to Engadget’s blogs, I find that I can only listen to so many acronyms before my brain starts turning to jelly. I’ll likely remove that subscriptions, though I’m sure there are many who eat this like candy.
• Also on the high tech level, Kenneth Lim’s latest podcast program (Singapore’s premier education podcast, Ventriloquy) features my first look at AAC formated files and their potential for integrating chapters and visuals into an audio presentation. Very cool. It was difficult to discern details in the images, but the potential is certainly there. Thanks Kenneth for your pioneering and for your insights.
• Finally, a new show from Ray and Hollye the youngster Physics and spanish teachers. I find this an interesting podcast, especially as these are young professional educators whose perspectives on technology are different from anyone my age. I especially enjoyed their episode about vacation with technology and their experiments with GPS and many hours at Panera Bread, taping into free WiFi. In this morning’s episode, the youngsters are talking about technology and their move into a new apartment.

Not much else to say. I’m preparing for an all day workshop in Myrtle Beach tomorrow. Someone has to do it.

This latest report on how Americans use the Internet focuses on teens. Here are a few of the headings in the reports Summary of Findings:

• Close to nine in ten teens are internet users.
• 45% of teens have cell phones and 33% are texting.
• Email is still a fixture in teens’ lives, but IM is preferred.
• Face-to-face time still beats phone and screen time for teens.
• Half of families with teens have broadband.
• Eight in ten wired teens play games online.
• The size of the wired teen population surges at the seventh grade mark.
• Older girls (aged 15-17) are power communicators and information seekers.

I look forward to reading this in more detail.

One of the interesting and hugely beneficial aspects of the Downers Grove Summit last week was the diverse group who participated. They were mostly high school teachers, but a number district administrators from other districts where there, as well as one student. One member who shared a unique and valuable perspective was a guidance counselor. He contributed a great deal of insight and was especially intrigued by the guidance applications of podcasting. Here are some of his suggestions:

• Podcast important parent meetings for incoming freshmen, graduation, etc. There are many parents who, because of schedules, can not attend all of these meetings, but would benefit from having access to the audio.
• Podcast school open house events. Record the principal’s address to the entire parent attendance, and then record each teacher’s presentation to parents of their students.
• As students visit colleges and universities during their junior and senior years, ask them to record what they see during their tours and their impressions.
• Ask classes to produce podcasts at the end of the year, introducing incoming students to the routines and expectations of their new and higher grade.

Many thanks to Bill Gebhards for his insights.

Keywords: downers grove warlick