It's Been A While...

OK... OK... So it's been a while since my last post. Well... about a year actually.


Anyhow, I just returned from a great conference called The Education Show in Birmingham, UK and I wanted to share a few things that I found interesting. I thought that this would be a great venue to do this, so hope to hear your comments as I continue to post new findings or interesting things.






I thought this little microphone was just the coolest and I hope you agree.

Here's what it does:

-Record voices, sounds or music on the move directly into MP3 or WAV files
-Play back MP3 or WAV files using the built-in speaker or headphone socket
-Connects to your PC like a thumb drive to manage the MP3 files that were created

-It's a great way for children to do role-play interviewing, drama, note-taking and pod-casting. Kids can be the roving reporter or singing star, without being tethered to a PC.

It Features:

-Built-in Rechargeable battery
-Great audio quality for record and playback
-64MB memory for 2 hours of high-quality recording
-USB connector for direct connection to PC or MAC
-Audacity Software included (which we already use)
-Neck-strap included ( harder to lose :)
-Intuitive interface

You have to admit.... this thing is great, and I can't think of one kid who wouldn't have fun with it.

OK.... Let's hear it

Updated: The date on this post is wrong, Im not sure why but it was really written around or about 3/6/08.
Oh and I ordered 2 of these and they are on backorder for a while. I will be sure to share them when they arrive.

Alan November Podcast

It's finally here! The Alan November Podcast. We have created a podcast of Alan Novembers talk at The National Cathedral, so if you missed it, you can hear it here first!

Click Here to open iTunes and go to the Apple store location that it can be downloaded from for free.

It can Also be downloaded at http://slapcast.com/users/mcastanera .

The RSS Feed URL is http://slapcast.com/rss/mcastanera/index.xml .

Please be patient when downloading this podcast as it is quite a large download (but well worth the wait).

Enjoy! And as always, don't be shy, we love to hear your comments!

Podcasting, What is it? How can I use it in my classroom?

In the wake of Alan November's Leading Voices talk at the Cathedral, some people have asked the question " What exactly is a podcast?". Well its nothing more than an audio file (and video is possible now too) that can be downloaded to your computer, portable Digital Audio Player (DAP) or Portable Multimedia Player (PMP). These digital audio and video players don't necessarily need to be an oh so popular and trendy Apple iPod, though the name "podcast" seems to suggest compatibility with only iPods. However, the iPod and its ease of integration with iTunes, makes it very easy to subscribe to podcasts and synchronize them with your ipod with minimal user interaction.
Creating a podcast is much easier than one might think. There is some free software that we have available to use to record audio. It is about as easy as using a tape recorder. Creating a video podcast is a bit more difficult but can still be created with ease using just a video camera and some video capture/conversion software that we also have available.
I think that I can speak for the Tech Team and say that we would love to hear your ideas for creating podcasts with your kids. We are sure that they would enjoy the activity and be able to share the finished product with others.

Here are some links to podcasting sites that can give you an idea how to begin your podcasting journey.

http://edtech.typepad.com/podcasting_introduction.mp3 - A podcast you can listen to in your browser.

http://edtech.typepad.com/ed_tech_using_technology_/

http://coverpage.pcs.k12.mi.us/geeked/

Please... Let's hear your Comments!

Blogging at Beauvoir!

Welcome to the first Technology Blog for Beauvoir. Tell us your thoughts and ideas about technology at Beauvoir.