Finishing Up Those Podcasts

This week you will finish editing your podcasts and share them with me.  If you remember our conversation from last week, I will not be requiring you to post your podcast on your blog.  I respect that many of you were uncomfortable doing this. Instead, you will need to share your podcast with me by putting it in a folder I have shared with you.  Use this document, "How to Share Your Podcast." I have also put directions for this procedure in the yellow "Workstation Resources" folders.  I will help you with this process if you need it, so please be sure to ask.  **Please be sure to review the Podcast Rubric before sharing your project.

This week you will be asked to review the Blog Design Rubric you were given mid way through the year. As we discussed, this will be your last "big" content grade of the year.  It is basically your "final" as we have been working on blogging for most of the year.  I am sure it has been a while since you have taken a look at this rubric.  You may have time during your second class to start getting your blog assessment ready.  Please be sure to go through each criteria of the rubric carefully.  I have noticed many of my students' blogs need some work to do well when measured against the rubric. In addition, I will be creating a checklist to help you with specifics.  I hope to have it ready for you next week.  If you need help please be sure to check out the "Blogging Resources" page on this blog.

During class two this week you will be completing the "Social Media Survey," and getting ready to for some work on a social media activity I have created for you. We will be using the data from the survey for discussions in future classes.  It is anonymous.  Please read it carefully and take it independently.  Do not speak with your classmates while completing it. Be sure to submit it when you are done.
Once you have finished the survey you will need to get ready for a Social Media activity we will be working on next week. You will need to download a book in iBooks for this activity.  It is going to take at least the whole class to download the iBook.   I am having you do this today so your are all set next week.  Please follow these directions, Downloading iBook for Social Media Activity, carefully.
Once you have started the download of the iBook you will need to work on the agenda items on the board.
You will need to finish editing your podcast.  Please be sure to check the Podcast Rubric when you think you are finished with it.  Then you will need to share your podcast with me.  Both the rubric and instructions for sharing the podcast are located on top of your Workstation Resource folder.
If you should finish with these two items before the end of class you should start working on getting your blogs ready to be assessed.  Everyone has work to do on his/her blog.  No one should be playing games, watching videos, or listening to music.  The only exception would be if you are looking for some help on your blog.  Instructional/informational videos are permitted and encouraged.  You may also create and publish a   new blog post.  I am expecting at least four new posts before the end of the school year!

**I will not be in school on Thursday.  Mr.Carme will be in our lab and I expect my students to do a good job.  

Please be aware our sixth graders will be taking their Math MCAS on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.  Be sure to keep our hallways quiet; giving them a great testing atmosphere.  If you should ride in with a 6th grader on the bus be sure to give them a smile and wish them luck.  You could make a difference in someone's day!!!

  Have a super week!!

Taking a "Drive" with Google

This week you will see how your school Google account is going to help you on a daily basis.  Before we begin, you will watch the video, “How Google Saved A School”.  This is an older report about an amazing school, but the message is still fresh.  We will begin be adding your teachers to your contacts so you will have their addresses to “share” your work.  It is a little bit confusing but the address you are adding to your Google accounts is for sharing work.  If you remember from our email class, all of your teachers’ email addresses end with @barnstable.k12.ma.us. Here is a link to a Google doc with all of the addresses you will need:  Grade 7 Teacher Google Addresses for Sharing.  I hope when we have finished class this will make more sense to you.   

Before going any further, you will convert your Google "Drive and doc" app to "Drive".  There are some new features which will help you with your learning throughout the year.  You will also create a “digital inbox” for each of your core content areas, and one for ILT.

After we have finished today, you will be able to share your work with your teachers in one click.

Frustrating and Exciting!

There are so many things I should be doing at this moment, but needed to share this with all of you!! We have been working on uploading our podcasts to our blogs. Such a simple sounding task I know; but as always with technology there have been glitches. I am continually telling my students I am learning right along with them; hence the name of my blog, but today was able to model that for them. Students discovered our media player was displaying their first and last names; something we discourage for our 7th graders. I didn’t have the solution, so asked my entire class to stop what they were doing at that moment and search the “Tindeck” site for answers. I also shot off a quick email to Tindeck asking for advice. Jenn timidly raised her hand and shared her discovery. We could edit our tracks and change the name of the artist, thus solving our problem. Much to my surprise, I received an almost immediate response from Tindeck, who unknowing to me is based in Australia. They didn’t have the resolve, but were willing to see if they could go in to accounts and make corrections to user names. I replied with the student resolve. Thinking that would be the end of my communication with Tindeck, I didn’t pay much attention to my email. Well, I was wrong. That was not the end of my communication. Tindeck was interested in how we were using their site (this is actually when I found out they were located in Australia). So what started off as a very frustrating lesson, turned in to one of the better and more exciting couple of classes I’ve had in a long time.
It is interesting how quickly the world becomes so small and connected. Just one of life’s great “teachable moments”!!!

Adding Your Podcast to Your Blog

Adding your podcast from you Tindeck account is very simple. All you need to do if paste the HTML coding in to your post.
 **Make sure you have the "Edit HTML" tab selected instead of the "Compose" tab.  Both of these tabs are located in the top right hand corner of your post box.  Check with me if you aren't sure about what I mean. 
Go to Tindeck and log in. Click on my profile to find the selected track for your podcast, and open it by clicking on the podcast track. Once it is open, in the bottom right hand corner you will see a green check mark and the words "Get Embed/Link Code." You will need to left click on this tab. It will bring you to a page with a variety of options. Scroll down a bit until you see, "Embedded Player." Under this you will see a box with the embed code (HTML language) for your podcast. Simply select or highlight all of the code, I find grabbing it from the bottom to work best, and copy. You will then paste this code on your blog post exactly where you would like it to appear. Publish the post, and you will see your audio player there ready to go! Have fun!!


Upload MP3s using free MP3 hosting from Tindeck.

The Big Reveal

Welcome back from vacation! I know some of your brains are a bit foggy, but please shake out the cobwebs and get right back in to podcasting. During our first classes this week you will be finishing up any final editing you need to do on your podcasts. You will also be creating an account in “Tindeck” so you will have a place to “hang” your audio files. We need to get an embed code to be able to upload your podcast to your blog. Please remember this “Tindeck” account is a school/professional account and should be used for this purpose only. If you want a place to put your personal/social files, please use your personal email accounts and create another “Tindeck” account at home. You will be adding your log in information for “Tindeck” to your school sites tables. Remember there is one on your pdrive and one in your Google docs.
After you have finished your editing, and created your new account, you will upload your finished podcast (in an MP3 format) to your Tindeck account. You will then need to complete the student evaluation component of your Podcast Project Rubric. This will be a ticket to leave for class #1. During second class this week you will be creating a new page on your blog for technology related posts, writing a new post about podcasting, and uploading your podcast. Sorry if you thought we would be taking it easy this week!!