Yes Tech!

 Today I worked with Katharine  Keeble-Chapman, the Media  Specialist/Computer Resource Teacher at Maple  Elementary School. Katharine wanted to learn  more about podcasting. She was amazed to learn  that the process is quite easy. Together we  planned and recorded the first “Podcasting is Elementary” audio clip. Katharine plans to use it to introduce the idea of podcasting with a group of 5th graders. She believes that the students will be anxious to create their own podcasts in the near future! Listen to our podcast, “An Introduction to Podcasting.”

This article was published on December 9, 2006. The authors suggest that our students need to develop skills to make them marketable in this global world. These skills include teamwork, abstract problem solving, distinguish good information from bad information, “people skills,” and speaking a language other than English.

This relates to what I posted in my podcast called “We Are All Teachers. We Are All Learners.” Let’s look at how technology can be used to help kids develop the skills they need to bring them into the 21st century.

I’m including a photo of the teachers in the 2005 Walled Lake in the Galileo Teacher Leadership Academy with this post.  All of us pictured have been attending various professional development training, and are working to improve ourselves, the culture of our schools, and the learning going on in our classrooms.  We are learners and teachers!

I decided that writing a blog entry and recording it as a podcast is redundant. Is it? This podcast includes my thoughts and ideas after having attended the Engage Conference, sponsored by Wayne RESA. Marc Prensky was the featured speaker. I recorded some thoughts recorded some thoughts after reflecting upon the conference for a few days.

I love the title of this entry/podcast and truly believe the statement.

Be courageous!

Resources that may be helpful:

MovieMaker Video Tutorials

Getting Started with Moodle - Chat, Discussion Board, Wiki Options (will only be helpful for Walled Lake teachers)

Podcasting - Handout by Mike Souden, Oakland Schools