Podcasts, vodcasts and voki's

Today I was introduced to the world of podcasts, vodcasts and voki's wihch are great tools to assist in Oliver's multimodal delivery method which provides the student with choice.

Two of my cohort and I produced our podcast using a simple MP3 player to record our voices and then uploaded this to the internet as a podcast using the site mypodcast.com. You can access this inital attempt and subscribe to my podcast by following this link to my podcast. Mypodcast.com also makes podcasts searchable through itunes. This feature adds a real world dimension to students work if they are required to put there podcast 'out there' for anyone to access and can increase a students engagement with the coursework. The process was so simple even a child in grade 2 could accomplish the task.

So what else can podcasts do for me? Well, I can download other podcasts that are available on the internet from various sites such as you tube and teacher tube, that are applicable to my requirements, and use them to spice up, break up or otherwise enhance a lesson. I can also import these podcasts to my blog, as I have done with my initial attempt, or to a wiki that I could put together for my students studies.

Students, or even I, could use vodcasts, which include video, as a diary for projects that they are working on so they can look back and see just how far they have come as the project evolves. Podcasts and vodcasts may also be used as a tool to present these projects or other displays. Podcasts make the task authentic which according to Keirsley & Schniderman is important when attempting to engage students.

Using Windows Movie Maker, my cohort and I uploaded some photo's taken with a digital camera and combined this with a brief voiceover we did, to make our 'movie'.This was also an easy process that has the potential to spice up an otherwise more tedious piece of work that would normally have no ICT involvement and, will give students some control over the way they present various assessments, this control and choice can have a positive impact on learning outcomes and participation levels by students as stated through Keirsley & Schneiderman's engagement theory. Also, when the applications are used through Google they are automatically converted to the required formats which adds to their ease of use and availability to all.

As you may have noticed, I used a hyperlink to direct you to my podcast. Hyperlinks have been an enigma to me for awhile and I am thrilled that I no longer need to sully my blog with URL's as I believe hyperlinks look more professional! The value of hyperlinks as I see it, aided by Wendy's sight, is to easily direct my students to where I want them to look for information on the internet, it is much too easy to get side tracked by all the wonderful web pages available for viewing and miss the required information.

Today I also put my hand to creating a voki. This adds a fun dimension to web pages and students could use a voki to introduce their assignments or I could use a voki to alert, or as Pavlov would say, condition students as to the content they will be working with or researching such as; investigative work could use a Sherlock Holmes type, creative work could have an artist type and so on. Voki's would also break up what could otherwise be an online worksheet...how boring, may as well just print it out and hand it to the students! Oliver requires various delivery modes in his learning design theory and avatars certainly fit the bill.

So for now,

my group video is below and my first born voki follows!