21st Century Teacher

We have success! The mic works now and Audacity and the mic see each other! I confirmed with playback and now all I have to do is post the podcast...Thank you to all who offered to help! Persistence can be a wonderful thing... On to the uploading phase of this little odyssey... V : )

I am working on the mic issue (two other mics haven't worked, but I am still working on the problem. Audio on the computer is fine when I play something; Audacity runs, but doesn't hear the mic. I am going to WIN this, and catch up by Sunday!) Just wanted to give you the update. Bleh. V : )

I am attempting to record my podcast and get it uploaded today. I have been having issues trying to get the recording to work (audacity loaded just fine) on my laptop and my desktop. I have one other desktop to try today. Thanks for being patient with our technical issues. Victoria

Just added NPR's pop culture podcast to my RSS feed...clips from All Things Considered and Fresh Aire are included, which is great for me, as sometimes I miss those shows due to meetings, etc... V

Soooo, in talking with my husband tonight (who is also a teacher), he said that they have the ability to send the report cards to their parents' emails when they validate/export their grades for the report cards! He said that they've been doing this for the past two years? Why can't we??? Why??? V

WOW! How can I explain how much I love this idea??? I used to fantasize about a way to teach online, even having "chat tutorials" where I would open an online chat time during certain hours. The students could ask their questions in an open window and I would respond to each of them before the chat tutorial time was closed. This was especially helpful during short turn-around assignments where they had something at stake but couldn't attend a traditional tutorial due to athletics, arts, or family committments. Parents really liked it because they could 'chat' with me as well, asking for more explanation of a topic or concept so that they could continue helping their student as we spoke online. This also kept me from having to give my personal phone number out while making me available during a controlled time. I see podcasts as having the ability to allow me to teach, be put on pause, and returned to during these essential learning times for the students/parents a...

Well, in trying to catch up on my homework, I'm now posting about my RSS assignment. (We're renovating almost the entire house and it's been really disruptive. Please excuse the lack of posts!) I've been using an RSS for a while now (Most email accounts have an opening page that you can organize into what information you wish to receive, be it news or blogs.) and it's been interesting, but I've not used it to follow blogs on a regular basis. This is my first foray into that arena. I selected NetVibes, but PageFlakes seems similar and just as good in many respects. Taking the time to add all my classmates' blogs was time consuming, but I can keep up with everyone in one place, so it is an advantage to have them all there. The three "non-classmate blogs" I selected were the following: 1. Wired magazine's Science blog (I subscribe to Wired magazine and read it cover to cover each month. I truly enjoy the analysis of how technology is a par...