iChallenge Podcast Winner!

Yep, that's me in the black dress holding that big box! I submitted a podcast to the Alabama Learning Exchange's annual iChallenge Podcast Competition and won in the at-large category! I'm so grateful for being chosen from among the hundreds of other entries. When I created the podcast, I really just had my own students in mind at first. I wanted them to have a video tutorial that they could go back to again and again if they had questions about using KidBlog. Creating this one video actually turned into the creation of a series about using KidBlog that anyone can use.   

Here's the video that I submitted:

Click HERE to see the other videos on ALEX that I've submitted so far.

Aren't you just dying to know what's in the box?

It's a HoverCam Document Camera! I can't wait to get it out and start playing with it!

Geometry Around You Podcast

Yay! After five days, 4 programs, and about a gazillion crashes of Windows Movie Maker, we finished making our podcast today! Here it is:

 

For the rest of the activities we did while learning about geometric solids, see my Shape-aholics post: 

Shape-aholics!

If you teach 4th grade Saxon Math, then you're probably all too familiar with the stress and anxiety that accompanies lesson 100: Constructing Geometric Models. It's horrible! Every year it's the same, "You wanna just read over this and then skip it?" My coworker and I say almost at once. Not this year! We've spent an entire week learning about geometric solids, and my kiddos (and I) have thoroughly enjoyed it!

Monday: We started with this flipchart: 

Then, I armed the kiddos with digital cameras and had them go on a hunt around the school for examples of each type of solid.

Tuesday: We reviewed the flipchart, then started to compile the images and create a video (hopefully, we'll finish it tomorrow).

Wednesday: Reviewed flipchart. Did a version of this awesome nets activity I found on Pinterest:

 

Thursday (today): Constructed models using jellybeans and toothpicks! (Another great Pinterest find). Took a quiz, then worked on our video. 

What a great way to review edges and vertices!

Friday: The plan is to finish our video, and find other examples to photograph if we need them. 

KidBlog: Getting Started

Do your students blog? I started blogging with my students last year, and love it! It is a great opportunity not only for writing for an authentic audience, but to practice digital citizenship, Internet safety, and learn various technology skills. Since I use KidBlog with my class often, (and answer the same questions over and over) I decided to create this podcast to help them navigate and as a "Getting Started" video.

Hopefully, its something you can use with your children. Enjoy!

PodCast Camp

I've just gotten home from two days of PodCast Camp at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. What an amazing experience! Sponsored by the Alabama Learning Exchange, or ALEX, we spent two days learning software, viewing, and creating podcasts. While I've made a few videos with my students before, the training was a great opportunity to fine tune my video-producing skills by using programs I've not used before such as Audacity and Windows Media Encoder. In addition, I was able to network with other educators, and I came home with TONS of ideas for incorporating podcasts into learning. I highly recommend attending this training if you can, but if you can't, here are some resources that might help you get started:

Click here for podcasts and resources for creating them.