PodBean

I've just created a new podcast site using PodBean. Until now, I've been using Audioboo for podcasts but it's limited to 5 minutes of audio. I had a 26 minute podcast that I wanted to share online so had to find another solution. PodBean is very easy to set up and completely free. It looks very much like a blog and you can add various widgets (I chose our Twitter and Flickr feeds, for example).

Check out the maiden podcast which features an interview with me by the Creative & Media students following The Restaurant (Last Supper) performance for which they created major props, projections and sound effects. I talk rather too much but the students have some great things to say nearer the end about the effect of this experience on their confidence and self-esteem.

Check it out!

Seb's ePortfolio Presentation

This presentation by our very own Seb Wallis is a great explanation about how he created his ePortfolio using Weebly. Seb took to this task like the proverbial duck to water and has created an excellent, media rich site. This video was made to help him gain a very high mark for this unit of work. It proves two things:

1. Evaluations don't always need to be written documents (and can often be more exciting and engaging when they are presented live)
2. Seb is a very skilled communicator and has a real sense of pride in his web authoring abilities

We have experimented with using podcasting (using Audioboo on the iPhone) as another alternative to written evaluations during this unit. The new iPod Nanos with a video camera and the PSPs with camera attachment are other ways in which handheld technologies can assist is capturing students' learning experiences in a very immediate way. The advantage of this, apart from it being more direct and engaging, is that the resulting multimedia files can shared with a much wider audience.

Xtranormal evaluation

This animated film was made in my BTEC Media class this morning in about 15 minutes. I'm trying to encourage my students to evaluate their ePortfolio websites using a variety of tools. A couple of weeks ago we recorded podcasts on my iPhone using the excellent Audioboo app. Last lesson, we videod a couple of students presenting their sites on the whiteboard at the front of the room. These films will be uploaded to YouTube and embedded in the relevant sites. One student has already made a very detailed screen cast demonstrating an advanced use of HTML and CSS.

Having discussed the kind of language they need to use to gain merits and distinctions for this unit, I am keen to enable every member of the class to demonstrate their learning using the tool most appropriate for them. Today, I told them about Xtranormal and encouraged them to present their learning as a dialogue between a fictional me and them. This is one of the films that was made, published and shared with the group during the 1 hour lesson (from a laptop on a wireless connection).

What I like about Xtranormal, apart from its simplicity and speed, is the fact that films can all be remixed. This means that students who need more of a helping hand could be given a partially finished script and asked to complete it. Or, they could choose the camera angles, expressions and soundtrack to a completed scenario. The potential applications of this tool are almost limitless. For example, I suggested to a colleague at lunch that it could be used by A level Philosophy students to present competing theories as part of their revision.

If you haven't had a play with Xtranormal yet I strongly suggest that you give it a go.

Tangled Feet Outcomes

It's always good practice to reflect on your learning, especially when the activity has been unusual and challenging. Could you respond to this post with a comment about the Tangled Feet residency? I'm particularly keen to discover what kind of learning took place, so please try to respond to these key questions:

1. What skills did you personally develop during the week?
2. What did you find challenging and how did you respond?
3. What could the school learn from the project?
4. What would you like to see happen as a direct consequence of this residency?

Explaining, Evaluating and Reflecting

If you are anything like me then once you've finished one thing (or, even sometimes before!) I'm looking forward to moving on to the next thing. That said, there's a lot to be gained from taking some time to reflect on what you've done, how you did it, and how you might use what you've learned to improve the next time. Unfortunately evaluations can tend to be pretty dull paper exercises that take the shine off the joys of the creative process. Richard and Ms. Piwko decided to try a different way and settled on the idea of a filmed evaluation and It's a really special bit of work. Take a look - how could you do something similar elsewhere around the school? What might the benefits be?

You can watch part two of Richard's Film on the Deaf Create YouTube channel.