Jul
8
Written by:
Instructional Technology
7/8/2009 12:40 PM
We've been sharing with teachers the value of podcasting as a prewriting, revision, and publication tool for quite a while now, and many of our staff and students use tools like Audacity to capture their ideas in the writing process. However, it can be complicated to attach the resulting .mp3 to a document or presentation and keep the resulting hyperlink intact. In other words, students might podcast a brainstorming session, link the file to a Word document, email the Word document home, and be surprised to have a dead link from the Word .doc back to the podcast file.
We've been sharing with teachers the value of podcasting as a prewriting, revision, and publication tool for quite a while now, and many of our staff and students use tools like Audacity to capture their ideas in the writing process. However, it can be complicated to attach the resulting .mp3 to a document or presentation and keep the resulting hyperlink intact. In other words, students might podcast a brainstorming session, link the file to a Word document, email the Word document home, and be surprised to have a dead link from the Word .doc back to the podcast file.
A really, really simple solution to this problem is http://www.vocaroo.com/. This free, online podcast engine captures audio (from your computer’s microphone or peripheral headset) and immediately creates a web address with the sound file. Simply copy and paste the resulting URL into the word processing, presentation, or spreadsheet file and the podcast stays connected with the content.
By the way, it works just as well and as easily in Google docs and such. Likewise in the Open Office suite found on our Linux netbooks. Note that Vocaroo is not a sound editing program—it is a very basic recorder. Use Audacity or like programs for more features and functions.
Back in the day, some of us language arts teachers used Dictaphones and tapes to provide feedback and allow students to evaluate the fluidity of their passages. Now it’s as easy as copy and paste…
6 comment(s) so far...
Re: Simple, focused feedback.
Mike - Thanks for this idea. I wonder if you'd be willing to paste the link that you show in your image above so that we can listen to your comments.
Thanks!
By Bud Hunt on
7/8/2009 1:17 PM
|
Re: Simple, focused feedback.
Hey Bud,
Didn't actually make a comment on this student's paper--just a demonstration URL that probably contains white noise.
Mike
By Michael Porter on
7/8/2009 1:33 PM
|
Re: Simple, focused feedback.
I think this method has a lot of potential because, as you say, the feedback is tied to the document. I think it would speed up the feedback process. Now I just have to figure out what to say that will help them make the improvements they need.
By Kevin Brooks on
7/8/2009 1:55 PM
|
Re: Simple, focused feedback.
Mike:
Thanks for the site. Going to have to try it out. A simple way to get "another set of teachers" started . . .
By Connie Masson on
7/9/2009 10:14 AM
|
Re: Simple, focused feedback.
Great tip. I am adding this to the monthly tech newsletter to staff.
By Curt Christensen on
7/9/2009 6:50 PM
|
Re: Simple, focused feedback.
This is cool! Thanks for sharing...I will be sharing this with some of my teachers!
By Dana Wilhelm on
8/18/2009 3:57 PM
|