EdCompCast - Take 2

Way back at the beginning of October I did my first podcast. I gave a link in that blog entry to one of the resources I used when learning how to create the podcast. I probably should have also mentioned the Making a Podcast with Blogger and FeedBurner page on Podcasting News.

My first recording was more of a proof of concept than a serious podcast, but it worked, and it was fun, and I said I'd do it again, and here it is - EdCompCast 2: ICT uses in the classroom.

Eric Postcard,
originally uploaded by Eric Rice.

We recorded loads of stuff and this is an edited version of the first bit of our chat. It is longer than my first Podcast (it's about seven and a half minutes) but I've compressed it this time, so it should be much smaller. As before, I used GarageBand to put it together and to create the wee musical interludes. I love GarageBand. It allows a musical numpty like me to create something that sounds at least half way tuneful. I was a bit more adventurous this time and split the recorded track up so that I could boost the volume of the students. (Either I was nearer the microphone or I talk too loud - take your pick.) I could have tidied it up a bit more, as you can still here the occasional mouse click and fluffed line, but I decided to put it out rather than continue to fiddle with it.

If you want to subscribe to these podcasts, there is a EdCompcast button further down this page, but I will include it here too for your convenience:

This podcast is closer to the kind of thing I think I'd like to do on a semi-regular basis. I have been pushing the idea of student blogs here at Jordanhill as a good way for students to reflect on their learning and teaching and I thought that this type of podcast would be a good way to do the same sort of thing. Therefore I grabbed a couple of students, Neil and Graham, and just talked to them about their school experience placement. I hope that by doing this, I not only help the two students involved in the podcast to reflect on their experiences, but I also have a record of what they said that may be of use to others. I am fairly sure that this was a good exercise to do and I hope that Neil and Graham at least will have learned something from the process. There's enough material recorded for at least one more podcast. Do you want to hear it too?

We started by chatting about a couple of the things they had been impressed with from their first school experience. The things we talked about on this part of the interview are Interactive Whiteboards, wireless mice and school networks.

I would have liked to listen to a couple of podcasts from other Teacher Education Institutions or teachers in training before creating this one, but I couldn't find any. I can't believe this is a world first, so I guess I was just looking in the wrong places.

Let me know what you think. Is the sound quality OK? Is it too long, too short or just right? Was this podcast helpful or interesting any way? Are the kind of things we are talking about the kind of things you want to hear? What other topics would you be interested in hearing the students talk about? And finally, do you know of any other Teacher Education related podcast?

Thanks for listening.

Tags: podcast | Jordanhill | teacher education | EdCompCast

P.S. Just to make it clear, the photo came from a Creative Commons search of Flickr. The chap in the picture seems to be called Eric Rice and doesn't look anything like me, Neil or Graham - I just liked the photo!