I am a lousy blogger indeed! I told my students I'd be posting to this thing every week of class. So, that means I should have almost 9 postings by this time. And I have maybe 4. Oh well, I'm here, right? I believe this is my 5th posting. I will do better.
So, what's going on with me? Since this blog is supposed to be about the instructor reflecting on behind-the-scenes kinds of things, I will remember to focus on those things, rather than tell you about the acorn that was lodged in Baby Jack's nostril a few weeks ago, or the pink spots that showed up on Caleb's white showchoir dress-shirt this week (he's learning how to do his own laundry--we've all gotten reddish pink stains on white shirts, eh?). No, I will focus on instructional things.
Well, I am still grading students podcasts. Luckily, my students have been giving me really worthwhile things to listen to. I am really impressed. I am always both proud and (admittedly) a tad bit jealous when I realize my students have surpassed me in terms of their technological abilities. But, alas, so it goes with technology teaching. I think that the next time around, I am going to narrow the assignment guidelines for the podcasting. This time around, I allowed students to podcast about whatever they wanted. And, I still believe that allowing student choice is important for this assignment. However, I will be asking that they be a little more involved in the planning of their podcasts. For example, simply reading a book won't make the cut next time. They will still be able to read a book, but I would like to see more reflection or discussion or some other audience-centered techniques to pull in the listener.
Also, next time we podcast, I must include a how-to-publish piece. It's fine to learn to podcast, but a large part of what makes this medium special is how do we share this with the world? I am going to belatedly provide this to my students this semester, but next time around, it will be an official part of the up-front podcast presentation.
I have just launched the Group Wiki Project, and while some groups have hit the ground running with it, I suspect that others are stalled out. Perhaps they don't know what to do. In the next several days, I will be pestering them into action, if needed. I look forward to hearing about the students' experiences with this project so I can determine its overall merit for future classes.
Well, I must get back to my grading. And once I've completed the podcasts, I will allow myself a small repast before moving along to the Website Evaluation assignment. (Then on to the Blogging Report and so on....)
Oh, and I am excited because I have decided that I think I will design a webquest that teaches my students the expectations for the big, culminating Lesson Plan Unit. Oh, they'll be so pleased!
