Sometimes the better tact is “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

That’s what University of Washington-Bothell professor Martha Groom discovered when she came up with a unique way of tapping into the colossal online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Now one of a few teachers embracing this mammoth, web-based resource, professor Groom now requires her environmentat history students to either write an original Wikipedia article or do a major edit to an existing one, instead of turning in the usual big term paper at the end of the semester. Read the rest of this entry »

This is the first in the series of ten (10) video tutorials created by Dave Brown of Adelaide, Australia. The series is really all you need to know about creating podcasts using a Mac and GarageBand version 3.0 and newer. You’ll meet Dave and get to know his great Australian wit, his ducks and parrot. The first video talks about iWeb and how your podcasts will display on iWeb. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s easy podcasting on a PC, but it’s a cinch using Mac’s GarageBand, Version 3+. Apple has made it ridiculously easy to record voice; add chapters, image, web links (or a video for a vodcast) for an enhanced podcast; and lay down background music with a great feature called “ducking” which automatically lowers the background music volume when the predominant voice audio is featured.

Now before you get started, make sure your microphone is connected to the microphone-in connection on your computer (or, alternatively, an internal microphone). A set of headphones is also a good idea. Connect them to the headphone jack of your Mac so that you’ll be able to hear the audio as it will sound in your finished podcast. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a lot of buzz today about podcasting and the value it brings to education. But what exactly is podcasting and what is its relevance in today’s classrooms?

Podcasting is an easy way to broadcast multimedia content online to a dispersed group of people, who are then able to listen whenever and wherever they choose using a variety of easily-accessible platforms. Podcasts can be downloaded automatically as soon as they are available and listened to using a variety of devices, including computers, MP3 players, PDAs, and even cell phones. What’s more, podcasts can be produced and broadcast inexpensively, and, as a result, have made this media channel accessible to the broadcasting masses. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you tired of the same old boring book reports or book reviews? Sure, educators try to make them more exciting with posters, diaramas, or other creative alternatives to the hand- or type-written version, but they’re still not very exciting. Why not try what these students did as an option to the regular ‘ol book report? Read the rest of this entry »