Animoto video - Our Greek Adventure

Podcast - explanation

Week 6: explanation of podcast exercise

In preparation for developing my podcast, I listened to two podcasts, the first from my work, developed nationally, that served to discuss the use of social media and the value of PLN's in the work of Cooperative Extension.  The person interviewed, Anne Adrian, is a Social Media Strategist for the Miltary Families Network, using social media to reach professionals working with military families before, during and after deployment.  This group of Extension professionals is providing educational resources and support to other professionals and directly to military families through financial education, childcare provider education, caregiver education and other programs that address the many needs of these families. Anne Adrian discussed the challenges of getting Extension and other professionals to use social media and personal learning networks as tools to enhance our work.  The link is here: link.

The second was a podcast from NPR's Fresh Air, in which Michael Feinstein was interviewed about his book "The Gershwins and Me."  Feinstein worked for Ira Gershwin during the last 6 years of Gershwin's life as an archivist, among other assignments. He tells the stories behind some of the Gershwins' songs and talked in the interview about his personal favorite renditions, such as Peggy Lee singing "The Man I Love" in 1956, which NPR played during the interview.  It was a fascinating discussion that I would not have heard if it weren't a podcast.  The link below goes to a list of NPR Fresh Air Podcast links. The link to this interview is number 6 on the list.  The podcast takes a few seconds to load. 

A link to my podcast is below. I selected a topic that is an interest I have through my work, and one with which I have had some recent experience in a class I'm teaching. I also think this is a podcast I would be able to use in my work.  


I found the experience somewhat frustrating to do. I tried to use Audioboo, but it would not load for a new recording (I'm using a Mac?). After 3 tries I switched to GarageBand on my Mac, used that to record (quite easily), convert to an MP3 file, import to iTunes, drag and drop to my desktop (all as instructed in the tutorials I watched) and then was unable to figure out how to upload to Blogger.  So, at that point, I switched back to Audioboo, and very easily uploaded the existing MP3 file made in GarageBand to Audioboo, and with some false starts, was able to embed the podcast into my blog (after watching Kim's helpful Jing lesson).  The first time I did it I realized it was too long (3.5 minutes), and Audioboo cut me off after 3 minutes. I cut and re-recorded, and what had originally taken a couple of hours to research and figure out, took me 10-15 minutes the second time. Hurrah!  

I would definitely use a podcast again, and see it as a great tool for my work.  A podcast could be posted as an additional resource on our website to explain or enhance printed fact sheets.  I think the shorter time (2-3 minutes) rather than the 30 minute podcast I listened to, makes the format more flexible for learners and easier to use. The interview/dialogue format of the two I listened to in preparation was easier to listen to than the format I used, in which there was only me, reading a script.  I also think the NPR podcast use of music also successfully added more variety, which made it better.

Podcast - Listen

listen to ‘Cutting Food Costs’ on Audioboo

Podcast Script: Cutting Food Costs

One of the discussions I frequently have in my financial education classes with adults is how to save money on food shopping. If someone is having trouble managing a budget, finding ways to cut the cost of food is important.

During the past week I’ve had several conversations with people struggling with finances; in all cases the cost of food came up.  One gentleman was an older man who lived alone and couldn’t quite make his fixed income stretch to cover his spending. In another case a young mother with three boys talked about the amount of food she throws away.  She cooks too much for meals, and no one in her family eats leftovers.  

When the topic of saving money on food came up in class, we had a discussion. What are some tips we can share to cut food costs?  Here are some tips we came up with:

First, plan meals in advance, making a menu for at least a week. When you plan, make sure to include healthy foods, easy-to-make recipes, and leftovers. If all adults in the household work or are in school, planning ahead makes mealtimes less hectic. You know what’s available, and you can prepare a meal faster. Less stress and fewer grumpy hungry people in the house are added benefits.  Planning ahead also allows you to avoid using convenience foods and instead prepare foods with less expensive ingredients.  Planning ahead can also help avoid eating out as often.

When planning meals, consider using fruits, vegetables, whole grains and less meat.  Foods such as lentils, nuts, and beans can be less expensive than meat, while providing many of the same nutrients.

I want to put in a pitch for using leftovers. I’m surprised how many people tell me they won’t eat leftovers.  I live for leftovers. I love coming home from work and realizing (after consulting my meal plan, of course), that I have a meal already prepared. I can also freeze leftovers and use them on another day.

Use your meal plan or menu to make a grocery list and take it shopping.  Use store flyers to determine the best prices on products you need.

Don’t shop when hungry. Everything can look good if you’re hungry, possibly increasing your grocery bill.

Use coupons on brands and products you would buy and use anyway. 

Compare prices on brands by using the unit price shelf tags. 

Try store brands, which are often produced by the same companies as the brand names. 

These are just some of the tips my class provided. What are some ideas you use to cut food costs?

Midterm reflection

Week 5: Midterm reflection

There are four objectives I have met or touched upon for the course.

1.     Become familiar with current technology issues, trends and technology use within the K- 12 environment. Discuss how technology use impacts student learning outcomes.

I have definitely become more aware of technology issues in the context of the K-12 environment. I have also become more familiar with the technology issues in the higher education environment and in the “learning environment” in general. In my work as a community-based educator I’ve become even more aware of opportunities to use technology, partially from the class and partly as result of seeking out other learning opportunities relative to using technology for teaching and learning.

In terms of the impact of technology on student learning outcomes, there is a great deal of discussion online about evaluating the use of social media and other technology in learning. One such discussion is posed by Jeff Merrell of Northwestern University in his blog Learning Change Design.  I believe that discussion will be ongoing.  The discussion is not only important in the context of K-12 education, but also important in my work with adults who participate in educational opportunities for many reasons and for whom learning outcomes may be more difficult to define and measure than for K-12 learners. 

2.     Establish a core personal learning network of technology leaders to follow. Utilize this new network of educators as personal professional development.

Over time I’ve developed a personal learning network of technology leaders in education. I’ve been following them on Twitter and Google+ and via RSS feeds. Some are Extension colleagues from around the country, who are specifically working in the area of promoting the use of technology within education for Extension on a national level. These include Steve Judd on Twitter, @sjudd,  and eXtension Network Literacy on Google +.  In addition, several have blogs, including Anne’s Spot, a blog by Dr. Anne Adrian from Auburn University.  Anne recently blogged about using social media in higher education as an education tool.  I interact with this part of my PLN by posting on my Google+ and Twitter accounts, or responding to other posts.  As part of my PLN contribution, I forward their posts to those who follow me on Twitter and Google+.

Other PLN “members” are online magazines, such as Learning Solutions Magazine.   I have been following some of my PLN members since before taking this class; others are blogs and online resources I have discovered as part of the work for this course. One example includes Mission to Learn, a blog by Jeff Cobb.   I have also recently added Diigo to my toolbox of resources for my own professional development.

3.     Use knowledge of digital tools and technology applications to facilitate experiences that advance learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

While I have used social media for educational purposes on a fairly narrow basis, I have started looking for opportunities to expand my use of social media to advance learning. One idea I have is to create a social media campaign as a type of lesson plan to educate learners on a specific learning topic with specific educational objectives. I would use social media to reach a larger audience than would attend an in-person class, and direct adult learners to access educational resources and materials online through blogs, videos, webinars and other online programs. 

As a result of this class and other learning opportunities, I have also more fully embraced the concept of curation, helped to form and use a Community of Practice on adult learning and technology with colleagues, and developed my blog for this class.

4.     Evaluate, adapt, and reflect on emerging tools and trends by participating in local and global learning communities and by reviewing current research and professional literature.

My work on this objective is similar to that discussed in the personal learning network objective discussed above.  Two of my sources for current research and professional literature are Shelley Wright, a teacher, and Jane Bozarth, an expert on eLearning. Shelley Wright recently wrote a blog post called “The Flip: End of a Love Affair," a commentary that demonstrates an evolution of thinking on emerging tools and trends.  Jane Bozarth shared a recent post at Learning Solutions Magazine on storyboarding, a discussion of an emerging tool. 

What is the tool and what is the project?

Week 5: is it the technology that drives the project or the project that drives the technology? 
 

In his article “It’s not About the Tool: Why Online Student Collaboration Should Focus on State Standards,” Sean Capelle cites Richardson and writes, “These tools, when implemented in classrooms, will prepare students for comprehending new literacy mediums and new challenges that the future holds.” Capelle adds, “However, while blogs and wikis are avenues for collaboration, it is important to note that for educational purposes they are nothing on their own.” So, while Capelle seems to embrace Richardson’s thoughts, he also provides a caveat. In other words, using wikis and blogs (and presumably other technology tools) is not the end goal.

I agree with Capelle that technology tools are nothing on their own; therefore technology cannot fully drive the project.  However, it may be too simplistic to decide that the project should drive the technology. The project should be, to some extent, about learning the technology. We should be past the point of seeing technology as separate from other teaching and learning considerations.  As we’ve discussed in past weeks, and as NH ICT Literacy Standards and NETS standards dictate, media literacy has to be part of the education plan.  So, to the degree that media literacy is a desirable and mandated goal, projects must be designed to incorporate using and mastering technology tools and the participation that comes from effectively using technology.  In other words, there is more to the technology than the tool itself. It opens new opportunities, not just for learning, but for fully participating in that learning and the culture beyond it.  Effectively using technology forces us to teach and learn in different ways. Thus, projects must be designed to promote media literacy.  If we fully reject the notion that it’s “the technology that drives the project,” it may well become an excuse not to develop projects that incorporate technology tools.  Tools have to be used in order to further the goal of media literacy.

Project New Media Literacies says, “Frequently, computers are used as an appendage to a physical library or as a word processing tool. These are good uses for computers, but they don’t really teach students about the participatory culture that exists online – the participatory culture that they will be expected to take part in as adults. In fact, many students are already engaging with participatory culture, and they’re bored by uses of computers that don’t incorporate it!”

Using technology forces a change in the way teachers teach and learners learn. It can force a change in the classroom culture.  It provides new opportunities. Because of the benefits technology offers, projects and technology tools can’t be viewed as separate considerations. The appropriate technology tool must be determined by the project; we can’t focus on the tool just for the sake of using the tool. But using technology and all that implies (collaboration, participation, mastery of and comfort with using a broad range of tools), must be viewed as an integral part of projects and learning.