Podcast Info

A podcast is something that posts both audio and video through the internet for people to listen and view. The way podcasting works is through software programs named aggregators or podcatchers have to be downlowded to be make possible the listening or watching the podcast. Teachers can use podcasting in four ways and they are curriculum augmentation(by introducing new material, supporting current lessons, reviewing material), profesional development(conveniently lets teachers stay current on instructional technology skills or education issues), material presentation by both teachers and students whether they may be lectures or projects and so on, communication with community and parents by supplying the parents and community information on the on the events of their children's schools and for the parents, reports on their children's advancement in school. Podcasting has been used in one school to provide information and promote learning by posting educational videos using their students. Broward County Schools News 2 uses podcasts to show infromation to audiences involving the district, awards, titles and educational options available to students. I think that podcasting is a terrific tool for humanity and especially for educators, because it is efficient and convenient. Podcasting makes learning fun and easy because all you have to do is download a video or audio and listen to it or watch it at the place or setting that you are, at you comfort and convenience and also it is a good tool to post videos to or presenting information for school related issues, whether you are a teacher or a student, and surely it is a g reat bridge for communiocation between teachers and students, where teachers can help students ate their own pace. Most importantly, it helps teachers learn more on being better educators by using it to learn.

The url of my podcast of choice is http://www.digitalpodcast.com/. I chose this podcast firstly because of its digital status, since digital gives better visual and audio quality and non-digital. In addition, because it has vidoes/audio about all sorts of topics from comedy to news to fitness and so on and it is very organized. What I thought about it in general is that it is a very efficient tool for entertainment and education that people really are fortunate to have available in today's world, simply because of the multitudes of resorces offered and the conveniency for most people to receve them.

Alabama Virtual Library

The Alabama Virtual Library is an online format of a library limited to Alabama residents, which has multiple resources for people to use when they want to look up scholarly or credited infromation. It can help people from all levels, whether they be in elementary school, middle school, high school, college and the general public. Its resources range from journal articles to book passages to encyclopedia sources, like Britanica and others and so on. The finder can search for their information through search engines in each resource icon they click on and it will give them a list, if specified information is available of the related resource titles to choose. The searcher can also find information based on topics, whether Adult Education, Business, English, etc. Conclusively, the Alabama Virtual Library is a very resourceful source for researchers.

The Alabama Virtual Library can help me as an educator by giving me the vast access to all theses resources relating to what I am teaching, to help strengthen my knowledge, and hence the knowledge of my students. It can make me be able to let my students use the resources to search for information, whether it be for a paper or a test or just for the sake of knowledge, and therefore helping my students expand their minds and their researche skills. They and I can strengthen our research skills , by our constant use of it and by knowing which database to use and which resource to use for what information, which can surely make us better researchers and writers. My helping my students be the latter, that would make me a better educator. It also gives students home access to the library and therefore access to secondary sources, if some may have a hard time getting transportation. In addition it makes researching easier for them, than having to find books in libraries and fully read them for a tediuos purpose, making it a matter of convenience. Conclusively, all of the above shows that the Alabama Virtual Library is a very important resource for education, for reasons of education, research, convenience, etc.

Mr. Sullivan's Disabled Learning Presentation

I thought that the presentation was very informative and interesting. To me, it was very inspiring how someone like Mr. Sullivan is able to teach people to how to educate the disabled, when he himself is legally blind, by giving us the perspective of people in that situation. What I learned is that the disabled have legal rights in having online web access, among other rights of getting special help that they may need in the education system, that being thanks to many laws passed. I also learned that the disabled can help themselves, using special devices and Mr. Sullivan showed us this keybord for the blind that they use when they use the computer, and it seems to be very sophisticated and how it has all these special features like the rail and sensors, for the blind to be able to feel what is going on in the computer, which is why this device costs 6000 dollars according to Mr. Sullivan. In addition, he told us certain behaviors to look for in students to determine if they are disabled, whether they are short of hearing or seeing, etc. I think the information can help me be a better teacher by letting me be more aware of my disabled students in class by their behaviors, especially blind ones, but disabled in general also, and to help me to address their disablity and to apply/give them their legal rights and to know how to teach them to help themselves and be independent, like Mr. Sullivan .