The Journey » Webcasting http://explorations.bloxi.jp On Learning and Teaching Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:54:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8-beta1-11380 en hourly 1 © carlaarena@gmail.com () carlaarena@gmail.com() On Learning and Teaching carlaarena@gmail.com No no http://explorations.bloxi.jp/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg The Journey http://explorations.bloxi.jp 144 144 Edtechtalk http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/edtechtalk/ http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/edtechtalk/#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:47:13 +0000 carlaarena 1460228547 edtechtalk are always around new stuff, I decided to click on the link Jeff suggested to test mebeam. Bang! I was there with him, John Schinker, Dave Cormier and Jen Madrell. What a great pleasure to see all those little video thumbnails. I laughed to myself because I had no idea they would all be there. It’s just like getting in the wrong room when people are into interesting conversations and you interrupt them…Well, Jeff has this very fast-thinking (forward-thinking, too!) reactions and asked if I wanted to join them. I asked when and he said it was in 10 minutes. There I was busted and glued in the room of those edtechtalkies who know how to run a show! It was great. Except that I don’t know if Dave liked the fact that I pushed him into some discussion related to his teaching approaches and mine, as well, based on his rhizomatic view of learning. Interesting discussion with a taste that I want to go futher on the discussion…or, at least, go deeper into the topic.

]]> http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/edtechtalk/feed/ 3 I’ve Been Traveling the World http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/ive-been-traveling-the-world/ http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/ive-been-traveling-the-world/#comments Fri, 30 May 2008 13:38:19 +0000 carlaarena http://explorations.bloxi.jp/?p=111 Just by being online, I can be everywhere. However, for the past two days, I’ve been to very specific destinations. First stop was Hanoi with Jeff Lebow’s vietnamese students. I could feel their excitement. They had very little experience with computers, and Jeff has led them to discover a whole new sphere of teaching and learning through blogging, bookmarking, podcasting, oovooing… Jeff has, like always, been fearless. It’s such a huge endeavor to teach at a distance teachers with low-tech skills and low connectivity. However, excitement and motivation surpass the technical difficulties. I still remember the goose bumps I had in my first voice chat, and now those Vietnamese were there bravely oovooing, skyping and laughing. What a joyous group! We planned to talk about blogging, education, EFL. We did a little, but, in fact, the teachers wanted to share about their personal lives and wanted to know more about Brazil, my life, Brazilians. Human touch in action orchestrated by Jeff’s flawless streaming skills and empathy.
Next stop: Adelaide. Yesterday morning (for me!), Cris Costa, me and guests had a wonderful chatcast with Mike Coghlan about Australia, the Australian way of life, Adelaide, food, aboriginal people, kibbutz in Israel…Mike is simply a fantastic storyteller with sharp thinking with a critical view of the word. Lots of cultural information and awareness. But we went beyond as many of the topics gave a lot of food for thought and further reflections.
The first “People and Places” podcast is at http://peopleandplaces.bloxi.jp/a/australia/#comments
Meanwhille, we will keep exploring the world at a close distance and we’ve already started preparing for our next landing in JAPANESE lands.
Nothing can keep us from traveling the world these days with exciting cultural discoveries. The world is full of hidden treasures awaiting to surface.]]> http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/ive-been-traveling-the-world/feed/ 1 EarthCast 08 Update – A Wonderful Journey to Antarctica http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/earthcast-08-update-a-wonderful-journey-to-antarctica/ http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/earthcast-08-update-a-wonderful-journey-to-antarctica/#comments Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:23:19 +0000 carlaarena http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/earthcast-08-update-a-wonderful-journey-to-antarctica/ earthcastApril 22nd, 2008. Earth Day, though Earth Day should be every day! Well, we need some reminders, an awakening for the importance of doing something about our surroundings.
As I listened to the EarthCast08 promoted by Worldbridges, I realized that it was a great and meaningful way to practice your listening skills, so I recorded and divided the listening into parts.
Here are students of Rye Jr. Middle School saying what they do to help our planet. http://elearningctj.bloxi.jp/a/earth-day-2008/
Robin Ellwood gave a very interesting and passionate account of her Antarctica explorations. Middle school students asked her questions and she talked about her fascinating experience on the waters of Antarctica.
To know more about Robin Ellwood’s trips to Antarctica with Peter Doran’s research team from the University of Illinois, access http://ryejrhigh.org/ellwood/
Part 1 highlights: Listen to it at http://www.webcastacademy.net/node/2018
* Robin Ellwood’s introduction * Being part of Peter Doran’s research team from University of Illinois * Research on the lake environment in Antarctica * Ice-covered lakes * New task this year besides the regular ones * Launch of automatic submersible * Automatic collected samples.

Part 2 highlights: Listen to it at http://www.webcastacademy.net/node/2017
* Difference between lake ice x ocean ice * Robin talks about the dramatic differences

Part 3 highlights: Listen to it at http://www.webcastacademy.net/node/2015
* Robin Ellwood talks about the weather in Antarctica * Dramatic weather changes * Changes due to climatic change or seasonal variability? * Field season because of “the mote”

Part 4 highlights: Listen to it at http://www.webcastacademy.net/node/2014
* Temperature x oxygen need in diving * swimming x stationary collecting of samples * rate of oxygen consumption of a diver
Part 5 highlights: Listen to it at http://www.webcastacademy.net/node/2011
* How many times in Antarctica * First season – non-diving
Part 6 highlights: Listen to it at http://www.webcastacademy.net/node/2010
* Question about favorite thing in Antarctica * Scuba diving with a waddle seal * pleasure diving in “the wall”, glacial wall * sea life in the wall * what it’s like under the water * diving in the lake x diving in the ocean * different patterns of algae * sea life in the ocean
Part 7 highlight: Listen to it at http://www.webcastacademy.net/node/2009
* Robin Ellwood encouraging others to join programs like the one she’s part of.

Happy Earth Day from idyllic Key West, but certainly with some conservation issues!
Check. Learn. Act.]]> http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/earthcast-08-update-a-wonderful-journey-to-antarctica/feed/ 5 Reading Treasures in the Language Classroom Show http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-language-classroom-show/ http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-language-classroom-show/#comments Tue, 21 Aug 2007 19:33:37 +0000 carlaarena http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-language-classroom-show/

We planned, tried to predict, prepared ourselves for the first announced show. We had already had many informal ones, but it was time to go for the real one. We decided for the topic and there we were with no Skype. What seemed to be doomed to failure became a nice, lively talk full of interaction and rich of resources to share. The Skype glitch worked in our favor, at last. First, Illya brilliantly conducted the show in Sandbox B just talking to herself and interacting with Chrissy and Jose in the chat area. I was still trying a way out and had to reboot my machine at least three times.

Skype crashed my whole lessonplan! OK. The B plan in action! Not that we had one…We predicted many of the issues that might arise in a live show, but we were not counting on not having Skype. Well, Alado! Oh, yes. It was user-friendly, had voice, we could share the links. If there were nobody there, that’s where we were heading to. Illya was still there holding the stream in B. Alado was available. The group migrated to the platform and we had the most wonderful cooperative, shared live experience ever! There was so much to talk about in terms of reading, ideas popped up as each one of us shared our hidden treasures. Jose was also there giving his contributions and listening to us. We talked for a whole hour and still there was so much to be said. Certainly, other encounters will come and the synch of the group is already perpetuated in this podcast full of richness and treasures. Again, it takes a team to find workable solutions in totally unpredictable venues.

We hope you all enjoy the listening as much as we enjoyed producing and carrying out the show!

We’d also love to have one contribution of yours here. So, let us know what your hidden reading treasure is.

 Soon, we’ll have all the resources mentioned during the podcast available here.

Enjoy!

Carla, Illya, Erika, Dennis Oliver and Dennis Newson

 Reading Treasures Mentioned during the Show

 

To collect names of books you’ve read, including the ratings you give them, with discussion option

A place to share your bookshelf with friends, see what they’re reading, write your notes, be part of reading groups. 

blog where a class writes a guided reader together- so good that the author joined in (it’s also a very good book!)


Folktales in Spanish


More folktales and fairytales from all over the world


More short folktales, stories and poems from all over the world


Digital Storytelling Competion project for 10-12 year olds


A lot of American folklore and folktales from all over the world, including links to other sites


Audiostories in MP3 format


More audiostories, including the tapescript


A collection of stories for children learning English, and articles on how to use stories in the classroom


Podcast from Stephen Krashen on encouraging children to read


The scrapbook projec between Brazilian and Argentinian Teenagers 


Photoshow of Brazilian/Argentinian scrapbook project


Online books and e-books


Links to newspapers from all over the world


Links to magazines from all over the world


A tool to make online books and the possibility to get them printed afterwards; Site suggested by Ramona, a Portuguese teacher

An example of an online book.
Jing – Screencasting + Mixbook

The Pit and the Pendulum – Edgar Allan Poe and Blogging

Students podcast about the "Brazilian Wonders" after having read tourist brochures and worked on adjective building. 

 

Chat Transcript

Welcome
Erika Cruvinel : I can hear you Carla.
Erika Cruvinel : And I hear Illya at the same time.
CarlaA : great, erika!
CarlaA : oh. close your stream
CarlaA : probably the real player
Illya : yes I can
Illya : do I need to close thestream?
CarlaA : yes.
CarlaA : where’s Dennis N.?
Dennis-Phoenix : Ican hear fine.
Illya : CArla, can you say something?
Erika Cruvinel : I can hear you Carla.
JoseR : I guess login means login hahaha
Dennis-Phoenix : I’ll stay in the WB chatroom until everyone has migrated here.
JoseR : sound is good
JoseR : hi
JoseR : sure
Dennis-Phoenix : I can hear you fine, Illya.
CarlaA : your turn jose
Erika Cruvinel : I think everybody who was in Worldbridges is here now.
Erika Cruvinel : I can’t hear Jose.
JoseR : let me try again
Erika Cruvinel : Jose is your mic mute?
Erika Cruvinel : no sound
Erika Cruvinel : maybe it is the mic icon at alado, under the chat
Illya : :-D
Illya : totally disconnected
Illya : you too!!
Illya : LOL
JoseR : Reading is the window to the world
Illya : http://www.librarything.com/
Dennis-Phoenix : I sent Dennis Newson e-mail.
JoseR : thanks Dennis to Dennis, cool
Dennis-Phoenix :
JoseR : I saw link, New to me
Erika Cruvinel : I didn’t know about it.
Erika Cruvinel : New for me too.
Erika Cruvinel : There was one like this suggested by Nina.
Illya : http://weblogs.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/bees/
CarlaA : can u see the page?
Erika Cruvinel : yes
Erika Cruvinel : I’m shy!
Illya : go ahead carla
JoseR : Susan and Sharon posted a webcast on books for educators; http://webcastacademy.net/node/1217
Dennis-Phoenix : Dennis Newson thought the show would be re-scheduled for later. He’s momentarily stepped out.
CarlaA : yes
Erika Cruvinel : Yes!
Illya : yes!
JoseR : sound good
CarlaA : extensive reading
CarlaA : share them with us
JoseR : say them
JoseR : folktales in Spanish are leyendas
Erika Cruvinel : Folktales tell a lot about a country’s culture.
Illya : Hi Dennis glad you found us :-)
CarlaA : hi, denos
Illya : Denos
JoseR : http://mexico.udg.mx/historia/leyendas in Spanish
Denos : Thanks to my namesak. Thanks Dennis
Denos : No sound for me.
Illya : Thank you, Dennis
Dennis-Phoenix : Dennis-Denos! I’m glad you’re here!
Dennis-Phoenix : Good points, Carlinha.
Illya : also enact them
JoseR : use of digital stories with programs like kidpix
Denos : It says audio muted
Illya : illustrate them
Dennis-Phoenix : http://www.darsie.net/talesofwonder/
Illya : make a picture book
Dennis-Phoenix : http://www.pitara.com/Talespin/folktales…
JoseR : Chris Craft has a project uniting 10-12 year olds in competition. http://chriscraft.pbwiki.com/
JoseR : they are using photostory 3 or iphoto
Dennis-Phoenix : http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/si…
JoseR : kids are describing their home life.
JoseR : Ok back on topick
JoseR : topic, sorry
Denos : Pst…. Can you hear heach other?
Dennis-Phoenix : I remember this group of blogposts,Carlina.
Dennis-Phoenix : I can hear.
Erika Cruvinel : Yes, we can.
Illya : great idea to read at the end.
JoseR : Edgar Allen Poe?
Illya : Did they read out loud?
Dennis-Phoenix : At the bottom of the screen is a sound speaker icon. Do you see it or does it have a red line through it?
Denos : I shall leave and come back.
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, Poe, Jose.
JoseR : that’s pretty advanced
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, that might be better, Dennis.
Illya : wow :-D
Illya : Poe at pre-intermediate
Dennis-Phoenix : He’ll come back, Carlinha.
JoseR : I am teaching preintermediate right now. Perhaps they can access with scaffolding of language
CarlaA : yes
JoseR : yes
Illya : yes!
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, Erika.
Dennis-Phoenix : Great topic, Erikinha.
Denos : Can hear you, now.
Dennis-Phoenix : Wonderful, Dennis!
JoseR : As a grammar teacher I focus on a longer story as a teacher read aloud.
JoseR : I’ll read story 20min a day over a month or so, to get students excited about stories
Dennis-Phoenix : Great idea, Erikinha!
JoseR : I saw website it was good.
Dennis-Phoenix : Also a great idea, Jose.
Illya : I love this idea of having them write their own
Erika Cruvinel : They love it!
CarlaA : yes
Dennis-Phoenix : I also like that idea, Illya.
Illya : yes
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, Jose.
Dennis-Phoenix : I like the idea of book-discussion podcasts.
Dennis-Phoenix : And I also agree that it’s important to focus on literature for enjoyment.
Erika Cruvinel : http://www.candlelightstories.com/sounds…
Illya : we hearyou
Erika Cruvinel : I like this blog too with fairy tales
JoseR : We also have for students that are older; Literature Circles.
Illya : Denos?
CarlaA : denos?
Dennis-Phoenix : Looks great, Erikinha! I’ll make a point of checking it out.
CarlaA : go on!
Illya : I can’t hear you
Erika Cruvinel : No sound
JoseR : Where they focus on a book and come together weekly to discuss
Illya : I heard you for a second there
Erika Cruvinel : yes
Illya : yes
JoseR : yes
CarlaA : yes
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, Dennis.
Erika Cruvinel : click on the mic just once
Illya : you need to keep the button on the microphone red
CarlaA : ‘great
Dennis-Phoenix : Definitely, OK, Dennis!
Erika Cruvinel : Great now!
JoseR : I am excited about using literature with adults. I have focused so much on language mechanics and not on literature
Illya : can’t hear it
CarlaA : i can hear him
Dennis-Phoenix : Hear, hear, Jose. "Too much analysis kills the taste."
Illya : teh echo
Dennis-Phoenix : I can hear fine–and with no echo.
JoseR : Understanding text goes beyond preditermined strategies.
Dennis-Phoenix : "It kills off the joy of what this writing is all about": exactly, Dennis.
Dennis-Phoenix : I agree, Jose.
JoseR : Readers response in a free journal and commenting on class blog
Dennis-Phoenix : Excellent ideas.
Dennis-Phoenix : I used to ask my students to keep reading logs (which were basically the same idea).
CarlaA : great. noisy here. can somebody pick it up
Erika Cruvinel : Loved to hear you!
Dennis-Phoenix : Great points, Dennis.
JoseR : My wife is taking reading classes at the local college in EFL department and I do see a lot of these strategies being used
CarlaA : oh, this is nice!
Dennis-Phoenix : Andrew Wright: important name!
Illya : excellent books to use in the classroom
Illya : especially for efl
Illya : everyone needs a log ;-)
JoseR : sorry folks, I have a late lunch engagment. I’ll have to leave you soon. Great talk. available in webcast academy right?
CarlaA : yes. I’ll publish it later
Dennis-Phoenix : I have to leave for about five minutes . . . but I’ll be back. I also have more links.
Illya : Bye Jose
CarlaA : thanks for being here, jose
Illya : thanks for stopping in
JoseR : thanks for bringing us together, once again. bye
CarlaA : dennis, send me the links to add to the resources
CarlaA : http://andrewarticlesandstories.wordpres…
Illya : Carla just posted it
Illya : http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2006/09…
Illya : this is where the podcast is
Erika Cruvinel : I loved you mixbook invitation!
Erika Cruvinel : Is it free?
Erika Cruvinel : Great!
Erika Cruvinel : Can you imagine the million things we can do with that?
Erika Cruvinel : A class book!
Illya : what a lovely idea
Erika Cruvinel : A book about the students’ country to share with other country.
Erika Cruvinel : I was typing that!
Erika Cruvinel : recipes!!!
Illya : connecting classes through a book
Erika Cruvinel : places to visit…
Illya : or connecting many classes across the world
Erika Cruvinel : The fact that you can print it is really exciting. I still love printed stuff!
Illya : The hardcopy is then a real treasure!
Erika Cruvinel : http://www.thomas.org.br/activities/slid…
Erika Cruvinel : that is the brazilian scrapbook on paper.
Erika Cruvinel : yes, you can browse
Erika Cruvinel : http://www.flickr.com/photos/claudiab/
Erika Cruvinel : Carla can you push that link?
Erika Cruvinel : we are very similar!
Erika Cruvinel : yes, it was World Cup
Dennis-Phoenix : I’m back. Sorry that I had to leave.
Erika Cruvinel : that is integrating skills, reading, speaking, writing and listening
Dennis-Phoenix : Integration of skills: very important. (It’s amazing how many people follow a discrete-skills approach.)
Dennis-Phoenix : "Something that you really enjoy": very important.
CarlaA : yes
Illya : yes
Erika Cruvinel : I have screen shots of our chat in worldbridges and at Alado
Erika Cruvinel : sure
CarlaA : great erika!
CarlaA : i’m glad you remembered!!!
Illya : Wonderful!
Erika Cruvinel : that’s why you know everything about evrywhere…
Dennis-Phoenix : http://www.bartleby.com
Dennis-Phoenix : http://newslink.org/news.html
Dennis-Phoenix : http://newslink.org/mag.html
Erika Cruvinel : I need to look at all these links carefully!
Illya :
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, indeed, Illya. Good job!
Illya :
Illya :
Erika Cruvinel : poor Illya! I would not have survived!
Illya :
Dennis-Phoenix : And Carlinha, great job of multitasking!
Dennis-Phoenix : Me, either, Erikinha!
Illya : With quite a bit of editing at the beginning!
Erika Cruvinel : She drinks a lot of coffee!
Illya :
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, please thank Andy Pincon for his generosity!
Erika Cruvinel :
Dennis-Phoenix : Ditto for Jeff Lebow!
Illya : Yes, thank you webcast folks for all the background support!!!
Dennis-Phoenix : And she probably has a lot of chocolate, too (brigadeiros, casadeiros, . . . .)
Illya : You are so amazing Erika!!
Dennis-Phoenix : Do you have six arms, Erikinha?
CarlaA : hahahah!
Illya : Ah Coffee!
CarlaA : Brazilian coffee
Dennis-Phoenix : Abracos, Erikinha!
Erika Cruvinel : Brazilian Coffee!
Erika Cruvinel : Abraços!
CarlaA : abraços
Erika Cruvinel : yes
CarlaA : yeahhhh
Dennis-Phoenix : I can’t type the c with a cedilla on this computer, unfortunately.
CarlaA : we did it!
Dennis-Phoenix : Yay, team!
Illya : clap clap clap

Dennis-Phoenix :
Erika Cruvinel :
Dennis-Phoenix : clap clap clap clap clap
CarlaA : does anybody want to say anything?
Dennis-Phoenix :
Denos :
Erika Cruvinel :
Illya : so, let’s go out for a coffee together now ;-)
CarlaA : yeah, illya!
Denos :
Denos :
CarlaA : so true, dennis
Denos :
Erika Cruvinel : Kisses (in Brazil everybody kisses!)
Illya : biejos
Erika Cruvinel : Let’s think about poetry!
CarlaA : all of us!!!
CarlaA : thanks guys for being here with us!
Erika Cruvinel : you are great and sweet!
CarlaA : it was great!
Dennis-Phoenix : Erikinha: You, too!
Illya : next time will be even better!
Dennis-Phoenix : I’m sure of that, Illya!
CarlaA : I’m glad we could connect even without skype!!!
Dennis-Phoenix : Me, too.
CarlaA : bye, guys. will post the material soon.
CarlaA : yes
Dennis-Phoenix : This all pulled together in true Webheads fashion: when plans go awry, try something else!
Dennis-Phoenix : Dennis-Denos, I forgot to give kudos to you. You’re an amazing resource–and a terrific person as well.
CarlaA : great!
Denos : Well, thanks, Dennis-P. I felt pretty uselewss, though, when Skype did not work. I’m such a novice in these areas.

]]> http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-language-classroom-show/feed/ 1 57:11 We planned, tried to predict, prepared ourselves for the first announced show. We had already had many informal ones, but it was time to go ... We planned, tried to predict, prepared ourselves for the first announced show. We had already had many informal ones, but it was time to go for the real one. We decided for the topic and there we were with no Skype. What seemed to be doomed to failure became a nice, lively talk full of interaction and rich of resources to share. The Skype glitch worked in our favor, at last. First, Illya brilliantly conducted the show in Sandbox B just talking to herself and interacting with Chrissy and Jose in the chat area. I was still trying a way out and had to reboot my machine at least three times. Skype crashed my whole lessonplan! OK. The B plan in action! Not that we had one...We predicted many of the issues that might arise in a live show, but we were not counting on not having Skype. Well, Alado! Oh, yes. It was user-friendly, had voice, we could share the links. If there were nobody there, that's where we were heading to. Illya was still there holding the stream in B. Alado was available. The group migrated to the platform and we had the most wonderful cooperative, shared live experience ever! There was so much to talk about in terms of reading, ideas popped up as each one of us shared our hidden treasures. Jose was also there giving his contributions and listening to us. We talked for a whole hour and still there was so much to be said. Certainly, other encounters will come and the synch of the group is already perpetuated in this podcast full of richness and treasures. Again, it takes a team to find workable solutions in totally unpredictable venues. We hope you all enjoy the listening as much as we enjoyed producing and carrying out the show!We'd also love to have one contribution of yours here. So, let us know what your hidden reading treasure is.#160;Soon, we'll have all the resources mentioned during the podcast available here.Enjoy!Carla, Illya, Erika, Dennis Oliver and Dennis Newson#160;Reading Treasures Mentioned during the Show#160;http://www.librarything.com/ To collect names of books yoursquo;ve read, including the ratings you give them, with discussion option http://www.shelfari.comA place to share your bookshelf with friends, see what they're reading, write your notes, be part of reading groups.#160; http://weblogs.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/bees/ blog where a class writes a guided reader together- so good that the author joined in (itrsquo;s also a very good book!) http://mexico.udg.mx/historia/leyendas Folktales in Spanish http://www.darsie.net/talesofwonder/ More folktales and fairytales from all over the world http://www.pitara.com/Talespin/folktales.asp More short folktales, stories and poems from all over the world http://chriscraft.pbwiki.com/ Digital Storytelling Competion project for 10-12 year olds http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/sites/sites062.shtml A lot of American folklore and folktales from all over the world, including links to other sites http://www.candlelightstories.com/soundstoryblog/SoundStoryBlog.htm Audiostories in MP3 format http://storynory.com/ More audiostories, including the tapescript http://andrewarticlesandstories.wordpress.com/ A collection of stories for children learning English, and articles on how to use stories in the classroom http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2006/09/02/podcast80-encouraging-reading-by-stephen-krashen/ Podcast from Stephen Krashen on encouraging children to read http://www.thomas.org.br/activities/slide_show_scrap_arquivos/frame.htmThe scrapbook projec between Brazilian and Argentinian Teenagers#160; http://www.flickr.com/photos/claudiab/ Photoshow of Brazilian/Argentinian scrapbook project http://www.bartleby.com Online books and e-books http://newslink.org/news.html Links to newspapers from all over the world http://newslink.org/mag.html Links to magazines from all over the world http://mixbook.com/ A tool to make online books and the possibility to get them printed afterwards; Site... CarlaArena,,EFL,,ErikaCruvinel,,Learning,,Podcast,,Teachers4TELL,,Teaching,,Webcastacademy,,Webcasters-to-Be,,Webcasting,,Webheadsinaction,,edtech,,edtechtalk,,reading carlaarena@gmail.com no No Reading Treasures – Getting Ready for the Show http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-classroom-getting-ready-for-the-show/ http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-classroom-getting-ready-for-the-show/#comments Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:47:06 +0000 carlaarena http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-classroom-getting-ready-for-the-show/ Webcasting is about letting it flow, letting it take you to unexpected places, voices and encounters. However, the backstage is about planning, preparation. It seems paradoxical, but, in fact, it isn’t. To let the voices around you feel at ease, the group of webcasters must have an idea on where they [...]]]>

Webcasting is about letting it flow, letting it take you to unexpected places, voices and encounters. However, the backstage is about planning, preparation. It seems paradoxical, but, in fact, it isn’t. To let the voices around you feel at ease, the group of webcasters must have an idea on where they want to head. The final end might be unpredictable, but they need to know what they are doing there to makes everyone comfortable and confident to speak their minds.
So, lots of behind-of-the scenes emails have been exchanged between me, Illya, Dennis Oliver, Dennis Newson and Erika. We’ve been planning for our little show with care, trying to troubleshoot before the trouble, testing tools we want to present, sharing our own treasures, setting tasks and roles for everyone to have a smooth Big Wave Ride in SimpleCast and Audacity. Of course, we can not predict what will happen, who will be there, but we can, at least, plan to make the best out of this experience. Just like in any classroom lessonplan. It’s all there, what’s going to happen will really depend on the participants, mood, setting, content, but the educator is the conductor, the one facilitating the process of knowledge construction within the group. Not much different from Webcasting and the group of hosts here.
Our Reading Treasures backstage:
  • We had an initial plan
  • Documented it
  • Exchanged tons of emails
  • tested audio settings
  • practiced streaming in different rates, Sandbox A and B, and kicking the stream
  • talked about possible problems and what to do
  • set roles for the group (Illya streaming in B and taking care of the recording, as well as interacting with us in the conference call; Carla streaming in A and starting the conference call. Will host with Dennis N; Dennis N. hosting with Carla in Skype; Dennis O. and Erika chat area)
  • sent invitation to the LearningwithComputers group
  • created an audio invitation to be released one day before the show (using one of our reading treasure and JingProject)
    What you’ll listen here is a talk between Illya and me about our planning for the Reading Treasures Show and what we were doing, practicing and checking.
    Webcasting is about making planned unpredictable live journeys!
    Carla Arena]]> http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-classroom-getting-ready-for-the-show/feed/ 1 Reading Treasures in the Language Classroom – Planning a Show http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-language-classroom-planning-a-show/ http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-language-classroom-planning-a-show/#comments Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:35:24 +0000 carlaarena http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-language-classroom-planning-a-show/ The idea behind the show is to give voice to LwCers to discuss the topic of the month. In this case, the topic being discussed there is ”’reading”’. We’d try it out a first time and depending on our post-show analysis,we’ll consider making it a once-a-month encounter.
    The goal is to make even stronger bonds through the inclusion of voice in the group with synchronous interactive sharing of ideas. Also, for the educators who can’t be present, they’ll have a chance to listen to the podcast with practical ideas that could be used in their classrooms.
    I’ll invite other Webcastacademy members to join me to share the roles while streaming and sharing ideas on how to best carry it out. People to be contacted: Erika Cruvinel, Illya, Cris Costa, Dennis Oliver and Dennis Newson. Special guests: Gladys Baya and Claudia Bellusci.
    We could try to have two streamers, in Sandbox A and B. Somebody who would be in charge of the chat area, welcoming people and keeping the text discussion flowing. A host that would be in charge of moderating participation in the Skype Conference.
    Next steps:
  • contact interns. Done
  • Define the best time for the show. Done
  • Send an invitation to LwC asking the ones interested to let us know their skype ID. Done
  • Planning the show; resources; links; examples - Done

    Carla
    ]]> http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/reading-treasures-in-the-language-classroom-planning-a-show/feed/ 0 Open Networked Learning – Architectures of Participation http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/open-networked-learning-architectures-of-participation/ http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/open-networked-learning-architectures-of-participation/#comments Sun, 12 Aug 2007 04:08:55 +0000 carlaarena http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/open-networked-learning-architectures-of-participation/ architecturesofparticipation.pngAugust 10th is history for the Webheads, for Worlbridges and the Webcastacademy. Bee Dieu was the architect. She was there in New Orleans in Merlot Conference orchestrating participation from her audience, the physical one and the online group divided into two. One group was in Alado, the others in Second Life by the campfire. Jeff LeBow was there bridging audio from Second Life and Alado to the audience who was there with Bee. Just fantastic! People in Alado could hear Second Lifers and the Jazz in New Orleans. I was there, thrilled to be hearing fantastic ideas about our networked learning, appreciating impressive photos as Bee spoke and streaming in the Webcastacademy in Sandbox A.
    secondlife_merlot.jpegBee was the architect, Jeff the bridge, and I was just an intern learning from every single word spoken, text typed and waves in Audacity, Simplecast. I was so excited with the whole audio-visual experience that I forgot to turn on my audio repeater! What happened? I was able to record everybody, but me!
    Lesson learned: don’t get so excited that you forget the basics of testing everything before starting streaming.
    Lesson learned 2: as Jeff pointed out, there’s not much you can do with the recording if there’s static going on during the presentation. What I did with the recording here, I took off the background noise just in the first part of the presentation before Bee starts to speak so that I could play around with the differences. Otherwise, I’d have to listen to it all over again and just edit the background noise when she was speaking. When the other participants were talking, the sound quality is much better, so If I just selected everything, there would be a distortion. Jeff’s solution, try to solve it before the presentation starts! In this case, it was not possible and I’d have to edit every bit of it…
    What Bee was talking about, open participatory environments, was being demonstrated live by the human presence in the online setting sharing with her audience and the Internet listeners. It was history and, as an intern and speaker, it was just an amazing experience to be part of that story to be told. The Webheads, WorldBridges and Merlot were connected through the human presence around the globe led by Bee.
    The multicultural gathering ended with Lee Baber playing the Banjo in SL and the globe listening in awe in different time zones.
    Architectures of Participation at http://merlot.wikispaces.com/communities
    Jeff LeBow’s Streaming Recording Leigh Blackall’s Description of the Event
    Cris Costa’s Account
    My own recording with audacity and some edits in the beginning of the keynote to remove background knowledge, turning down everyone’s voices and without my part of the presentation (audio repeater off!) is at http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/interncast-international-show/ InternCast International Show recording here.

    Lots of Lessons learned today.
    First, Skype can badly misbehave and you have to keep it going. The solution? Maybe drop skype and keep talking to the listeners and asking for their input in the chat area.
    Second, if you are streaming and another person is responsible for the skype conference, you have to keep talking if the call is dropped! I didn’t realize that…Then, all of a sudden I remembered I had listeners and it was only me in the streaming! Talked to them and they gave me feedback. Thanks, Maria and Chrissy, our very special listeners! Durff was there, too, but, then, I realized there was the Webcastacademy chat going on, too! Crazy!
    Jason’s voice was in and out, choppy, from a certain point on. What could we do in this case? Drop the call and try someone else leading?
    All in all, it was a great experience! I learned that every day is a new day in Webcasting and one show is never like the other! Always an exciting ride!
    Thanks, guys, for such a lesson and fun with all of you, each one in a different front!
    Waiting for the next InternationalWebcastacademyBridges!
    Beijos.
    Carla]]>     http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/interncast-international-show/feed/ 0     Riding the Big Waves With Cris and Illya http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/riding-the-big-waves-with-cris-and-illya/ http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/riding-the-big-waves-with-cris-and-illya/#comments Mon, 06 Aug 2007 04:22:13 +0000 carlaarena http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/riding-the-big-waves-with-cris-and-illya/

    Yes! We made it! Checked all the details. What you’ll hear is a quick, fun talk with Cris Costa and Illya. I used Audacity to record our conversation even having the automatic back up of Simplecast. With Audacity open, it’s much easier to edit when it’s over. I had to edit something I repeated twice in the beginning of the recording. Used more tools available this time in Audacity. Zoom really helps to get the right spot to cut. I used my USB mic and headphones and was working on a PC.
    The problem I faced? At around 3 minutes, you’ll start to listen to an echo. I guess that’s because the girls were also testing all sorts of things with recording, mic, audacity settings. Any clues? That’s my guess. I’ll do it again to check for the echos. The one from the Audio Repeater is good enough! I don’t need any other.

    My Checklist: Volume Control Properties
    Mixer Device: SoundMax Digital Audio (my sound card)
    Adjusted volume for Recording
    Clicked on Wave out mix
    In Skype
    Tools – Options
    Audio Settings
    Microphone: AK5370
    Speakers: SoundMax Digital Audio (my sound card)
    Uncheck Let Skype Adjust my Audio Settings In Audacity
    Audio Preferences
    Recording Device: SoundMax Digital Audio (my sound card)
    Channels: 1 (mono)
    File Formats
    MP3 Export Setup
    Bit Rate: 64
    Wave Out Mix in the Mic options (popup on the front page) (By the Way, I learned that this option was only possible for me if I dealt with the Volume properties first)
    Simplecast
    Click on Start (it doesn’t start streaming)
    Config
    General Options
    Capture Sound from Device: SoundMax Digital Audio (my sound card)

    Click on Encoders
    Add New Encoder (+)
    Config
    Converter
    Output Format Details
    Codec: MP3
    Bit Rate: 64kb/s
    Sample Rate: 44,1 KHz
    Channels: Stereo
    Stream Archive
    Click on Save stream to File
    Server Details provided by Jeff
    Start Encoder
    Now Streaming
    Checked the Webcastacademy
    Name of the show on
    Listened to the Stream
    OK AudioCables Audio repeater
    Wave in AK5370
    Wave out Soundmax
    Total Buffer 100 Start
    Start Recording in Audacity
    Skype Conference
    Create Conference
    Choose Contacts (Cris Costa and Illya)
    Add Screenshot of Settings


    Magic! We got it. We were planning to stream Cris Costa’s talk on her Master’s Dissertation, but I didn’t make it. The fact is that I could succesfully stream having these two wonderful partners as witnesses and having great fun with them. We realized that Webcasting is great because nobody will see our voices blushing! Thanks, girls, for taking your time to be there with me. Here’s the screenshot of the moment. We DO love the big waves in Audacity even if every time I have to amplify, but to a lower volume. What loud, excited Webcasters-to-Be we are!

    Can’t wait for more!
    Carla]]>     http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/riding-the-big-waves-with-cris-and-illya/feed/ 5 7:10 Yes! We made it! Checked all the details. What you'll hear is a quick, fun talk with Cris Costa and Illya. I used Audacity ... Yes! We made it! Checked all the details. What you'll hear is a quick, fun talk with Cris Costa and Illya. I used Audacity to record our conversation even having the automatic back up of Simplecast. With Audacity open, it's much easier to edit when it's over. I had to edit something I repeated twice in the beginning of the recording. Used more tools available this time in Audacity. Zoom really helps to get the right spot to cut. I used my USB mic and headphones and was working on a PC. The problem I faced? At around 3 minutes, you'll start to listen to an echo. I guess that's because the girls were also testing all sorts of things with recording, mic, audacity settings. Any clues? That's my guess. I'll do it again to check for the echos. The one from the Audio Repeater is good enough! I don't need any other. My Checklist: Volume Control Properties Mixer Device: SoundMax Digital Audio (my sound card) Adjusted volume for Recording Clicked on Wave out mix In Skype Tools - Options Audio Settings Microphone: AK5370 Speakers: SoundMax Digital Audio (my sound card) Uncheck Let Skype Adjust my Audio Settings In Audacity Audio Preferences Recording Device: SoundMax Digital Audio (my sound card) Channels: 1 (mono) File Formats MP3 Export Setup Bit Rate: 64 Wave Out Mix in the Mic options (popup on the front page) (By the Way, I learned that this option was only possible for me if I dealt with the Volume properties first) Simplecast Click on Start (it doesn't start streaming) Config General Options Capture Sound from Device: SoundMax Digital Audio (my sound card) Click on Encoders Add New Encoder (+) Config Converter Output Format Details Codec: MP3 Bit Rate: 64kb/s Sample Rate: 44,1 KHz Channels: Stereo Stream Archive Click on Save stream to File Server Details provided by Jeff Start Encoder Now Streaming Checked the Webcastacademy Name of the show on Listened to the Stream OK AudioCables Audio repeater Wave in AK5370 Wave out Soundmax Total Buffer 100 Start Start Recording in Audacity Skype Conference Create Conference Choose Contacts (Cris Costa and Illya) Add Screenshot of Settings Magic! We got it. We were planning to stream Cris Costa's talk on her Master's Dissertation, but I didn't make it. The fact is that I could succesfully stream having these two wonderful partners as witnesses and having great fun with them. We realized that Webcasting is great because nobody will see our voices blushing! Thanks, girls, for taking your time to be there with me. Here's the screenshot of the moment. We DO love the big waves in Audacity even if every time I have to amplify, but to a lower volume. What loud, excited Webcasters-to-Be we are! Can't wait for more! Carla CarlaArena,,CrisCosta,,Podcast,,Webcastacademy,,Webcasters-to-Be,,Webcasting,,Webheadsinaction,,worldbridges carlaarena@gmail.com no No     How To Webcast – Lesson 2 http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/how-to-webcast-lesson-2/ http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/how-to-webcast-lesson-2/#comments Thu, 02 Aug 2007 14:13:17 +0000 carlaarena http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/how-to-webcast-lesson-2/ Cris Costa Yesterday, Cris Costa posted her Webcasting reflections on her blog. She thoroughly describes how she managed to record both ends of a telephony call using Audacity. It was one of those WooHoo moments for all of us, Cris, Dennis Oliver, and me. Working together with them has certainly given me more motivation and self-confidence to go till the end with the webcasting project this time.
    To read Cris’ reflections, access http://eduspaces.net/cristinacost/weblog/185600.html
    To listen to the Magic of Collaboration, http://www.webcastacademy.net/node/1085
    ]]>     http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/how-to-webcast-lesson-2/feed/ 1