Reflection on Blogging

This was my first experience with blogging, not only as a poster but also as a follower. In terms of following the blogs of others, I found that those of my groupmates who actually posted regularly did a fantastic job of educating me about their topics. I am disappointed that not everyone in our group actively participated and that I was called out for not specifically posted a certain number of times to fulfill the requirements of the course. I enjoyed reading blogs about the same topics that I was posting about to see how different people pick out different information to share. I also liked that because we are all doing different things with our time; full time grad school, full time working, some teachers, some not, that various perspectives and points of view were shared.

As a blogger, I found it was very important to be invested in the blog topic. I absolutely loved posting about Interactive WhiteBoards and have become a little obsessed with them. I really enjoy making connections between course work and my teaching and the IWB has become a tool that I now use on a weekly basis. Looking back on my postings about IWBs, I used pictures, videos, links, and text to bring life to the blog. I was looking for a different way to disperse the knowledge I had gained to my followers so that they would enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoyed creating it. I learned how to post video clips from YouTube onto the blog which I had never done before. It was fun to incorporate other technologies that were discussed in this class into the blogging experience.

During the second half of the semester, my topic changed to iTunesU. I debated whether or not to stick with the IWB topic and now wish I had. I just couldn't get interested in iTunesU to the same level that I was with IWBs. I struggled each week to find something relevant to post about. I admit that I took the easy way out a couple of times and posted random clips, but I couldn't think of anything else to do. I also started to slack on the responsibilities of the blogging assignment because I didn't want to sign in and deal with it.

If I am going to continue to blog, it would have to be about something that I am really invested in. I don't think that it would be something school based or for a class. I keep a log of what I cook for dinner and have for over 2 years so maybe that would be something that would be more fun to blog about. I also go and see live music at every chance I get so that is another potential topic. I am glad for this experience as part of IDE 611, but as of right now, I don't see it as something I am going to maintain. I like the idea of it being a class assignment and do think there are many benefits from participating in it. Thanks to all who have read my posts and made comments.

Teacher's TV

I have been trying to find a good K-12 topic to share about iTunesU so the topic of this blog entry is going to be Teacher's TV. It is based out of London. Teacher's TV is funded by the Department of Education but is operated by an independent media consortuim Education Digital. It provides videos, resources, and an online community for teachers to learn new things, practice teaching skills, and connect with others in the field. The iTunesU page offers links to Teacher's TV's homepage, contact information, about page, and terms of use. Its site is divided into 4 sections; subjects, whole school, featured programmes, and focus on. Each section then has a primary and secondary subset where tracks are listed according to topic. I was very puzzled when I noticed that there have not been any updates to any of the sections since March of 2010. I visited the homepage and clicked on the help button. There I learned that Teacher's TV was an actual television channel in the UK. It was recently turned off in favor of an online only format where teachers can just search for the content they want. Users are encouraged to register with the site so that videos and resources can be saved for future use. I am guessing that the transition from television to Internet only is what is causing the delay in new content.

So I have a hard time suggesting that Teacher's TV is a good resource for K-12 teachers here in the United States. Major differences in the curricula of the two countries is a cause for the lack of faith in the site. I also am not understanding what the hold up could be with adding new content. Isn't summer vacation supposed to be used for something?

Unless you live in Australia, New Jersey, or one of the other 14 states that have iTunesU pages linked under the K-12 tab, there isn't going to be much value for iTunesU to the K-12 teacher. It appears that the U in its name really makes it more appealing to colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher learning. I would still only use it if I was taking a course that specifically required me to access content from it. At least most of the content is free with an iTunes account.

Maybe some of you have used it in the past of can identify other uses for it for K-12 teachers. If so post in the comments section. Thanks.