Podcast Topic

My podcast topic will be teaching kids to draw some animals using basic shapes as guidelines. I will be using video with me speaking, and images to teach the lesson. An example would be to draw a kiwi bird, using a circle, an oval and a triangle as guidelines to help shape the drawing.

Podcast Review

As Mayer and Moreno explained; a podcast, or multimedia learning in general cannot be too rich in graphics, audio and video all at the same time because the learner will feel the podcast is overbearing and will lose focus very quickly. In this podcast, one learns how to make a "spud gun", but more importantly, it lays out the project very clearly, without excessiveness that causes learners to lose concentration and interest. The podcast begins with a fun introduction using light, not too loud music, with moving graphics presenting the "program" and objective. This sets the viewer up with a loose guideline to spark their interest and keep them watching. The maker of the podcast also intelligently used a very boring disclaimer bit by quickly flashing it in text and reading it quickly because in my opinion, simply saying a disclaimer verbally is EXTREMELY boring! He is very clear when he speaks, the materials are laid out very neatly, and tries not to linger on one step too long. He also very intelligently speeds up long sequences that don't need his explanation and replaces it with funny, light music. All throughout the video he adds funny texts across the screen and changes the scenery because the podcast is longer than most. I felt this podcast was made very well because no one step was being spoken about for more than 15 seconds, and continuously kept adding fun parts to the learning process such as silly music, phrases and clips.

My Opinion on TPCK

             Learning how technology is useful for classrooms today was very informative but the section that interested me the most from the article was learning all the different types of "knowledges" were. Learning the difference between "Pedagogical Knowledge" and "Technology Knowledge" really helped me understand the article as a whole because it helped me realize how "TPCK" embodies a teacher to properly understand and effectively pass on their knowledge to students in all fields. One would simply believe that knowledge is what you know off the "teacher's manual", but your ability to help clarify problems for students.
            I also especially enjoyed the section concerning the difficulties of technology in a classroom. The problem that I highly agreed upon was "errors" because when incorporating technology, students often feel the pace is going extremely fast. When an error occurs for example on one or two students computers, and they are unable to follow up on the lesson, I feel the students are almost 2-3 steps behind already. Programs, internet connections and simple errors such as right clicking instead of left clicking are such common problems with using technology and I'm glad the writers of the articles mentioned the troubles associated with new technology. I felt the article was very helpful in outlining how a teacher should successfully incorporate and teach students hand in hand with technology.

First Post

My first post! Nothing to say. Here's Paco waiting for a snack.