I did combine the audio with a few collected images if you wish to watch the video below instead.
As a side note, I had issues finding my podcast using iTunes. After looking through Feedburners help section, they said that because it was new and for whatever other reason, not all podcasts show up in iTunes. So. I downloaded Juice, another pocatcher, and did subscribe there. I have a screen snip of my subscription posted below.
I believe you are spot on with the comments you have made about funding. Administrators have the ability to search the various spending categories of the school district's budget for available monies - especially one that involves an educationally meaningful projects (special education, Title, At-Risk, Technology, etc.) One option to think about for the at-risk population, would be to find a Text to Speech program that is affordable. There are several free ones out there, but they may not meet your needs. Another funding resource to keep in mind is the RESD/ISD. Some special education students have assistive technology written right into their IEPC - the person to check with would be the OT. Looking forward to your next post ~ Sue
ReplyDeleteLaura,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your great idea about using juice. I was also having issues with iTunes finding my podcast and Juice worked out great!
I agree that funding is a huge difficulty right now. I work in a district that is being hit hard by the governor's proposed budget cuts. I am terrified to see what next year will look like for my kids.
You did a great job of recapping your problem and research. Even though you didn’t technically implement the plan, based on your descriptions I can see how it would work well. You mentioned before integrating the e-readers into your classroom you would ask for background knowledge of your students. I bet you will be surprised to see how many students do and don’t know information about them depending on where/what level you teach. I think in the end if your students do know much about them that if will be beneficial for you to take a day or two to introduce the e-readers to your students. Your students will most certainly be engaged with this new tool, but you brought up some valid issues with the implementation of the e-readers. You might ask students/parents to sign a contract, or if you end up getting the class set through your school, I’m sure they have some procedure they follow if a student breaks one. We deal with that sort of thing with our graphing calculators in the math department. What we also do is rent them out to students for a semester or whole year, which might be a good way to go. Awesome job with your podcast, sounded really authentic :)
ReplyDeleteI am in the same position of not actually having a classroom full of students to do my project with, but I think you did a great job of laying out your roadmap. You also included some possible hurdles you might have to clear, but I think with this detailed approach you will make it happen. One of the biggest challenges I see with eReaders is logistics. Loading the books, keeping track of them, acceptable use, and buying books are all things that you'll have to figure out. Probably with a lot of trial and error I would suspect, but the payoff could be huge. Great work!
ReplyDelete