Saturday 24 November 2012




wiki is a web tool that can be viewed and edited/modified by anyone once they have access to a web browser and if the wiki itself has no privacy settings that will block the user from placing information on the web page. 

The wiki created is geared toward Business Studies or Principles of Business students who need assistance in their assignments and to also facilitate co-operative learning, group projects etc. 


Check out the link to the wiki created by the group.  https://business200.wikispaces.com/

The creation of the wiki posed some manipulation problems in terms of getting pictures onto the wiki, placing a video on to the wiki, also the other group members initially could not delete any files or pages that the placed on the wiki.  After much manipulation these problems were soon rectified.

With more knowledge and practical use the wiki could be improved and also changing the scheme and colours to make the wiki more attractive

Friday 23 November 2012

Creating a Video for the Classroom


The video was created to accompany a lesson on bread .  It speaks about the ingredients and the procedures used to create bread and illustrates pictures of each step and the group members involved.  A video is an instructional tool that could be used in the classroom when a practical demonstration is not possible.



Limitation or difficulties posed in creating the piece were in finding supportive visual information (videos and pictures) and errors with movie maker; even after deleting and re-installing it stopped working on a number of systems.  The group had to find a system to start over the movie.

This piece could have been improved if the group members had actually carried out the bread making process so that students would be able to identify with the participants.








Thursday 15 November 2012

and 


The podcast produced was aimed to highlighting the issue of juvenile delinquency in the education system. To complete this task my colleagues and I interviewed three students and also conducted a panel discussion.  As a group we decided to create multiple files for the recordings and then use those recordings to create the final product. 

The podcast was made using the audacity podcast software. The creation of the overall recordings was pretty easy however the tedious task was in editing the podcast and making it into an MP3 file(I was in charge of this aspect).  After the podcast was edited, it was discovered that  the file could not be exported without a mp3 encoder. After much attempts I was successful in downloading the LAME mp3 encoder which is the software that is used by audacity. 

In trying to export the file another unfortunate error was made. I renamed the file before exportation and when I attempted to do the export to MP3 a dialogue box indicated that the path to the file could not be found. I then had to go over the editing process. 

The podcast could be improved after more manipulation of the software and its functions.  In gaining more knowledge on podcasts some degree of mastery is predicted.


PODCAST



What is a podcast?

The term podcast is a play on words created from broadcast and iPod. A podcast is an audio broadcast that has been converted to MP3 or another audio file format for playback in a digital music player. Although many podcasts are played in a computer, the original concept targeted portable devices.  




Podcasts in Education 

In education the use of a podcast could become an essential tool for teaching and classroom instruction, this technology can and will allow teachers to  improve their ability to communicate with students (since the teachers are now interacting or speaking the language of the youth) and promote more interaction among students. Podcasts in general provide individuals with a voice and can also showcase both the linguistic  and artistic creativity of the students and teachers involved. 

As an educator a few benefits seen is the use of the podcast as a study aide for students 
and even as an auxiliary for a lesson.  As a study aide the student will be able to access the podcast at his/her leisure and listen to the notes or lesson and use it as one of their study materials.  As an auxiliary for a lesson the podcast could be very essential, the teacher could introduce the lesson and provide explanations as to the task at hand then let students answer questions based on the material/information given in the podcast.