It is now after the third session of my involvement in the project and I find that I am on a steep learning curve as I am encountering technological ideas, software and gadgets that are new to me. At the last two sessions we talked about sound basics such as pod casting, audio software and ways to record and edit sounds/discussions etc. These sessions were fun although I must admit that for me they are anything but ‘basic’. However, I thoroughly enjoyed my time learning from others, and recording a brief interview with the partner I worked with and then downloading this into a file in Adobe Audition and playing around with this. What I found particular interesting was the option of using Multi tracks and being able to do voice overs, insert background music and manipulate sounds by cutting and pasting. Of course, as a result I have come to the conclusion/realisation that you may need to be wary of things audio. One of the key points that I want to remember from the last two sessions is that when making an audio file you need to be very clear of your purpose, and of your audience. Asking yourself, ‘what am I trying to achieve?’ is therefore a useful one.
Some ideas for using audio files that have been going through my mind are:
· Developing audio files (wave file, MP3 file) of key points on a specific topic which can then be made available to students.
· Although my focus for this project is on visual formative feedback through video recordings, possibilities with regard to the use of audio as part of reflective practice have been playing in my mind e.g. when focusing in particular on language use with children.
So what are some of my recent activities?
· Since a week I have broadband at home. I found that this became a must to enable me to work at home on the newly encountered ideas.
· Now a whole new world has opened up to me as I have downloaded ‘Audacity’ for recording and editing sounds. What I would like to trial next is to add an audio ‘blog’ to my blog page as a trial.
· I have learnt about and downloaded Skype and talked with someone on the other side of the world (a very exciting AND strange sensation). (I have been thinking about future possibilities for ‘video conferencing’ as a way of providing on-going support to students, especially those that may be struggling )
· With support of a colleague I have obtained a digital photo frame and an EeePC to trial in my visual formative feedback on student teaching practice. I am still in the process of working out what the best systems are for the best outcomes and am looking forward to beginning the overall process. This should happen next week.
· I have registered on ‘De.li.cious’ so that I will be able to access my bookmarks anywhere.
· Since my involvement with this project I have started to take more interest and am now reading the Inbox articles in the Listener magazine, and find that I actually understand increasingly what they are talking about). Last week they had a special section on all the latest gadgets (digital recorders etc) – I want them J . But first,
Video recording as a form of visual formative feedback!!!