Day One

Chad
Well, technically this is DAY TWO but I couldn't figure out how to login to the Blog b/c the text message with the info (on my end) didn't show the underscore in the middle of the username. Good times. I enjoyed the first day. At first, I felt like it was starting to drag b/c we didn't do any HANDS ON stuff until around 2:30. Although, looking back, I feel that it was planned out very well to give us our PLANNING day to get all our podcast information together. I fully enjoyed the GARAGE BAND workshop. I haven't had time to mess with it before this conference and it is very easy to learn. I can't wait to use it for our podcast and I can't wait to use it in a future class I'm developing for the middle school I work at. As Juli mentioned - I too was shocked that the podcast would ONLY be 2-4 minutes. I have a TV background so I'm familiar with condensing things down to sound bytes but I figured it would be longer. I enjoy listening to hour long podcasts myself (Jay and Jack's LOST podcast -- www.jayandjack.com, Kevin Smith's Smodcast, etc).
Enjoyed my first day, bring on DAY TWO! :)

Sharon
We started today with an overview of what a podcast is and how to create one. The different instructors shared their information of the components of a museum podcast, an introduction to digital media terms, review of the syllabus and conference logistics and what 21st Century Skills are necessary to create a blog, podcast, and movie. Our group spent time with Susan, learning about endangered butterflies. Juli and I worked together to create our team blog. This is a new use of technology I have never used before. It was easier to set up and use than I thought it was going to be. Thanks for the mini-lesson today Juli.


Deb
Today was great! Everyone worked well together and divided up all the tasks. What a good group we have! Our museum consultant gave us a good explanation of the endangered butterflies of Wisconsin. You could easily hear the passion she has for trying to save these animals. Tomorrow the script gets written! Juli did a great job of filming our group's beginning. We will have a record of our group process starting with looking at our exhibit and exclaiming, "Is that all there is to it?" After hearing the consultant we know it will be a challenge to condense this to 2-4 minutes. The garageband session had good handouts for us.


Sheryl
Wow! What a day! I think I am going to love podcasting. Today was my first real exposure to podcasting. I came away from the podcasting session feeling pretty confidant that this is something that I can do. I can see many uses for it in my class of first graders. I love how easy garageband is to set up and use. There is still so much that you can do with a podcast. Most of my questions now are about copyright issues. The copyright session is going to be a must for me.
Chad, I know you have quite a bit of experience with podcasts. Did you feel that the session was beneficial for you, with your previous experience?
I'm a little apprehensive about the script. It seems a monumental task to condense so much information into just 4 minutes AND have it be something that is appropriate and interesting for elementary children.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Once we get past the giant hurdle of the script I think the real fun part will start.

Sheryl



Juli ^.^
As you probably have read by now, today was the first day of the MDMC 2007 conference, and it was a BLAST! Today we got to meet our group members, and check out our exhibits, which we would be doing a "brief" 2-4 minute pocast. I'm not going to lie, i was completely shocked when i found out that I would be part of a group working on a podcast that short! I love listening to podcasts, i think that they are one of the greatest contributions to our social fabric. I love listening to GeeksOn (check them out at http://www.geekson.com/ ) and of course the infamous Ask A Ninja. The GeeksOn podcasts are usually an hour and a half to two hours - i have never thought of a podcast that could be under five minutes. I'm sure though that our script writers are really going to create an really catchy piece - - i mean they have to right, with that limited amount of time! As you probably know, by now, I'm not super involved with the actual podcast, I've taken on the role of the movie director, and really catching what our group is about, and how we aren't just educators, or students, but we are actually active problem solvers in our digital communities. I'm really excited to see how this is going to turn out! Other than just getting organized, Sharon and I spent the afternoon on this site setting it up, and i also went over the mac interface with her. It was a lot of fun! >.

Juli~