After a review of projects we looked at technology for podcasting – digital audio/video files. Files have to sit on a server. On campus this is mediacat.manukau.ac.nz, with QuickTime for play. Externally, Firefox browser has a plugin to capture videos, and another for RSS feeds. More to investigate at home – though I will ask ICTS to add Firefox to my screen. Dave also showed us Audacity, free software for recording and editing sound.
Of more interest to me – Oriel gave me the Web address for (more) free software – VRoom - similar to Skype. Would like to see if I could use this to talk to students at home who are having problems with catalog or database searches. So, will use the honorarium to get the necessary camera/microphone.
At a lunchtime LTC showcase Dave showed a video with ‘hotspots’ that provided a camera closeup. A virtual tour of the Library with important areas/functions highlighted could be fun and useful. Possible third project!
Unfortunately I missed this workshop! The group had a chance to experiment with the Smartboard, which is my first interest. Fortunately there will be a LTC lunchtime session on the 19th, so I can learn more about them then.
During the week I’ve had a look at two social networking Web sites, Del.icio.us and Twitter . I couldn’t get very far with them on campus – the firewall blocks adding the Del.icio.us buttons, and stops the streamed video on how Twitter works. Must have a look at home.
In the first workshop we met most of the group, and exchanged ideas about what we may want to gain from the project. Main areas of interest at this point are podcasting, digital video, Smartboard, and blogs. The videos on dil were thought-provoking, and the survey made me think about how comfortable (or not) I am with different technologies.
I’d like some tools to make teaching and learning more interesting for me and students. I plan to start by learning how to use a Smartboard, and see what other opportunities develop during the project. I have mixed feelings about podcasting for Library purposes, but perhaps will be inspired by what others in the group are doing!
