iTunes+U+Reflection+Page

=iTunes U Reflection Page= Upload your reflection to the table below. Use the following criteria when developing your reflection:
 * What was the title of your podcast?
 * Where can your podcast be found in iTunes U?
 * What was the podcast about?
 * Who might the podcast be helpful to?
 * Why did you like or dislike the podcast?


 * =Participant Name= || =Podcast Title= || =Reflection document= ||
 * Justin Pfeffer || Economics and Personal Finance || Podcast Reflection

The title of the podcast I viewed was //Compare and contrast savings and investing.// It can be found in iTunes U under Virginia department of education à Business à Economics and Personal Finance. The podcast was about the difference between savings accounts, certificates of deposits, and money market accounts vs. stocks, bonds, treasury bills, and retirement accounts etc. This podcast would be helpful for high school juniors or seniors interested in entering the business world or interested in learning about economics and personal finance. I liked the podcast because it was explained well and it was easy to understand. I feel strongly that it is important to educate high school students more about personal finance. When students enter college and the “real world” they are often not educated enough about financial risk and responsibility. || I chose the above Podcast to review, because the number of science Podcasts were very limited (of the areas that I looked in – nearly 10 of them). This was found in the Utah Electronic High School area. The podcast showed a short experiment of peroxide and soap decomposition (creating a foam that spilled out of the graduated cylinder). This could be used as a prelab demonstration so that students would see what they were expected to do, or (in the case of more dangerous experiments or ones that you did not have the materials for) it could be used as the demonstration itself and them have the students discuss what occurred. What was good about it was it was short and it showed the materials needed and what was the final outcome of the experiment. The music accompaniment was also good and stirring (from the “Pearl Harbor” soundtrack). What could have been improved was 1) the graphics – they were very hard to read, bordering on illegibility and 2) it was shot in sepia tones – great for “artsiness”, but not for keeping the attention of anyone watching. It would have been more effective if we could have seen the color of the resulting foam. || Harvard University || The podcast I viewed was “Arts & Culture” by Harvard University. This video podcast can be found in iTunes U under Find Arts where featured podcasts are listed. It was about conversation with one of the greatest cellist, Yo-Yo Ma and a famous American actor, John Lithgow. The conversation consists of six small segments about Yo-Yo’s musical journey; A Biological Sketch, An Engagement to life, Community Intact, Creating a Successful Invention, Building Memories, and Q &A. This podcast might be extremely helpful to both young music learners and all musicians in general. I like the podcast because not only it helps viewers have depth in understanding of musical paths of one greatest cellist in this century, but also it gives viewers an opportunity to learn more about different values of playing music. I feel that this podcast might be inspiring and beneficial to students in my orchestra classes. || I found it in the K-12 section under ALEX – the Alabama learning exchange. It was about theories of what happened t the colonists who vanished from the Roanoke settlement. It would be helpful for 5th grade students in 1st quarter social studies. There are several lessons in which we investigate Roanoke. I didn’t really like it too much, there wasn’t any real evidence shown. People just gave their opinions on what they thought might have happened and stated it like it was fact. It is a good idea, just lacked any historical evidence to back up the theories. Also, it says there are 6 theories and then only talks about 5. || The first segment examines aspects of the water cycle found in forests. It also examines the unique properties of water and how those properties relate to the water cycle. The second segment is brief, but gives viewers specific things they can do to help with forest conservation. This podcast would be helpful to support instruction for middle school students about the water cycle. The water cycle is one of the unifying themes of science, which crosses all disciplines. I think it would be particularly helpful when helping students review for the Science MSAs. The video had a high production quality. It kept the viewer’s interest with varied camera angles and interesting scenery. I liked how vocabulary words and key points on were displayed on the screen. The lab portion of the podcast included well-done hands on demonstrations to support the content. The content was clearly explained at a middle school level. However, at times, the narrator in the lab portion seemed to speak as if he was delivering to a younger audience. I particularly liked the “What You Can Do” segment that encouraged stewardship of the forest ecosystem. ||
 * Mark McCullin || Chemistry Demonstrations || Podcast review: Chemistry Demonstrations by Mark McCullin
 * Karyn Hobson || Basics of Culinary The Art Institues Description || This is a video podcast that shows various cooking techniques from stews to deep frying. I do not teach FACTS however, I love to cook at home. The videos we general about a cooking technique rather than following an actual recipe. This was helpful as a kind of dictionary of cooking terms, a visual dictionary if you will. ||
 * Seth Waltman || Flight in to Mariner Valley || My podcast was “Flight in to Mariner Valley”, from Arizona’s IDEAL eLearning environment. The podcast was a simulated flight through Mariner Valley which is located on Mars. It had a narrator that described features as you passed them and gave facts along the way. This is a very specific podcast that would be interesting for people who are looking to learn about space or Mars. I picked this one because I do like space related information and I found this to be a pretty cool podcast. I like hearing about the size of Mariner Valley, which is extensive, and how it compares to earth’s geological features. While not for everyone, this is a great introduction to a very cool feature of planet Mars. ||
 * Erinn Manack || Grand Paire Chronicles || My podcast was a audio cast and it was taken from a radio station. In 8th grade Advanced Reader we are starting our Reading like a Historian unit. 8th grade need to focus on the western expansion. This podcast was created by a local historian and he talks about life on the Paire before industrialization. The clips are short, no more than 2 minutes. However the broadcaster's voice is dull and it takes a solid minute before something interesting happens in the podcast. Besides that it's full of facts and insights to a time period my students would not normally know a lot about. ||
 * Jenny Elam || Moodle Support || * What was the title of your podcast?
 * One example: Using the Moodle Tools
 * Where can your podcast be found in iTunes U?
 * iTunes U > Michigan's MI learning (Moodle Support)
 * What was the podcast about?
 * Each podcast gives a brief overview of the Moodle. Some deal with interface, editing, different blocks (whose online & activity, etc...). General Admin (adding people, roles, group, back-up and restore)
 * Who might the podcast be helpful to?
 * Moodle Admins or teachers who are using Moodle for online courses.
 * Why did you like or dislike the podcast?
 * I liked that it had screen cast support and some documentation along with tutorials
 * I like that they were not longer than 10 min and were free
 * I wish he had videos for the more recent release. ||
 * Ron Bowman || Working with Music Technology 1 || ====== The podcast I viewed was “Working with Music Technology 1” and it can be found in the Teachers TV, Music, Secondary section of iTunes U. The podcast was about teaching music technology in a high school setting. Two teachers and their students were interviewed about their experiences with music technology. Students from very little to no music background in music as well as highly skilled musicians were placed in the same class. The teachers recommended that students work in pairs so they could use their artistic and creative ideas while negotiating and collaborating to achieve the best musical result. The teachers found that even classically trained musicians and rock musicians worked well together by melding their musical ideas using technology. Once the music was created, then the music theory could be learned. This podcast would be helpful to teachers who are preparing to teach music technology at the middle and high school level. I liked this podcast because it brought to my attention the challenges and successes of a music technology program. Seeing both students and teachers work creatively together to integrate music and technology was of great interest to me. The students were able to create their own musical compositions using technology and perform their compositions with real instruments. After the performance, the students evaluated and made the needed musical changes based range, balance, etc., to provide a great learning experience for all. ====== ||
 * Lisa Bowling || Arts Elementary Keynote Finger Patterns || The podcast I viewed was titled, //Finger Patterns, The Smart Way to Intonation//. This podcast can be found by going to iTunesU, K-12, Arizona then go to The Arts and the Paradise Valley Unified School District. The podcast explained how to place your fingers in whole or half step patterns when playing the violin to help with intonation. It's a visual way to finger notes in scale passages. This would be helpful for beginning violin students when first learning correct left hand fingerings for notes. It was a pretty bland podcast and not very interesting visually. The introduction is more appealing than the actual podcast. ||
 * Kendra Roberts || Emergent Literacy for VPK Instructors: Unit 3-4. || I viewed the Florida Department of Education podcast entitled Emergent Literacy for VPK (Voluntary Pre-K Teachers). I found it under the K-12 section for iTunes U and clicked on the Florida Department of Education and then Emergent Literacy. I viewed this podcast because I teach Kindergarten and there is such a big push for early literacy right now. I wanted to find out how preschool teachers were teaching comprehension to young students. This podcast showed the way that preschool teachers are able to immerse their students in stories for teaching comprehension for fiction stories. They read many different versions of stories they are studying. For non-fiction text, the teacher was able to use big books to help with students' vocabulary development as well as using student conversations about themselves to enhance language and to get students' involved in the reading of text. I found this podcast helpful in terms of professional development and I intend to view more than just this single chapter because I am always looking for more hands on ways to get students involved in what they are reading. I liked this podcast because it showed an actual lesson in progress and showed how the teacher was teaching the comprehension lessons. I also liked that there were interviews with the teachers afterwards that allowed them to explain how their instruction was planned and how it helped the students to learn. ||
 * Cecilia Haley || Introduction to Comics from the Professor Garfield Foundation || The podcast I viewed was called, “Introduction to Comics: Dave McDonald Developing Characters.” This is one in a series of podcasts created as a joint venture of the Professor Garfield Foundation and the Virginia State Department of Education. I was able to locate this podcast on iTunes U by clicking on Fine Arts in Virginia’s podcasts. This particular 6 minute podcast was one of several geared towards children interested in creating their own comic strips. Dave McDonald, the artist, sat at an easel of drawing paper and demonstrated his “30 Second Challenge” technique for imagining and creating a new cartoon character. He spent 15 seconds creating a new character from a simple circle, and then he used the think aloud strategy to model the kinds of questions to ask yourself as you develop your character. For example, where does this character live? Who are his/her friends and enemies? What problem could he have? While the presentation might be useful for younger students (elementary school) interested in creating comics, it was not as engaging as I would have hoped. As a matter of fact, my 5th grade son walked by as I was viewing the podcast, watched it for a moment, and then said, “This is SO stupid.” Dave, the presenter, needs to improve his delivery to appeal to today’s tech savvy students. The presentation seemed stale and scripted. I had hoped it might offer some good techniques to help middle school students with characterization, but I was disappointed. ||
 * Kenya Bellamy || A Day In The Life Of A Styrofoam Tray || I viewed (and listened to) several podcasts. I listened to an Anti-Bullying Pupil Song found on the Worcestershire County Council section. I liked this because it was produced and sung by students. The second podcast was found on the Virginia Department of Education section. It was an interview with an author that focused on reading comprehension strategies. She focused on strategies to use before, during and after reading. In addition to strategies, she stressed the importance of student engagement and optimizing active participation for the entire class. The podcast that I truly enjoyed was A Day In The Life Of A Styrofoam Tray found on the Georgia Department of Education’s student showcase series. Students created this podcast. It was interesting and told a story in a short period of time. This podcast could be an introduction to a recycling unit. I believe that students should be involved in lessons, making a podcast would be very interactive and could be used as an assessment tool. ||
 * J Kim || Arts & Culture
 * Becca Lyter || Kidspiration Using Super Grouper Tool || I viewed the podcast "Kidspiration Using the Super Grouper Tool". It can be in iTunesU under National Association of Independent Schools. It is a video demonstration of a first grade lesson using the Super Grouper Tool in Kidspiration3. The podcast would be helpful for teachers who would like to create a lesson using the Super Grouper Tool. I like the podcast because not only did it show an introduction of her class on sorting objects (what the Super Grouper Tool is used for), but then demonstrated step by step how the teacher would model using the tool on the computer with the students. I think the podcast is brief, has simple directions to follow and gives the viewer a number of ideas to get the lesson started. ||
 * Carrie Loughry || Simple Subtraction Strategies || The podcast I downloaded and watched/listened to is called “Simple Subtraction Strategies”. It is found in Michigan’s MI Learning under Beginning Math with Eric Strommer. The podcast was giving strategies for basic, beginning subtraction problems. It showed the strategies and math problems on a computer screen. I think the podcast might have been intended for younger students, maybe in grades 1 and 2. However, he moved very quickly though the strategies and the screen was hard to read as the video quality was not very good. I think it might actually be more helpful for parents to see ways to help their younger students who are having difficulty with subtraction. I did not like it very much, mostly because the video quality was poor and that made it hard to read the examples he was giving and to see the answers. However, some parents might find it helpful. ||
 * Jeff Birdsong || Investigation Roanoke: A Quest for Truth || The title was Investigation Roanoke: A Quest for Truth.
 * Trish Watt || The Forest Files || The title of the podcast I evaluated is “The Forest Files.” I viewed two segments, “The Water Cycle” and “What You Can Do.” This series can be found in iTunes U under “The Virginia Department of Education” science section.
 * Lisa Ciarapica || What Great Bosses Know:11 Mistakes to Avoid in 2011 || I found my podcast within the Poynter Institute within Leadership Resources. The podcast was rather self explanatory by the title. It highlights a list of eleven mistakes that bosses should avoid making this year. The podcast would be helpful to leaders, though probably those more involved in small and big business, production, etc. The mistakes included on focusing on power and neglecting influence. This would be helpful for everyone as it encourages building relationships vs. just being the boss. The mistake of demanding collaboration, however, utilizing old assessment methods hits home in a field where we encourage this strategy for adults and children all of the time. In addition, neglecting "feeding change." I'm always on board for starting it, but not so great at "feeding it," which is crucial for continued change and success. One of the mistakes noted with the "open door policy" is that we find ourselves always waiting for others to come to us vs. us going to others to assess their needs. The podcast wasn't overly helpful, given the information wasn't brand new, however, I also think it included information that it never hurts to hear again and again :). ||