Legislative School Technology Day

Instructional Technology Division NC Department of Public Instruction

North Carolina school districts are cordially invited to participate in Legislative School Technology Day, Tuesday, February 13, 2007, from 10am until 2 pm at the North Carolina General Assembly Building. This event is designed to showcase for our legislators the exciting ways that technology is being used to support the teaching and learning of 21st century skills in the classrooms across the state. Every North Carolina legislator should be able to point with pride to the ways that schools in his or her district are using technology to enhance teaching and learning. Visit the Legislative School Technology Day web site for more information.

Our participants will be leaving NWA at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning and travel via an activity bus to Raleigh. Join us later this week as we bring back audio files and edit a podcast for our listeners.

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MemoMic - Lapel Mic for the Classroom

While strolling around the iPod accessories section at the Crabtree Mall Apple, Inc. store today, I noticed a very small lapel microphone almost on out of reach from the the floor. The company, Xtrememac was one that I had read about on a blog. The box was labeled MemoMic. I read the description on the package and it said "This product is compatible with all digital recorders." Hum, could this work with my Belkin mic? Last summer, I purchased a new iPod Video and a matching Belkin TuneTalk Stereo microphone.



Prior to owning the Belkin TuneTalk, I used my iMic with my 4th Generation iPod to record podcasts. My students could not seem to get comfortable with the iPod sitting there. I experienced the same blank stares from my students when I tried record them with the iPod Video and TuneTalk. So, I tried using several different external microphones. I tried using the Griffin Lapel Mic, and a Sony lapel mic. They did not produce quality audio. I can not describe the way they sounded. Maybe I should make a demo of the sound. You don't have to believe me, try it yourself. They just sound crappy.



I left the Apple Store, and went to eat some lunch and returned to the store. The store audio expert tried to explain how the MemoMic was designed to work the XtremeMac's iPod recorder. I just listened to his canned sales pitch and then after he had finished, I asked a simple question. I asked him if the MemoMic would work with my Belkin TuneTalk. I am one of those customers that love to ask questions that stump the experts. It must be all those years I spend running my sporting goods business. Some customers must stay up all night coming up with questions to stump the employees. I was not trying to "show off", I just wanted to know if they had heard about anyone trying to use the MemoMic with with a non-Xtreme recorder. I left the store with that question going round and round in my head. I walked from one end of Crabtree Mall to the other to my truck in the parking lot. I dug in my computer bag and located my Belkin TuneTalk and turned around and went back to the Apple Store.



I walked straight to the XtremeMac MemoMic display, and a different clerk came up to me with one of their new handheld checkout devices that scans the UPC and lets you swip your credit card to complete the transaction. I think the store clerk and audio expert must have seen me come in and ran to keep from having to listen to my crazy question. Well, I bought the MemoMic-- BAM! It would not have been the first or last time I have plunked down money on a tech toy that did not work. I ripped into the box and plugged it into my TuneTalk mic attached to my iPod. The first two test recordings did not work. The audio level was almost inaudible. Then, I noticed the TuneTalk's gain switch on the bottom was in the off position. Moving the switch to on, I tried another short recording. It was very clear and crisp. The background noise in the Apple Store was like a middle school classoom on Friday at 5 seconds after the bell to go home. Well, not that bad, but close.



I was very excited with the way the Xtreme MemoMic works with the Belkin TuneTalk. I plan to use the device with my students this week to record some podcasts. I will link to them when they are posted.







XtremeMac iPod Audio Accessories: MemoMic™ for MicroMemo

Get crisp, clean recordings of your meetings, interviews and presentations



MemoMic™ is a professional-style microphone that clips to a lapel or shirt. This omni-directional mic is designed to pick up meetings, lectures, or any audio hands-free. It's perfect for capturing every word into a voice recorder (like our MicroMemo™), video camera or through a public address system.



You don't have to be a big shot to come across like one. Clip it on, plug it in and you're all set.



* Omnidirectional

* Uses popular 3.5mm plug

* Ideal for voice recorders, camcorders, VoIP

* Inconspicuous 4-foot cable

* Extra windscreen and clip

* 90° angle mini-plug for comfort

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Classroom Podcasting in the New Year

This past September, I purchased a new iPod Video. Thousands of them have been bought, and so far it is working fine. My Belkin microphone word fine. I do not like the way it sounds when it is set on stereo. My favorite audio recording device for classroom podcasts is not my iPod and Belkin mic. I prefer recording directly into GarageBand with a USB headphone with mic. My students rehearse their podcast using the built in mic on our classroom iBooks. To prepare for their segment by reading, researching, discussing, and writing about their assignment. If we are introducing a chapter in science, instead of outlining the chapter, or reading it out loud, students are assigned short answer questions and are asked to correctly answer on the tape. I know, you are thinking, but this is nothing more than using technology for as a worksheet.

This criticism is true. However, this is a strategy I have been using with that are reluctant readers. I discovered that when given the proper topic, they can develop questions, and conduct very professional interviews. One that worked for me surfaced last year. Our district developed a student dress code. After the students listened to the newly board approved rules, I turned on the recorder in GarageBand and backed away and just observed. They interviewed each other and discussed their feelings about the new dress code. I was blown away. They did not write a word down, it was all live. After they listened to it, they commented that they wished they had remembered to say "this and that". The teachable moment: I reminded them that a good interviewer makes a list of questions before conducting their interviews. If I had made them write ten questions before they started recording, they would have wined and complained and probably never completed the podcast. So, my constant struggle with having students create podcasts has been pre-writing and rough-draft stuff. My students want immediate gratification. They are all about "playing" with computers, and do not like "doing work." I have used the podcast templates from Willow Radio. I was not able to find the link to their page. Must have been moved.

Try it, you will like it. Bottomline, podcasts are not easy, but the kids like them if they think that someone is listening.

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