My Thoughts on Podcasting and Video Streaming

Wow! I have learned so much information about podcasts and streaming video. Technology is amazing! Back in the late seventies, there were no personal computers. I remember taking a Management Information Systems course in college at Delta State. We had to write programs and use these punch cards that ran through the big mainframe computer. Then your program would print out. It's been so long I can hardly remember! I do remember always seeing "syntax error" a lot! Maybe that's why I DID NOT major in MIS! In the early nineties, I started teaching word processing on new personal computers and thought I had literally died and gone to heaven! Today, it boggles my mind to see how far technology has come and where it's going! In the online class I'm taking, I've had to read a lot, but it's helped me to learn about some of these new technology tools. While looking at some of the podcast websites we had to check out, I searched the Educational Podcast site and found a podcast on Web 2.0: The Read/Write Web. Boy, it was nice to actually "hear" something instead of reading it! I think my reading comprehension has gotten worse as I've gotten older! I think podcasts are great for going back and listening to lectures. I think they're very beneficial to ELL students, and hearing-impaired students. It kind of scares me to think that maybe someday, college professors may present their lectures on podcasts and the students won't have to go to class. I really hope this never happens. The video streaming opportunites teachers have are wonderful! I have learned about a neat PowerPoint producer that I am going to start testing out. There are so many videos out there, that Internet safety is a concern. It's a concern for me because I teach a Webpage class. My students have to use the Internet a lot. Even though they're monitored closely and our district blocks inapppropriate websites, that doesn't keep me from worrying! I hope to learn more about this topic in our next session. I know most kids watch videos on the computer simply for entertainment. I searched YouTube the other day to find some funny videos because I love to laugh. I couldn't believe some of the things on there! I do think videos are very helpful for teachers to use if they will use them resourcefully and appropriately. I have known teachers in the past to use videos just to "entertain" their students and keep them quiet so they could grade papers. This to me is not appropriate. If videos are used by teachers to enhance a lesson, then videos can be very entertaining and educational at the same time.