My First Podcast: The Importance of Change

I created my first podcast in Garage Band by first recording my own voice and then adding in a soundtrack afterwards.  After that, I uploaded it to podcastpeople.com.  Here’s the link: http://www.kimhilts.podcastpeople.com/

Mentorship Blogging

This semester, I chose to mentor with Mrs. Cassidy’s first grade classroom in Moose Jaw, SK.  Recently in their classroom, they have become more familiarized with Google Earth and where they would be located, along with some of their blogging buddies, on a map of the world.  They have recently been introduced to the XO,  a tiny, inexpensive, flash-based laptop computer with a Linux operating system.  They have also been busy keeping in touch with their blogging buddies from school and from their home computers as well.  These buddies are not always just from Moose Jaw or even Saskatchewan or Canada; they can be found all over the world!  When I blog with Mrs. Cassidy’s students, I tend to focus on one or two students and comment on their work and writing around twice a week.  While it can be somewhat difficult blogging with students of such a young age who are still learning the basics of reading and writing, I have enjoyed the challenge of finding ways of responding to their blogs and finding something in common with the students and what they are learning both inside and outside of the classroom.  Inside the classroom, I think that the students’ introduction to Google Earth is a great example of something our ECMP class has in common with them; in fact, many of us were introduced to Google Earth in class for the very first time only a few short weeks ago!!  Students will also write about their interests and activities outside of the classroom as well, whether it’s a few sentences about their brother’s hockey game, or what they did for Valentine’s Day.  For me, I have found blogging with such a young classroom to be extremely educational and rewarding.  Blogging with Mrs. Cassidy’s classroom has provided me with a great opportunity to keep on top of what’s happening in today’s classroom in regards to technology and various other methods of learning.  It has also allowed me to get a better idea of what the students are thinking about both inside and outside of the classroom.  While the students may not always necessarily be quick to respond if they even respond at all, we still know that they are reading about what we have to say and taking in any suggestions or constructive criticism we may have regarding their spelling, sentence structure and punctuation.  Even a quick, ordinary response to their postings lets the students know that someone out there is interested in what they have to say, and allows them to become a member of a much larger global community. For those of you unfamiliar with the XO computer and the One Laptop Per Child initiative, here is a short video which may help explain things.  Enjoy!! 

Good Places to Eat in Regina

Here is my Google map of a few of my favourite restaurants in the city.
View Larger Map

The Hour Podcasts

Currently, one of my favourite TV programs would have to be The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos on CBC.  This national current affairs show puts a new spin on today’s news with its unconventional, new age approach.  In the show, Stroumboulopoulos interviews a wide variety of media figures including politicians, famous musicians, Hollywood actors, authors, and prominent Canadian figures.  I rarely catch The Hour during its regular broadcast, but the show’s website allows for viewing 24/7.  There are also links to both the audio and video podcasts on the show’s site, which are nice for when I’m on the go.  If you click on the links for either the video or audio podcasts, you will be directed to the iTunes store and will be able to receive your free subscription from there.  The podcasts include segments from the show, and you can listen to interviews from City and Colour’s Dallas Green to Holmes on Home’s Mike Holmes to screen star Ryan Phillipe. I would recommend this podcast for any fans of the show, or for anyone interested in hearing the news with a new spin!!  For any of you unfamiliar with the show, or any fans of Canadian singer/songwriter Hawksley Workman, here is a recent interview where he discusses his latest album, Between the Beautifuls. 

Pentagon bans Google from mapping military bases

I happened to run across this article which explains how Google has been banned from using Street View on U.S. military bases after images of a Texas base ended up on Google Maps.   Street View is a feature which allows the viewer to choose a location he/she would like to zoom in on, and show a panoramic view of the chosen area at street level.  While this feature is very interesting and can be very helpful at times for locating landmarks or buildings in the area, many question both the morality and legality of Street View.  Many cities in the United States can now be viewed using Street View, but the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has concerns regarding federal privacy laws if it was used in Canada.  I’m interested as to what my fellow privacy-loving Canadians think of Street View, so if you have any thoughts or concerns, please feel free to post them here!! Here is a news report I found on YouTube regarding Street View.  Enjoy!! 

Tech Task #7: VoiceThread

Here is my first attempt at creating a VoiceThread story:

Tech Task #6: Mastercard Commercial

Leader Post Online

My brother was checking out the the online Leader Post site today and found this article on our old Driver’s Ed instructor ...  Little did we know that the man who taught so many of us how to parallel park and shoulder check was making such a difference in peoples’ lives!!  This is a fine example of an ordinary person doing extraordinary things!! Great motivation and inspiration for any teacher-in-training on thinking outside the classroom and becoming an agent of change!!

Tech Task #8: My Inspirations (hopefully this one works…)

I created this post a few days ago and just realized today that the image could only be viewed using Safari, for some strange reason… It didn’t want to work in Internet Explorer or Firefox. Anyways, hopefully this works better… Just click on the picture if you’d like to enlarge it!! If you happen to read this post and notice that it still isn’t working for whatever reason, send me a message, and I’ll see if I can figure it out!!

CTV Broadband

For those of you who can never remember what time your favourite CTV program comes on, or if you simply don’t have time to sit down and watch it during regular broadcast hours, do what I do and check it out on broadband, where they can be played, stopped, rewound, and fast-forwarded 24 hours a day, commercial free!  Not all of their programming is offered this way, but several shows including Degrassi: The Next Generation, Corner Gas, Lost, W5, and The Colbert Report can all be viewed on broadband through the CTV website.  It’s definitely worth checking out!!