Vodcast+project


 * Vodcast Project **(20% of final grade)

One of the strongest ways to integrate educational technology into school subject matter is with vodcasts. Vodcasts is a means of digital storytelling, which can be utilized with any subject matter and allows users to shape and craft content in powerful ways. Vodcast creation and production is grounded in creativity. It is a digital literacy which blends images, text, first-person narration, and music. The creative process of creating a digital story gives powerful representation to one’s voice; a process which Zhao (2008) suggests represents the knowledge that has the most worth. Thus, a key question for educators is: //In what ways can vodcasts be utilized to unleash the creativity of learners?//

**Purpose:** The purpose of this assignment is for you to create your own 4-5 minute vodcast. While the topic for your vodcast is up to you, please //__craft a project that you will use as part of a lesson or unit you are teaching and plan to share with your students__//. If you are not currently teaching, choose a grade/age and topic related to your certification and/or previous teaching experience. You need to create a new page which has all relevant information as well as your vodcast (tag it: vodcastproject). Be sure to follow the title and linking directions on the Our Vodcast Projects page.


 * When you're finished, upload your final project to Our Vodcast Projects page. **


 * Directions: **
 * Identify a lesson or topic idea which you could create a vodcast about. Examples and ideas for digital stories: the importance of zero, the water cycle, types of clouds, types of landforms, narrative of Harriet Beecher Stowe's life, fractions, how (and when) to use commas, etc.
 * Use PhotoStory 3, Windows Moviemaker, or iMovie for the creation of your digital story. See below for more details related to how to create a digital story using PhotoStory 3.
 * You will upload your digital story to www.vimeo.com or www.teachertube.com in order to embed your digital story onto our wiki. If you do not have a vimeo account, please sign up for one (it's free)..
 * **Please note:** the upload process on YouTube is usually much quicker than TeacherTube. However, YouTube might be blocked at your school, whereas most schools allow TeacherTube and Vimeo. With YouTube you can also unlist your vodcast so it will not show up in any public searches, but allows you to share the link and/or embed the video however you like. I recommend selecting the unlisted option if you have concerns about privacy. You can also password protect your video on Vimeo's site (I use Vimeo to store my videos).
 * In order to embed  a video on the wiki, follow these directions: Go to Our Vodcast Project page on the wiki. Create a new page with your vodcast information and then embed it on your page. To embed your video, click on the "Edit this Page" icon. When the Editor tool bar opens up, click on the TV icon. Choose the Video widget and click on the online video format (i.e. teachertube.com or vimeo.com). The widget will pop-up these directions for embedding the video:
 * Go to your video on Vimeo or TeacherTube.com that you want to embed
 * Look for the "Embeddable" or "Embed" field on the video page
 * Copy the text from Embed field
 * Paste into Video widget box (wiki editor)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Click Preview to preview the video or click Save


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What to include in your vodcast: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">a.) A creative title and your first/last name

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">b.) 10-20 photographs (be sure to practice digital citizenship when selecting/creating these images)

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">c.) Voice narration that explains and narrates the images in a story format (i.e. a beginning introduction, a middle, an ending conclusion). **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Important: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Please note that sound editing and background music are two important presentation elements to any vodcast. As you create your vodcast for the vodcast project assignment, be sure to check, listen to, and edit your narration volume. I recommend narrating and previewing a couple of test slides to be sure the narration is at a consistently loud volume. This is especially true if you are going to use the computer's built-in microphone. You want to speak clearly and at a "conversation with friends in a crowded coffee shop" volume level. This doesn't mean you have to shout, but your volume should be loud enough to consistently hear your voice over any background music. Err on the side of being louder when you narrate.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">d.) Appropriate credits for all the pictures (this is best done as a slide at the end of your vodcast, unless you created all your pictures/images for your digital story). **Important:** To cite a picture properly, include image author's name/website source (e.g., Photo 1: John Doe/flickr.com)

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">e.) Music (optional but recommended). **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Important: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> As I explained on the Copyright & Fair Use page, educators also have "fair use" to copyright music. You can legally use up to 10% of a musical composition in print, sound, or multimedia form. However, there are plenty of royalty free music sites on the Internet which allow you to legally use entire songs. Sites like www.freeplaymusic.com and@http://www.royaltyfreemusic.com/free-music-resources.html offer a variety of musical genres. A simple Google search will help you identify other such sites. Please remember that even when you use royalty free music or "free music," you should still cite the musician(s) name(s) if given.Your citation can be formatted as follows - Digital story background music: "Free Music is Fun" by Jane Smith.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Materials needed: **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">**PHOTOS & SOFTWARE:** Go to Flickr.com or another free photo or stock image search engine to find most, if not all, of the images you need for your digital story. Please know that if you use images off Flickr (or any photo sharing site) make sure you are aware of copyrights. Flickr has recently changed some of it licensing agreements. At one time, most of the images on Flickr were licensed under a Creative Commons agreement which allowed users to "copy and share alike." Now Flickr offers users the ability to either release their images under certain common usage licenses or label their images as "all rights reserved." Creative Commons spells out exactly how an image can be used and how attributes should be given. In order to be completely sure and safe with copyright, I recommend starting your Flickr searches in the Creative Commons area of the Flickr site. Go to the following links for Creative Commons' Flickr images. Your computer - I suggest PC users create their vodcast project using MovieMaker or PhotoStory 3, both of which are free downloads. If you are a Mac user, you can use iMovieto create a vodcast.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">@http://www.flickr.com/commons/
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">@http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">If you choose to capture/create your own images, you will need a digital camera or iPod/iPad
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">For more information about copyright issues and the educators "fair use" clause related to copyrights, see the following:@http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280b.shtml


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">**MICROPHONES AND RECORDING DEVICES:** Most laptops have internal microphones to capture your voice narration. However, if you have access to a standard microphone headset or a USB microphone - it will enhance the sound quality of your digital story. If you live near MSU's campus, you can check out a USB microphone for two weeks from the TIES office in 133 Erickson Hall.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Additional Resources to check out: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">1. Edutech at Michigan State has a webpage devoted to vodcasts; check out their ideas/links/resources\ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">2. My Web 2.0 Adventure blog "Audio Resources - Podcasting/Vodcasting" <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">3. Educational Technology Network's page focused on "Classroom Podcasting/Vodcasting" <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">4. Online Summer's <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">5. Web2foryou wiki's "Podcasts and Vodcasts" <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">6. "TE 922 Vodcast Project"a website I created for an MSU faculty member for his doctoral class, TE 922; this site has additional resources you might find useful <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">7. iMovie 6 Tutorial

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">1. iPads in Education's "Using iPads to create Vodcasts" <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">2. Natalina Parker's blog <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">3. Screen chomp (check out Kelli's Tech Tool #1 post)
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Using an iPad to create a vodcast: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">I will use the TE 831 Vodcast Project grading rubric (linked below) to evaluate your vodcasts based on the // **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">content ** //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> (i.e., is it presented clearly, accurately portrayed and in ways that promote the audience's learning?); // **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">presentation value ** //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> (i.e., narration volume, image clarity, correct spelling of text, etc.); // **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">digital citizenship ** //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;"> (i.e., image credits); and, whether you have included the following:
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Evaluation: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">a.) A creative title and your name <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">b.) 10-20 images (if you have more than 20 that is fine, as long as they're easy to view and the timing "works") <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">c.) Voice narration that clearly and audibly narrates the images in a story format (i.e., a beginning introduction, a middle, an ending conclusion) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">d.) Appropriate credits for all the images and pictures (this is best done as a slide at the end of your digital story); see information above <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">e.) Music (optional but recommended; if you do include background music, be sure to check the volume and include a credit for song title(s) and musician name(s))

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 10pt;">DUE DATE: The digital story is due Sunday, June 9. You will embed your vodcast on a separate page and link it to Our Vodcast Projects page. **