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[goldenapple]

I'm going to be teaching an online foreign language class this fall. In the past, I've used VoiceBoard (on Blackboard) to allow students to record themselves responding to questions I posted. This time, I'd like to be able to have students talk to each other and record this. I'm thinking of using "Live Classroom" to allow the whole class to speak the foreign language and have group discussions. But has anyone used any other software to allow students to talk among themselves? Or to have more conversational exchanges? Any sites I should look at?

Another issue is podcasts. I have collected a number of audio files (radio programs, recordings of poetry) and would like to have students listen to these. I'm very uneasy about creating podcasts myself or even creating any audio material that lasts more than 5 minutes (e.g.: PowerPoint with audio narration), because I find most podcasts so boring. The audio files I've chosen were all made by broadcasting professionals, and I find it hard to accept the lower quality of many podcasts that I've seen on course websites. Any thoughts on whether it's possible to make really good podcasts yourself? 

[dept_geek]

Any thoughts on whether it's possible to make really good podcasts yourself? 

Well, like anything else, "really good" comes with practice. But yes, it is possible. Several of my colleagues pod and vodcast most of their online courses.

Look at Camtasia and (or) Audacity for some of your work. Less boring than Powerpoint with narration.  You may just want to link to professional podcasts & YouTube/TeacherTube videos.

[voxprincipalis]

Chime on Audacity.

VP

[notaprof]

Chime on Audacity.

VP

Reading this entry first, I thought this was a comment on the original poster until I read the other entries!  Carry on with advice for goldenapple.

[voxprincipalis]

Chime on Audacity.

VP

Reading this entry first, I thought this was a comment on the original poster until I read the other entries!  Carry on with advice for goldenapple.

Oh, sorry! "Chime on Audacity" is not a program, nor was I enthusiastically encouraging Audacity by telling it to "Chime on!"

Let me rephrase: I agree with dept_geek that Audacity is worth looking into.

Now that I'm posting again, I might as well include a recommendation to check out ProfCast as well.

VP

[epistephiliac]

Now that I'm posting again, I might as well include a recommendation to check out ProfCast as well.

You just beat me: I'm playing with ProfCast at the moment, and will probably use it this fall.

[voxprincipalis]

Now that I'm posting again, I might as well include a recommendation to check out ProfCast as well.

You just beat me: I'm playing with ProfCast at the moment, and will probably use it this fall.

Me too, possibly; we have unmanageably large class sizes this semester and some sort of podcast supplementation would probably be a good idea.

VP

[dept_geek]

Now that I'm posting again, I might as well include a recommendation to check out ProfCast as well.

You just beat me: I'm playing with ProfCast at the moment, and will probably use it this fall.

OK, ProfCast looks cool.   Have to get me a copy of ProfCast for fall. :)

OP - only runs on Macs for now. Camtasia only runs on Windows for now. Big price difference, too.

[goldenapple]

Ok, I'm now fascinated by Audacity and feel myself drawn to the allure of ProfCast. I think what I'll have to do now is grill the people in the teaching technology office about the difference between ProfCast and the options in the Wimba Classroom (which is part of our Blackboard package) and Wimba Podcaster. And then see if they'll be willing to pay for ProfCast if it is obviously better.

I'm already digitizing a number of things and would like to use those in my podcasts (it's a foreign language class, so I often play audio or video and then interrupt it to ask questions or clarify, and then re-play or continue). Ideally, I'd like to be able to include these kinds of files and my "dialog" with them.

[epistephiliac]

Now that I'm posting again, I might as well include a recommendation to check out ProfCast as well.

You just beat me: I'm playing with ProfCast at the moment, and will probably use it this fall.

Me too, possibly; we have unmanageably large class sizes this semester and some sort of podcast supplementation would probably be a good idea.ù

My classes will still be small, but I'm thinking about augmenting my in-class lectures with others as assigned "readings," in the form of podcasts and/or narrated slide shows.

[magistra]

On audiocasting...

You can create decent voice recordings with Wimba -- a lot is about whether you're comfortable and how you "perform" as much as technical quality, so you may want to bribe a friend if you're really uncomfortable.  And buy a decent headset.  I find that if I just have a glass of wine and pretend I'm reading a story aloud to a little kid, and use that sort of extra emphasis -- and really, semester one stories are at that level -- they come out fine. 

I find that students will blow audio files off if they're not related to a graded assignment, and they often listen to them while studying, in the car, etc. -- in other words, think about how important an individual file is and where the student might be listening to it.  It was rather a shock the first time a student told me he had downloaded everything to his ipod, and liked to listen to my files on repeat while jogging, so I'm his jogging partner.  I just hadn't thought of it that way for some reason.  I do a lot of verb forms and rote stuff, though -- the privilege of Latin, we don't have to make students speak it!

Your IT people might have a room set up for creating audio and video files with better equipment, sound proofing, etc.  You might want to talk to them to find out what's available and if they have any tips.  But seriously, I usually do things late at night, wine in hand.  Think of it like reading poetry to a friend or reciting favorite quotes, or having a conversation with your class.  Why not?  Those are real world situations, and it'll help keep things from getting boring. 

If you're talking about podcasts or audio with PPT and the like, again, pretend you're in class.  And if they're still boring to you, remember they may not be to the student who's having trouble keeping up.  Sometimes, boring is good.  Also, if it's redundant -- i.e. a lecture you covered in class -- then don't worry about it.  Let the students use what they find helpful.

Not sure if this answered your question, but I hope I said something useful!

[voxprincipalis]

they often listen to them while studying, in the car, etc. -- in other words, think about how important an individual file is and where the student might be listening to it.  It was rather a shock the first time a student told me he had downloaded everything to his ipod, and liked to listen to my files on repeat while jogging, so I'm his jogging partner. 

Perhaps we just approach things differently, but to me, this is exactly the idea. They do listen in the car, while running, while walking to class in the morning. It's a good way to get your words into their ears at odd moments at which they may actually be more likely to pick up something. For listening to actual music pieces (as opposed to my lecture), this is particularly valuable because the more times they listen to something, the more they come to know it.

I'm not big on the "listening to your podcast while studying [for another class]," but I think that listening in the car is perfectly fine, unless of course the car is also full of friends and they're talking while the podcast is playing. I've learned a ton by listening to academic podcasts in the car.

VP

[goldenapple]

The downloading/iPod-listening aspect is also very attractive to me. I've actually selected several downloadable radio programs (in the foreign language and on the authors we'll be reading) with the idea that students can listen to these any time. I was particularly intrigued when I read a student's description of how she made recordings of her own notes and then put them on "shuffle" on her iPod, so that she could review material while walking or jogging. This particular student felt more at ease with an audio review than she did with flashcards, and that seems perfectly reasonable.

The radio programs I've chosen, however, made me think about how I'll need to structure my own podcasts. That's one of the things I was thinking of in my original post. For instance, radio hosts repeat key names or other information with the expectation that listeners will miss things. They are also aware of the need to narrate in greater detail, to pause for explanations or definitions, and so on. These are things that a lecture doesn't do in the same way (particularly since lectures often have visual components and because we don't assume that some people will join the lecture audience very late or without any clue about the subject) and that don't feel natural to me. It's obvious that you ought to do them when you create a long podcast, but I know I'll have to work on making the podcast sound natural and avoiding the monotonous intonation of many podcasts (ok, of most non-professional videos & podcasts!).

I'm thinking of creating mini-lectures (no more than 10 minutes) in order to get around my lack of experience avoid monotony. How long are other people's podcasts? Does length matter -- or do you just assume that students will listen to podcasts in pieces, if they're much longer?

[dept_geek]

I'm thinking of creating mini-lectures (no more than 10 minutes) in order to get around my lack of experience avoid monotony. How long are other people's podcasts? Does length matter -- or do you just assume that students will listen to podcasts in pieces, if they're much longer?

I would suggest short and covering only a single piece of some topic. Label them well, and students will (er.. should.. er... mostly like will.. er.... might) listen to what they need to get better at your subject.

Practice before recording.

[magistra]

DeptGeek stole what I was going to say, and said it better.

VP -- I'm not against this, it just wasn't what I had in mind (I'm a visual learner) so it was a bit of a shock.  But my feeling is, whatever works.  It's just a bit eerie, the idea that years later a student could find my voice buried on their old ipod.  Ghostly echoes of dead tongues....

GA - Maybe you could try an experiment in which you do a podcast so students can see hand gestures, facial expression, etc., and then put it up as an audiocast and have students compare?  Then next week, have half a story up as the podcast and then the conclusion as an audiocast and test them on comprehension?  We do learn to read with visual clues (pictures) and to speak with gestures, expressions, pointing at the object, etc.  It would make sense to try to simulate it in a foreign language, then build to the "radio" version.  Also, be careful about speaking too quickly (which I tend to do.)  You might want to think about building your tempo over the course of the semester, or doing a conversation once slowly, then again faster and more colloquially to let students compare.  Stuff like that.

But if I'm babbling, don't mind me.  We tend not to worry about our conversational skills in Latin class...which is why it's so fun to design things for yours!