Week 11: Webcasting and MOOCs

Forsythe, G. (2012, July 11). What is A MOOC? [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/

Tools that allow us to create and share our knowledge with others have helped students get actively engaged in their learning. One of the newer ways of sharing knowledge is through webcasts - audio or video that is streamed online and distributed to various listeners/viewers. Webcasting is essentially broadcasting over the Internet and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have used this as a way of providing more cost-effective options to students. A MOOC is a course that is open, participatory, distributed and supports lifelong networked learning. Dave Cormier (2012) explains What is a MOOC? in the video below:

Similar to MOOCs, organizations like Khan Academy work outside the classic learning system by providing free educational resources, such as video tutorials that are stored on YouTube, to encourage individual self-paced lessons. Richard Byrne (2014) suggests taking MOOCs about search skills that Google offered a couple of summers ago but that are still available online for anyone to use in order to become a better researcher. Additionally, I have included a list of other MOOC courses available just in case you're interested in taking one.

This week I explored two different types of webcasting tools: one for podcasts and another for screencasts. Out of the many free tools to choose from I decided to try the following:

1. GarageBand - As a Mac user, this seemed like the most convenient tool to explore since the software was already pre-installed onto my computer. Although it was really simple to create a podcast on here, I learned a few tricks from this post like how to clean out noise from a recording. Note: if you're not a Mac user I'd suggest you try any of the free podcast tools from this list.

2. Screenr - It does not require software download (unlike Jing) and allows instant online publishing. Again, super simple to use: select the size of the recording frame, click on the red button to record, press Done and then Publish! Here's a helpful tutorial on how to use Screenr. Make sure you check out the screencast I created.

Personally, I don't like listening to myself... I find that my voice sounds totally different than what I think it sounds like and it just weirds me out, so webcasting is not something I plan on doing. On the other hand, watching screencasts and listening to podcasts I do enjoy doing so I'll be adding webcasting tools such as iTunes and YouTube to my PLE as they've been tools that have expanded my learning.

Last week, while on the topic of digital rights and responsibilities, I talked about Creative Commons both in a blog post and on a PhotoPeach slideshow I shared. This week, I am happy to announce that I have added a Creative Commons license to my blog (About time!!). Which brings me to a few articles that came across on my Feedly from Free Technology For Teachers:
1. Videos and Guides to Copyright & Creative Commons
2. Confused About Copyright? Check This Chart
3. 30,000+ Images of Art and Artifacts to Download and Re-use for Free (I have been using Flickr to obtain pictures that I include in my blog posts, but this is another great resource to locate Copyright friendly images)