Yesterday, I began the wave goodbye to Cinch, my podcasting platform of choice, and today, I say hello to Audioboo. The two platforms have many similarities, and as I explore Audioboo (on the web, with the app, and with the call-in phone number), I find it might meet the needs of my classroom. My students regularly podcast on our iTouch, and Cinch was our favorite site (for ease of use). I am hoping Audioboo can take its place now that Cinch is closing up shop.
First, here is a podcast that I recorded yesterday, as a comment response to Bill Ferriter’s great piece about whether kids really are motivated by technology (or whether they are more intrigued by the social aspects). I agree with Bill, but argue, too, that we have in fact noticed increased motivation by our struggling writers, in particular, when technology tools are in the mix.
Then, I downloaded the Audioboo app on my iTouch to give it a try. I was writing a poem about the end of summer, and decided to podcast it out.
Here is the poem:
Summer Slips Away
I’m trying not to flinch
as my own kids get antsy about what could only be called
the inevitable march towards the end of summer,
so we’re doing our best to:
tape down the calendar so that August never ends and September never arrives;
cram our days with biking, running, hiking, jumping, playing;
absorb warm summer rays on the baseball fields;
read the last few chapters of the last great beach book;
but still .. but still …
my teacher mind that never really sleeps wakes me up now in the middle of night
with calls of lesson plans, project ideas,
and the purposeful pacing of that first morning just days away now where I will meet
with my students,
and they, with me,
and together we will begin the first steps of our adventure and inquiry
even as the last bits of summer slip away from us
with the leaves already turning yellow from the cool night air.
Peace (in the podcast),
Kevin
PS – One thing I don’t see with Audioboo is the quick link to download the file as an MP3, which Cinch allowed, and which was very convenient for me to collect student work as audio files. But I found a workaround in the forums. So that’s good.