Podcast

The podcast assignment provided an opportunity for me to experiment with a number of audio production tools. Time was spent setting up Garageband and optimizing my Samson C01U USB condenser microphone. After making the obligatory adjustments to Garageband I made several test recordings in an attempt to balance audio levels. One mono audio narration track was placed over a looped music track in order to reduce file size. Most of the effects on Garageband are pretty cheesy so I decided to record each track dry (i.e. no effects added). This resulted in a fairly clean recording that could be modified at a later date. My podcasting experience was favorable despite the fact I am not a narrator. You can access my Notebook Tablet podcast at the following address:
http://davegraw.podbean.com/

Importing Video to iMovie

This vignette describes how to import video into iMovie.

RSS Assignment 4

Over the past two weeks I've developed a love/ hate relationship with RSS aggregator software tools. Excitement generated by my first download soon dissipated as I began to understand the nature of the beast. I began to experience information overload within hours of setting up my iGoogle and iTunes accounts! I decided it was time to do something about the situation after being inundated by a large number of RSS feeds (328 as of now).

Most of the information I received corresponded to my interest in computers, educational technology, electronic music, and video production. Many of these feeds were quickly analyzed, evaluated, and saved for future reference. Irrelevant information was either ignored or discarded into a virtual trash bin. Confronted with an enormous information management problem I immediately decided to take corrective action. Each of the RSS subscriptions were evaluated in terms of their currency, credibility, reliability, and relevance to my interests. Subscriptions that failed to meet criterion-referenced standards were cancelled. By weeding out a lot of bogus information I was better able to manage my digital assets.

In retrospect I believe this assignment taught me several important lessons. Considering my inexperience using RSS and aggregator software, I felt this activity helped me understand how to locate subject-related information from multiple sources. Lessons learned from this experience could be adapted for use in almost any instructional setting. For example, I could adapt a chord finder/ music theory gadget for use in teaching someone how to play the guitar. Beginning and intermediate level students would really benefit from using music-related gadgets during their practice sessions. Hopefully I will be able to use RSS in the future as a means to achieve personal and professional learning objectives.

RSS Blog Assignment 3

RSS news feeds have provided an opportunity for me to monitor the evolving financial crisis on Wall Street. Figures provided by Dow Jones, Standard and Poors (S & P), and Nasdaq were compared in an attempt to predict how the information would be reported in the mainstream media. Using this data I wanted to see how several news agencies would put their spin on unfolding events. It was an interesting experience and I was somewhat surprised by the results.

News reports filed by The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post indicated that global market conditions were extremely volitile. Each of these newspapers forcast that this dire situation would persist until at least mid- 2009. The newspapers were pretty straightfoward in reporting how the government was considering a second round of rebates for qualified taxpayers. Also, the newspapers were fairly objective in reporting how the proposed rebate initiative would increase the national debt. As a dyed in the wool pessimist, I was expecting these newspapers to be extremely critical of governmental efforts to stabilize the financial crisis, especially when it came to increasing the national debt. Unfortunately this did not happen.

Several reports filed with National Public Radio (NPR) were similar to information posted in the newspapers. NPR reporters seemed to suggest that the Presidential election, and Democratic control of both Houses of Congress, would be catalysts in formulating a concerted response to the financial crisis.



RSS feeds from each of these news services has helped me to understand the complex nature of problems that are confronting us. With RSS I've discovered how to locate and download reliable sources of information. It is my responsibility to analyze and evaluate the information being posted by newsmakers. Being able to compare and contrast conflicting news reports has enabled me to become an independent thinker.

RSS Blog Assignment 2

RSS news feeds taken from multiple sources has enabled me to expand my worldview of current events. I'm amazed by the wide differences of opinions held by journalists on issues associated with the U.S. elections, Russian hegemony, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the depressed economy. I've discovered how world news can be influenced by the political inclinations held by so-called "independent" news reporting agencies. For instance, Fox News appears to be supportive of religious right-wing republican fat cats who espouse conservative ideals, whereas National Public Radio (NPR) kowtows to leftist liberal do-gooders who want "change" from the status quo in Washington.

Many international news services including the Voice of America, Radio Marti, and Aljazeera regularly distribute information dictated by low level bureaucrats as a means of destabilizing enemy governments. These broadcasts are transmitted by people who are intent on changing public opinion and shaping foreign policy. In my opinion there is an absence of truly independent news reporting services in the free world.

An amalgam of information taken from multiple sources is necessary to extract reliable and credible information concerning global events. There are always at least two sides to every story and the truth seems to fall somewhere in the middle. As a result my quest for accurate data involves sifting through a lot of garbage. However, RSS subscriptions to several news organizations have enabled me to organize this search process. Rather than proceeding with a time-consuming search process I can now subscribe to news organizations that are objective and unbiased in their reporting practices.

Recently I've been following news reports that have chronicled the $750 billion dollar bailout of several Wall Street financial concerns. Fox News has been very supportive of governmental efforts to stabilize the situation through an infusion of taxpayer monies. Several reports broadcast by National Public Radio (NPR) suggest that the financial collapse of Wall Street was a manufactured event designed by corporate executives to recuse themselves from their own miscalculation of market conditions. The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) has filed a comprehensive series of reports detailing root causes that precipitated the global financial collapse. In my opinion these reports have offered a more balanced and objective view of the problem. Despite the conflicting views taken by corporate or government owned news agencies, I remain steadfast in my determination to seek out truthful answers to difficult questions.

RSS Blog Assignment 1

The most difficult part of this assignment was finding instructional materials that related to my personal and professional interests. However, the search process was expedited through the use of aggregator software tools provided by Google Reader, iGoogle, and Apple iTunes. Using descriptive RSS tags I was able to conduct a comprehensive search of information relating to photography, audio/ video editing, and electronic music production.


Google Reader was designated as the main repository for blogs that I subscribed to. Informative blogs generated by Emerging Technology classmates, Steve Hargadon, Cool Cat Teacher, Weblogg-edu, Two Cents Worth, Edu Blogs, and The Apple Blog were selected for inclusion on my site. Site management tools embedded in Google reader enabled me to find blog- related sites created by friends, classmates, colleagues, and practitioners in my field of study. Having these sites in one location enabled quick access to a myriad of information from multiple sources.


The iGoogle site was customized to my specifications and populated with a variety of news, technology, consumer, and music-related resources. In an effort to streamline operations, I spent several hours locating and organizing digital resources related to my interests. Although this process was very time-consuming, I felt the effort would help me with subsequent searches for up to date information. Category tabs for news, technology, jobs, education, podcast, and music related sites were created in order to
organize my data. Using embedded tools I was able to subscribe to RSS feeds from the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Fox News, BBC News, Reuters, National Public Radio (NPR), Apple Computer, MacWorld, Canon, Sony, Nikon,
FLOSS Weekly, TEDTalks, Jazz Guitar, and Harmony Central.


In addition, these efforts led me to a search of audio and video-based podcasts that could be downloaded into my iTunes directory. My search produced feeds from EdTechLive (Steve Hargadon), David Warlick, and Howard Reingold's Vlog site. Using RSS descriptive tags I was able to locate video podcast tutorials related to Adobe Captivate and Acoustic Guitar techniques. These tutorials will be invaluable in helping me understand computer processes and guitar-based instructional techniques. The most significant find in my search was an audio podcast series produced by jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. Each of these podcast recordings were immediately downloaded to my iPod. Way Cool!

RSS

I'm beginning to realize the power of RSS in harnessing my digital assets. Before taking the Emerging Tech class I would download digital materials to my computer without any concerns whatsoever. Often these downloads were conducted in an unsystematic and haphazard manner. However, by using RSS tools, I've been able to locate resources by entering descriptive tags that are relevant to the topic of interest. Rather than conducting a time-consuming internet search I've been able to use descriptive tags to do the work for me! This process has enabled me to become more organized in finding, storing, and accessing digital materials. It took a while, but I've discovered that RSS is becoming a very good friend.

(RSS logo by www.firstalert.com)