ID3 tag editor

Looking for a good ID3 tag editor for Windows? Check out AudioShell. (If you aren't familiar with ID3 tags, they include metadata that tells your media player things like the track name, the artist, and the genre. That's how your MP3 player can know how to play all your jazz tracks.)

This software is free and includes the ability to add cover art to your file. You can edit single files or groups of files with this tool. Once it's installed, you edit the tags by right-clicking the file and selecting Properties. There you'll see an AudioShell Tag Editor tab where you can edit your tags.

Podcasting contest winner

As a part of the podcasting workshop I did at TCEA in Austin, TX this month, we had a contest for the best podcast created as a part of the workshop. Entries were judged on content and technical merit.

The winner was Gabriel Landes from Judson ISD for "What is Podcasting?" Gabriel created a video podcast about podcasting to share what he learned at TCEA with the staff back home. You can view this video podcast here. This podcast is a good example of how podcasting can be used for professional development. It also gives a good overview of podcasting if you're new to it.

Congratulations, Gabriel!

We'll be running another contest as a part of our podcasting workshop at NCCE 2007 in Spokane.

technorati tags:ncce2007

Science podcasts

Here are some podcasts relating to science that may be of interest for use with middle school and high school students:

Quirks and Quarks - a science-related radio show produced by CBC Radio One in Canada

NOVA podcasts - several different podcasts from NOVA, the highest rated science series on television

Science Friday - the popular NPR science show

The Science Show - a Radio National show from Australia

NPL Celebrating Science Lectures - video podcasts of lectures from NPL, the UK's National Physical Laboratory (a little higher level than the others)

Here is a site that has a directory of many museums that are podcasting. These include science museums. What a great way to supplement your virtual (or real) field trips.

For advanced high school students, there are also a number of universities that podcast their lectures, such as Berkeley.

Of course, as with all podcasts and other web materials, make sure to screen individual episodes for studen appropriateness.

Gabcast! Mobile Musings #6

Technology empowers kids

I have been working on a large project using handhelds and desktop computers to enhance student writing, and I am more and more convinced that one of the best uses of technology is in the area of writing. For many kids who have struggled with writing in the past, a keyboard can free them up to be successful writers.

Good software is a key as well. This picture is of a wall of Inspiration-generated concept maps. (Teachers will always have bulletin boards.:) Students used Inspiration to generate ideas for a persuasive essay. These concept maps were then converted to outlines that students used to organize their ideas and add details. I've seen kids really latch on to the idea of paragraph development using this method. The outlines were then transferred to Word, where kids wrote their persuasive essays.

This process emphasizes the steps of prewriting in a way that is more approachable for kids and makes the actual writing a lot easier. When tasked with writing a 500-700 word essay, kids groaned at the task. After using Inspiration to plan their writing, one little girl said to me "I'm gonna have WAY more than 500 words! Is that ok?" Now that's the power of technology.:)
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