From Podcasting to Pilot to Student iPods - Podcast

I finally finished preparing and uploading to the LMSD Podologue a three-episode series of a presentation given in Apple Seminars on October 25, 2006, at the Chester County Intermediate Unit and, again, on December 7, 2006, at the Bucks County Intermediate Unit. The presentation was titled: iPod, uPod, wePod, theyPod: from podcasting to pilot to student iPods and the presenters included Virginia DiMedio, Director of Information Technology for Lower Merion School District (Ardmore, PA), and Mary Kirchner, World Languages Chair at Lower Merion High School, along with me.

The presentation was in three parts which made it easy to split the podcast into three episodes. The first part of the presentation describes the initial use of podcasting in LMSD as a tool for professional development (me), the second part tells how LMSD got started with student podcasting through a pilot project in the 2005-06 school year (Ginny and me), and the second part tells how LMSD got started with student podcasting through a pilot project in the 2005-06 school year (Mary).

Range of Interests and Concerns

I expect this blog to travel a somewhat winding road through a range of interests and concerns I have in the areas of professional development and the use of technology in K-12 education. Although I have been and educator more than 30 years -- most of them as a special education classroom teacher, I have worked full time since the early 90's to promote effective educational use of technology in K-12 public schools with a focus on professional development to directly impact teaching and learning in the classroom. I believe that technology can be a transformative tool in education for both teachers and students, but I also believe that ample and appropriate professional development must be provided along with sufficient time for teachers to reflect and plan their use of technology -- preferably in collaboration with colleagues, or the full potential impact on student learning will not be realized. I worry about the commitment and will to provide the resources necessary for this endeavor. And I worry that failure to transform our public education system for the better will result in a long term loss of competitive edge in the world. The world may be flat, but without a commitment to our children we could be in for a very bumpy road.