Category: Russo’s Ramblings

I had the pleasure of getting a behind-the-scenes look at producing a podcast today. My brother works at a local radio station. Each night they produce a podcast of the daily call-in show. I got a personal tour of trimming the audio file, converting it to m4a format, adding podcast chapters, and updating the xml file that is read by iTunes. While there are a few different steps to keep track of, it is a very straight forward process, and fascinating to watch in action.

I’m intrigued by the possibilities for podcasting in school. Just waiting for the right opportunity and audience to appear…

So, having a little time this week, I’ve been playing around with Firefox themes. I usually don’t mess around with these (meaning no time…) but it’s kinda cool to change things around. I found and really like the Noia 2.0 eXtreme – click on the image to enlarge.

Great news – the electricians have determined what the issue is has caused the power problems we have had. I have a new and renewed appreciation for electricity that we depend on every day. Not only for how it powers everything we do, but for how powerful it is. Check out this BrainPOP movie for a quick overview, or this HowStuffWorks article for a more in-depth discussion of electricity.

I also highly recommend a visit to the Niagara Power Project Power Vista in Niagara Falls. It is a free hands-on learning center to discover electricity and how the massive power plant there was built.

“There is an ever present danger that the excitement of creating multimedia slides and presentations will distract students from the very real and difficult challenge of addressing a human audience, face-to-face, eye-to-eye.”

– McKenzie, Jamie. “Scoring Power Points.” From Now On 10.1 (Sept. 2000). 30 Jan. 2006 http://www.fno.org/sept00/powerpoints.html.

The point of PowerPoint is to be a presentation TOOL. It should not be the focus. An excellent presentation is done by a person who knows what they want to say, speaks clearly and confidently, makes eye contact, and connects with his/her audience. PowerPoint can provide visual and audio support to make the presentation better. It cannot (and should not) be a substitute for a good speaker.

Before you ever start a PowerPoint, know what you want to say. Then, figure out what is most important and highlight that on the slides. Put in supporting material (pictures, audio, etc.) to enhance your speaking points. THEN make it look nice (backgrounds, fonts, etc.).

The best looking PowerPoint in the world is no good if there is no worthwhile content in it, and no knowledgable speaker in front of it.

I was teaching an inservice with Mr. Saia today about Internet search strategies. He made a comment that resonated with me – he said, “…the things we are showing you now about searching will all be different in 6 months…” Well, it was something along those lines – maybe not exactly.

The point is, the Internet changes constantly…new ideas, new technologies…keeping up can be tough. Maybe that’s why we “surf” the Internet rather than “swim”? Maybe we need a jet-ski?

PC Magazine has posted The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years. Without showing my age TOO much, let’s just say I own/owned at least 4 or 5 of the goodies on the list. While the box on the right may look like a dinosaur (and if you saw the graphics on it you would laugh), in its heyday it was awesome.
Some parents may have one of these in the closet – its an Atari Video Computer System (later called the Atari 2600).

Interesting that no. 1 and no. 2 on the list are portable music players. Look at the list and think about why some of the items are there. Then, think about a tech gadget you use now that may make the list in 50 years.