Where to find good Podcast

I searched the web for finding podcast. There are many different way to find podcast but there are several sites that are listed to help you sift through the many sites.
Podcast search engines
In general, major search engines aren't indexing podcasts in a format that's easy to find, at least. However, there are podcast-specific search engines that have solved this problem:
Podscope: Podscope is a specialized search engine that only looks for podcasts, searching for the spoken words within the podcasts themselves.
Yahoo Podcasts: Out of all the podcast search engines that I've come across, Yahoo Podcasts is the one that I've been able to consistently and successfully use to find good podcasts. Very user-friendly.
SingingFish: Use the drop-down menu on the top left to specify that you only want to bring back audio results; conversely, you can also just type in podcast and you'll get a whole ream of results.
There's also Podzinger, Blinkx, BlogDigger, and Lycos Audio Search in the podcast search engine arena.
Podcast directories
Podcast directories are virtual gold mines for finding good podcasts. Here are a few of my favorites:
PodcastAlley.com: A podcast lover's dream. Includes the very useful Top Ten Podcasts of the Month (as voted by listeners).
Podcast.net: Podcasts here are categorized by tags; thousands of podcasts in a plethora of subjects are available for free download.
NPR Podcast Directory: Not a ton of podcasts here, but it's NPR, come on! Quality podcasts in a subject directory format.
PodcastBunker: Their motto is "quality, not quantity" and boy, they're not kidding. One of the best places to find podcasts on the web.

How To Create A Podcast

Vision of the future

What is your vision for K-12 students of the future? Technology will only continue to advance in the world. The school districts will continue to bring in new technology into the classroom. The schools have to deal with budget problems, but I see them finding ways to continue to make advancements into the future. Schools my not be able to keep up with the constant changing in technology, but any advancements that the school can make will be bennificial to the students. How can you, as an educator of the future, make a meaningful difference in their learning? As an educator we need to find ways to find money for advancement. We should look into writing grants, donations maybe even school fundraisers to obtaine the most upto date technology.

Why should technology be part of the learning in the classroom?

Technology should be a large part of learning in the classroom. One key reason is that all students do not have the opportunity or access to use technology of today. Today's world is very technology driven and the kids of the future need to know how to use what is on the market. Technology is changing so very fast that it takes a continuous program throughout the school years to keep up with the changes. This is why it is important for us as teacher to stay on top of new technology that is introduced in the world. The teacher can even use the students to keep the class abreast of new technology that is introduced. Technology in the school can only help the students have success in there future.

Lesson Learned

The lessons I learned about myself (such as perspectives, attitudes, and skills) with regards to learning and teaching with technology? I am a little nervous about using Technology in the classroom. I have very little background when it comes to using new devices. I have three children that help me when it comes to learning about new devices that are used by the students and i will try to find ways to incorporate them into the classroom. How different are you today, compared to Week 1 of this course? I found out that I am not afraid of learning new technology. At first like i said I was nervous, but as class went on I became more comfortable and even excited about using the technology the school had to offer. As more time passes I am confident i will become more advanced in the area of technology. Compared to week 1 of class I have managed to create a web site and blog for the first time ever. As far as the use of technology is concerned I believe i can take what I have learned in class and apply it to my classroom. I really liked creating the web site. This is defiantly one bit of technology that I will continue to update throughout my career.

Field Experiance

I was placed in a 6th grade classroom at Trenton St. Mary's Middle School. This school houses 5th and 6th graders. It is a small two story building with very little technology available. There are two smart boards that can be checked out and brought to the room when needed. During my hours of observation i did not see any teachers using the boards. The teachers did have a crash cart filled with laptop computers that could be checked out and brought to the room for the students to use to search information. I taught a lesson on Japanese internment camps in the US during world war 2 using the laptops to search the web. I had the students find locations of camps, populations in the camps and pictures of people moved to the camps. This was a nice learning experience for me since i have used very little technology in the class room to this point. The students liked having the time on the laptops and worked very diligently to find information. I was also introduced to an ELMO which was very interesting. It reminded me of the overhead projector when i was in school. It is a great tool because the teacher can place any object under it and it will appear on the screen for observation. The FE said she used it mostly for science. This has been another great field experience to build my knowledge on different tools and techniques in teaching.

Advantages of Backward Design

Backward design begins with the end in mind: What knowledge do I want my students to develop? How will my students demonstrate their understanding when the unit is completed? How will I make sure that students have the skills and understand that is required on the assessment?

These are the questions that teachers pose at the earliest stages of the backward design planning process. By beginning with the end in mind, teachers are able to avoid the common pitfall of planning forward from activity to activity, only to find that some students are prepared for the final assessment while others are not. Using backward design, teaching for understanding, and requiring students to apply and demonstrate their learning are not new concepts. There are many good teachers that have been using this style but not having a name for it.

One huge advantage to this plan is that the teacher knows where they are going before thaey start the lesson. By starting with the end in mind the teacher plan for what is needed to get there. The assessment is already completed before the lesson starts, making it eaisier for the teacher to make sure they cover the important points of a chapter. No mater what we are working on if we have a end result in mind we can make a solid plan on how to get there. Even though we have a set plan we can change our direction if needed, but we then should come back to that set plan just as if we were taking a detour on the road.

In what ways can I influence and support the implementation of the National Education Technology Plan

The National Education Technology Plan is a lengthy plan, but is layed out very well. This plan addreses the needs of education in the near future. this plan not only identifies the needs but goes a step futher and identifies goals and gives recomendations to accomplish these goals. One area they identified was assesments. There is a need to find ways to meaure what matters, diagnose the strngths and weeknesses in the course of learning when there is still time to improve the student's performances. I see students that have found there way around the present assessment styles and continue to move up in grade levels but have failed to reach the necessary goals for that level. By using different types of assessments when i teach i hope to avoide this problem.

Under the Obama administration, education has become an urgent priority driven by two clear goals set by the President:

• By 2020, we will raise the proportion of college graduates from where it now stands
(39%) so that 60% of our population holds a two-year or four-year degree (National
Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, 2008).
• We will close the achievement gap so that all students – regardless of race, income, or
neighborhood – graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers.
The Obama administration is on board with the NETP so this gives us as teachers someone to speak out to so we can achieve the goals that have been set in our classroom. I like to push for new ideas. Going into a new school i hope to bring fresh ideas as well as learn new ideas from the current staff.

Backward Design

What are the advantages of Backward Design? How can I use its principles to guide the learning design process?
The biggest advantage is that you know the the desired knowledge you want the student to achieve before you start planing your lesson. Instead of building assessments off of what material you cover in class you build the lessons of of the assessment that has been already designed. By doing this you have a more direct path to the objective you have set for the material to be covered. When you have a goal in mind that is to be achieved you can build the necessary steps to achieve that goal. When I am teaching I will create my objectives for the subject at hand and design my lesson plan to achieve that goal.

How can learning circles benefit my learning throughout this class?

Learning circles are a great resource! When you have a question big or small learning circles give us three more people we can look to for assistance. When a student has a question they feel i dumb it is sometimes difficult to ask the proffessor, so with having the LC'c it may make it easier to find that answer. Learning circles also brings the class together and promotes unity. LC's teach us to work together as a team and this is the way it should be when we start teaching. More material can be covered and and shared amoug the LC's inturn more knowledge can be acuired.

Technology in the classroom has come a long way since i was in school. I remember the first computer our math teacher had in class. It was a TRS 80 and it stored data on a casset player. Today we have smart boards and computers in most of the classrooms. I was once told the computer is only as smart as the person that was using it. That is not true, but a person must know how to use it to retrieve information that can be used. I have come a long way with computers and other newer technology that has been introduced. I think the kids are very use to the new technology that is available to be used and we have to present ways for them to use these tools. As a teacher we have to learn what is out there and how to use it so the students will stay updated and be able to learn about the new technology that is comming out each day. I would like to make technology a large part of my classroom every chance i get.