Taking
the idea of using the internet to help in education, I took the biggest step
and created a live show of myself. This
was not done lightly, as I struggled with the legal and logistical issues of
broadcasting myself. I undertook this
action for two reasons, the first being that with the proliferation of this
technology it was fairly easy to accomplish and it could prove to be a real
benefit to students who are absent or unable to attend class. The second reason being the true driving
force of this activity as students who miss a day are usually lost when they
return. However, by being able to go
back and view the actual lesson/lecture that was delivered in class they would
be able to catch up with no problems.
With
this in mind I used a website called LiveStream
which makes the process of broadcasting yourself incredibly easy. Now I have to admit that I did not actually
broadcast myself live, I actually recorded the video and then uploaded the
video to the website. The reason being,
that I wanted to have an authentic lesson that I was teaching and I also wanted
to respect the privacy of my students, to achieve this I did a video
recording of my PowerPoint with my voice over the top. This is what the Khan academy does with their
lessons, which I have found informative and interesting to watch. By also focusing on just the PowerPoint and
my voice I did not have to worry about accidentally including a student’s
face. I was also able to capture the
dynamic of teaching in front of a class and the questions that are raised in
the actual recording.
The
biggest challenge that I faced in the creating of this was trying to get the
volume correct on the recording. My
first few tries I was either so soft you could not hear what I was saying or
the other extreme of so loud my words were distorted. I also had the microphone battery die during
the recording, which I did not notice until I went back afterwards and listened
to the recording. Basically, it all came
down to just using the technology and being comfortable with what I was doing. The actual process of uploading the video on
the website was easy and did not require any new learning. In fact everything about the website
LiveStream is simple and easy to use.
From the ability to upload a video, which I did, to the ability to stream
directly off of a connected device, everything is basically a simple click with
the mouse to get you what you want. This
website also offers this all for free, you can pay to have more options, but
for my purposes the free account worked just fine.
Honestly,
I do not think that I will live stream my classroom anytime soon. The recording aspect that I did for this
assignment is definitely something that I am considering on doing on a regular
basis but not the actual live stream.
With the CIPA and COPA and all of the privacy issues that involve
students I just do not feel comfortable having a camera recording the
happenings of the classroom. For me
personally I just do not believe that I have enough to say that would warrant a
live stream. While I love the technology
and the possibilities that it provides, I just do not see myself using this in
the future.