Weekly Report and Reflection #11

Hello Everybody!

Can you all believe that this is my 11th blog talking to you guys about my experiences with a variety of technology? This will be the second last blog from me, where I will be talking about my experiences exploring tools such as SoundCloud and RecordMP3.

Wikipedia. (CC) 2016.

For this week in particular, we were looking into the world of webcasting and the different types of tools that can be implemented for this venture. I learned that creating a podcast is both deceivingly easy and difficult all at once.  As I was navigating around SoundCloud, I found that creating a membership was incredibly easy, and the site to be straightforward. I easily could find the steps on how to start recording and how to redo my attempts. However, I became frustrated while I was using the tool, as one of my attempts became unusable after I tried to 'rewind' it too many times, resulting in an annoying static sound and another clip got lost after I mistakenly clicked the wrong button. Both of these situations could very well be my inability to work a computer properly, but I would like to believe it was SoundCloud. I also explored RecordMP3, where I found it was very similar to SoundCloud and quite easy to follow. However, as I tried to create a clip, the tool would not pick up my voice.

I can see both tools being very useful in educational activities, even implementing either tool into projects. I think they would be a great starting place for children who are wary of public speaking and children who excel at it. I also think it is valuable to have more people speaking out about topics , which could include school projects, allowing for other people to hear from the perspective of another age group. I also think these tools are excellent, as it allows the listener to connect more with the speaker and really listen to what they are saying. I would definitely include this in my PLE under my education blurb. However, I would have to ensure that when listening to other people who have implemented these tools, I look out for the citations to determine if the facts are true.

After reading Andrea's post this week, I liked how she related these tools to VoiceThread, as I never made the connection myself. It is interesting to see that although the tools are similar because the main selling point is the use of your voice, I never saw them as being similar. This may be because I prefer to type, where VoiceThread gave me that option, as SoundCloud did not. I also liked her idea of multimedia with incorporating these types of tools in blogs, to give your words a literal voice. I also found it interesting how Andrea and Tyra  spoke about enunciation and interviews in relation to tools such as SoundCloud. I did find that I had to speak more clear, but unlike the ladies mentioned, found it to be bothersome because once I started to script out my speech, I started to sound robotic and flustered. However, I do see how these tools would be excellent to use in practicing for future interviews.

Wikipedia. (CC) 2016.

This week, I found an article from Feedly that ties into the digital aspect of the course and the school year drawing to a close. Nielsen's blog post focuses on the use of LinkedIn and the important role it plays in career readiness. If this topic intrigues you, please check out Nielsen's blog!

Until next time!
Nicole