Thursday, March 14, 2019

Day 14 - CREATE with AUDIO






One of the reasons we come to SxSw is to get a pulse on technology trends, especially technology that we should be paying attention to in Education.  Long lines to sessions are not uncommon especially if a topic is one to pay attention to.


After spending a couple of sessions in our favorite room at SxSw - Ballroom D, Craig and I were discussing where we'd head to lunch as Alexis Jones was wrapping up her session (I AM THAT GIRL)   when all of a sudden I noticed the room filling up.  Many SxSw veterans know that one way to ensure that you get a seat in a popular session is to attend the session before.  I started to suspect that we should skip lunch and stay seated as the room filled up. 




Turns out the session featured Spotify's Dawn Ostroff  talk about Spotify's recent acquisition (Gimlet and Anchor) and its plan to enter the exploding world of podcasting.

The Second Golden Age of Audio --Podcasting Alex Heath, Matt Lieber, Michael Mignano, Dawn Ostroff


I knew podcasting was rising in popularity but I had no idea how popular until I head Dawn share the stat's about the growth in just the last year and its plan to be a major player in that field.




This is one trend that I think we need to pay attention to in K12.  It has always had so much potential, but now that its become HIP,  educators can really leverage this amazing technology tool in so many different ways.   

Over 10 years ago I introduced podcasting to my students at St. Albans City School.  With a little digging on line I was able to find  the very first episode that my students published back in 2008.


I even found a longer podcast episode that they created as Student Ambassadors for Open Source at the FOSSVT conference.  

Of course, we used the open source tool, Audacity,  to create those podcast. At first we published them on Archive.org and even found a way to publish them on iTunes.   I must admit that I'm feeling that our kids might have just been trend setters! ;-) '

Students creating podcast build so many literacy skills.  They also build communication skills, research skills, projects management skills, and technical skills.  In a world where our attention span is shrinking, the fact that podcasts are increasing in popularity leaves me hopeful! 

As you create spaces for creating and making in your school,  you'll definitely want to build a space where students can record high quality audio and create their own podcast.   I'd say this is as important as a green screen in your maker space.      Sound scapes play a huge role in creation of video as well as the up and coming immersive storytelling that Virtual Reality allows us to create. 

In a recent tweet @Jessvanorman reached out for suggestions for tools that her students with Chromebooks could use 




One of the great things about having high quality recording tools in your makerspace is that your students can use the space for so many different types of projects from Virtual Reality to Podcasting.

But don't wait until your school provides students  a dedicated space for creating with audio,  encourage your students to grab their Chromebook and explore creating audio as a way to share their learning. 

Here are a few suggestions @Jessvanorman received for recording tools that her students can use to get started! 

 Mar 12Replying to @MichaelBerryEDU @techsavvygirl and 4 others
Check out - Saves mp3 to Drive. Easy-peasy.





    1.  Mar 12
      Replying to   and 
      I’ve also used Wevideo to create audio track then used a conversion site to convert the video into mp3
      1 like



    1.  Mar 12
      Replying to   and 
      And finally - Soundtrap is amazing - worth the $



    1.  Mar 12
      Replying to   and 
      Finally I’ve used Scratch to record audio - it has a pretty good editor and you can export or download your clip



    1.  Mar 12
      Replying to   and 
      I’ve used a while back - not recently







and from I learned that Audacity now as a Chrome ExtensionMore



I am so looking forward to the rise of PODCASTING within our schools! 

-- And for those of you who were not in Austin, this week, YOU TOO, can hear about "The Second Golden Age of Audio --Podcasting " SxSw session with
Alex Heath, Matt Lieber, Michael Mignano, Dawn Ostroff  via SxSw's YouTube channel. 









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