Unbelievable! After repetitive re-recordings, we still have not finished! Technically, we did finish but this computer did not save the recording. My throat and voice have gotten worse, and all for nothing! My partner and I are very upset about this issue because it was the one time we read through the entire book without mistakes! The podcast recording took up our entire class time, so we did not choose the questions, but at least we have a lot of questions listed. Even with Dr.Luongo's help, we were not able retrieve our work. For now, we will have another podcast recording up, but it is not the final take yet! We are not satisfied with that recording, so we will finish recording on our own time within the week.

Today, my partner and I plan on finally finishing the podcast recording for our The Cloud Book! Last time she was sick, this time it is I who is not feeling well. I am upset that my voice is fading, therefore, I will sound horrible, as if I did not already dislike hearing my voice on the podcast. Anyways, we will also go on to choose the top five effective questions about the book. I like the idea of "team teaching," so I plan on discussing that with my partner, but I really do not have a preference as to whether or not to teach alone or together. My main concern today is finishing the podcast already, especially before I completely lose my voice!

I accomplished one of my plans today! I was able to come up with sixteen questions for The Cloud Book, although we only need five effective questions. I will have my partner Jessenya look them over and also come up with her set of questions, and then mutually we can pick the top five questions amongst the the two sets. In this session, I was also able to search through some lesson plans online, but it was not enough. I will still need some more research and work on it before I can actually begin to set up the lesson plan I will teach in class. But I was unable to log into podamatic because I did not know the username and password, since my partner and I decided to record on her account. I should have written that information down! Anyhow, here are the questions I came up with:

1. What do you know about clouds?

2. After having read the story, explain what are clouds?

3. How many main kinds of clouds are there? Briefly describe each one.

4. Describe fog.

5. Name a group of people who looked at the clouds and saw things.

6. Which clouds are the highest clouds in the sky?

7. Which clouds are sometimes called “bed-sheets clouds,” and why?

8. What clouds would you see in the winter?

9. “In the olden days, people looked at the clouds and saw things” (20). Describe a time when you looked up at the sky and looked at the clouds and saw something. Make an illustration - of your experience/ to go with your description.

10. List all the examples of things people saw when they looked at the clouds.

11. What is “she has her head in the clouds,” an example of?

12. Take a look at the sayings about clouds that help tell about the weather. Now, create your own saying or pick your favorite saying and explain why.

13. Compare and contrast Cirrocumulus and Altocumulus clouds.

14. What is fog?

15. Name the characteristics of cirrostratus.

16. What is one new learned fact that you found the most interesting after reading the story?

Today, my partner Jessenya was unable to make it to class because she woke up sick. We have yet to finish podcasting our story, The Cloud Book, and since we are reading the story together the podcast recording has to be postponed until next week. On that note, I will work on another area for this project. I plan to use this time to work on the comprehension questions for our book and also on my lesson plan. I hope to be able to completely accomplish one at least, or half of both within today's class period, and also hope my partner feels better!

Pre-recording The Cloud Book podcast Take I

For the most part, the first recording of the book went well. We followed our initial plan and along the way edited it as well. We did make a few mistakes but attempted to fix them on the spot to continue reading. We will re-record the book, take II.

Pre-recording The Cloud Book podcast

Before beginning to record our podcast, we discussed how we would read the book. We have decided to read the title and author of the book together. We will each read a page at a time, and mutually read the cloud names, so as to create emphasis on the names. We will end the book by reading the last line together.

Podcast Trial

The podcasting trial began bit uncomfortable and frustrating due to the temperature in the computer lab and the malfunctions with the computers. This experience defines what is meant by the phrase "technical difficulties." However, once everything was finally working, it turned out to be a successful, exciting, and easy process. I made me feel as if I were in an early elementary grade because I, like everyone else, was enthusiastic about recording and having on the microphone. Although it did take some time for everything to be set up and working, it worked out well because since this is a group project, not having a computer per student did not affect the process. On the contrary, in my case, I feel that it was better working on one computer per group, since it initiates the objective of team work for this podcasting project. Jessenya and my first podcast is titled "Welcome to Our Show and can be found on:

http://jortiz3.podomatic.com/entry/2009-09-18T07_26_42-07_00

Pre-Podcasting Blog Posting

I am not very familiar with podcasting since I have yet to use it. The information I know about podcasting is very basic. I know that is an online audio or video recording that can be downloaded usually for free. But that is about it. I would definitely look forward to learning more about what podcasting is and what it entails seeing as I, as a future teacher, can benefit from it and employ it in my classroom someday. The advantage that I already see is the idea of having us podcast our choice of children's storybooks, which is something that would already put to use the idea of podcasting. Furthermore, the fact that it is usually free and that rather than being rushed to see a program or not even making it on time and, therefore, missing it, with podcasting it is possible to download the program and save it for a more convenient time is certainly an advantage.