It’s not frustration. It really isn’t. I’ve had an iPod for nearly 3 years now; so I’ve been accustomed to podcasting. Never did I imagine myself developing my own—but, I was excited when told to do so. Blogging, wikis, podcasts, Garage Band, iPhoto, and all of the other new media that we are all learning this semester have been relatively easy for me to deal with thus far. But, I have had a very frustrating night/day with this. Here’s why.
1. When dealing with the wiki I have minimal problems. It is an easy concept with enormous potential. I am keen on the wiki. I just don’t know what to write about. It seems to me that everyone in this class is studying to become a high/middle schoolteacher. I think that’s awesome. I believe it’s so intriguing that I am actually considering it, for me (no, really). But, I haven’t been exposed to all of the background that most people in this class have—therefore, I feel a little left behind. Now, I’m not using this as an excuse. I believe that finding something intriguing to write about is half of the battle. I’m just saying it’s a little frustrating at times.
2. I was most excited when I heard that we would be creating our own podcasts this semester. I have wanted to do this for a while! And, everything was going very well…until this morning (well, last night). I spent hours editing my pictures, recording my voice, and trying to blend it all together. I actually liked the final product, except…
a. When I edited the pictures on my computer—they looked remarkable. I then transferred them onto a Mac and into iPhoto. They had lost some quality, but I was still content with their appearance. When I conclusively put them into Garage Band, the final creation looked as if I took my images from a bad Internet site—the quality was horrible. That was disappointing, but I blame myself, and my scanner for that. No big deal, for now (I was just trying to put together any enhanced podcast so I could understand how it worked for class today—and then, next week, I would be able to construct a more relevant and professional version).
b. The agony of recording my voice onto my computer was comparable to Chinese water torture. It just wasn’t fair. I have recorded my voice, on my computer, before—with no problems. Why do I have all of these problems now? Is it because I used PowerPoint to record my voice last time? I don’t know?
c. What could be worse than me not being able to record my voice into my podcast? I’ll tell you—not being able to save the thing. I just don’t get it. I can save it to the desktop, and to the hard drive, but I can’t burn it to a CD or send it in e-mail.
Overall, I am pleased with how things are going. All of what we are learning seems to come really easy to me. These small problems that I have mentioned above are “little.” I guess I just wanted to vent…
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4 comments:
Hey Ray,
Your blog is a good place to vent and clearly you are not alone.
I'm thinking about the whole education piece of this class and what that might be like for you. I think that your project - working with Downtown Cortland - is going to be a great way to use all this new knowledge and facility with multimedia applications. The work you're doing with Lloyd is the type of project my husband's company would take on
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So, there's a real world scenario for this type of skill. On the other hand, if you're interested in teaching, I can only say that it's great and hard and fun and personally, very fulfilling. Good luck with everything.
Crap. I don't know how to do a link. Well, there's always more to learn...
Sarah, I'll post something on the course blog about creating a link.
Ray, regarding your frustrations.
1. Look at my comment on the "Good Energy" post about image resolution. It may not be the problem you think it is.
2. Not sure about sound quality. There are too many variables there to diagnose from a distance. That said, I'll try to post a link to a site that lays out some "best practices" for audio recording.
3. Regarding saving. Your post was before class, so maybe you figured out your problem. Send me an e-mail if you are still stuck.
Ray, hang in there...re: wiki pp. You can work on wiki pp. that have nothing to do with Eng. Education...don't feel that they have to relate to educational topics...but just in creating them they will be educational for all of us.
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