09/06/2013
Welcome back!
It has been a very busy three weeks here at EIU as we are now completing our third week back to school for the fall semester. Everyone is settling in for a new school year and we are starting to find our academic rhythm. I am going to try something new for the ITC Chronicles blog and begin posting an entry here from our TechTalk4Teachers podcast as we produce new content.
Here at the Instructional Technology Center at Eastern Illinois University we try to “practice what we preach and model what we teach” for our preservice teachers by providing real-world practical examples of current educational technologies in action. It is very easy to get caught up in the edtech hype and focus on the gadgets but the “I” in ITC is stands for Instructional and must always come before the “T”echnology. Pedagogy first!
We have strived to provide useful and practical applications of educational technologies for our readers and one of the things we stress to our students is that teaching and learning needs to be multimodal. In simplest terms this means we need to provide students with opportunities to experience curriculum in visual, auditory, and kinesthetic ways. Technology can be a great friend with assisting us in meeting our teaching and learning goals, but the instructional purpose must always be kept at the forefront.
"There is no one best way to teach, there are many, in other words mix it up."
Dr. Grissom
Our TechTalk4Teachers podcast recently completed its sixth year anniversary and is one of the longest running podcast here at EIU. Readers of the ITC Chronicles may be aware of the TechTalk4Teachers podcast but providing a short post here as a reminder of new episodes will be just another way to get the word out and share some of the awesome things we are doing at the ITC.
How do I listen to TechTalk4Teachers?
The easiest way to listen to TechTalk4Teachers is to just visit our website. Here are links to the past three episodes of TechTalk4Teachers:
Episode 154- Constitution Day, Technology Triage and Corporate Hacking
Episode 153 - Hacks, Railroads, and Wego the Wonder Dog
Episode 152 - Not at ISTE and Security Spotlight
You will find a flash-based audio player for each episode at our website as well as a download link if your device does not support Adobe Flash. Just go to our website and hit the Play button.
iTunes University
TechTalk4Teachers is one of the most popular downloads at our Eastern Illinois University iTunesU site.
If you use iTunes please subscribe to TechTalk4Teachers from our EIU iTunes University site at::
http://eiu.edu/iTunesU/
If you use any other type of "podcast catcher" you can subscribe to our podcast RSS feed at:
Over the summer we produce one episode per month and we will be switching to a bimonthly format for fall. Dr. Cindy Rich and Mike Gioia join me as co-hosts as we discuss current educational technology issues.
One of the biggest benefits of audio podcasts for teachers is that you can listen while doing something else. If you have a commute, use a MP3 player to download and listen on your way to work or school. Many teachers visit our website and just click the play link and have the podcast playing in the background. Podcasts are very easy to add to your daily routine and you will be getting free professional development to keep you up-to-date with the latest trends in educational technologies.
For our ITC master website please visit:
The ITC master website links to our blog, podcast, YouTube Channel and other things edtech related from one site.
We hope you take a listen to the TechTalk4Teachers podcast and let us know what you think.
Keep on Learning,
Tom Grissom, PhD
