Who knew that streaming live could be so difficult; I surely didn’t. Everyone makes it look so easy. As I became more and more disappointed with my first experience in live broadcasting, I consoled myself with the thought that perhaps I’m not cut out for LIVE–but more of a planned process. Ha! But the tenacity I possess will not allow me to give up. You may see me again and again…but in time I’ll get it right.
I spent almost an entire week researching various streaming sites as this is very unfamiliar territory for me. Just last year I began using United Streaming through Discovery. It’s been very exciting and a valuable tool to incorporate into my mathematical lessons; especially when coupling those lessons with a SMARTBoard. I really thought I was being “cutting edge” so to speak, as I don’t see too many educators within my system doing the same thing. I truly have come a long way in my own methods and embedding of technology use within the last 3 years.
While I have never used the live brodcasting myself, other than for viewing, I can see the value in such a tool. How wonderful it would be if the regular classroom teacher could broadcast her lesson in anticipation of an absence. They would know exactly where their students are in the learning process of that particular content and could pick up at the appropriate pacing. The substitute could be in place mainly as a facilitator to foster pausing when necessary and allow for student questioning or participation.
However, I can also see why many educators may shy away from such an experience; it’s been quite a challenge for me to figure out. I chose freedocast because it seemed to be very user friendly (“seemed” is the operative word here). It truly could be a very user friendly site, but I hadn’t quite gotten the swing of it. The broadcasting part was easy…and so was the uploading. What I can’t figure out is why it kept cutting of sound towards the end or shortly after one minute. I checked the settings and didn’t see anywhere that I could control the timings. This won’t be my last broadcast, but it may be that I switch to another site for more trials. Fortunately, my parents raised a “tough little girl” who doesn’t shy away too easily–afterall it’s for the children and in the name of education!
I hope you can join me for my first live broadcast this evening! 6pm EST
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