For this podcast, I chose to interview a Florida-Man. Liam is a Jacksonville, FL native and a former co-teacher. Liam and I worked together in a co-teaching environment after classroom shifts came down from administration. Having one male teacher in the elementary is usually baffling for students…but TWO…in the same classroom?!
Since I was new in town in Jacksonville during my first year teaching, Liam and I developed a friendship outside of school sharing interests in music, golf, sports, current events, and education. I thought Liam would be a great interviewee because we engage in this type of talk in our normal conversations. Plus, it’s always nice to catch up with a former colleague. My intended style was raw, barbershop banter between buddies who have a unique perspective on education because we’re the gender minority. Like I said, having one male teacher in elementary is usually baffling…but TWO?!
Counterculture podcasts are absolute hits right now with Barstool Sports and its many affiliates booming in popularity. They’ve infiltrated every sector of the media market with a strong social media presence and popular podcasts. I’m not saying this podcast is Barstool material, but I think unique perspectives contrary to the status-quo make for popular podcasting entertainment. The name value of interviewing a “Florida-man” hopes to add intrigue, clicks, and views too.
I didn’t want the podcast to be scripted, so I chose to not allow Liam to see the content we’d be talking about. I used a few questions to try and steer the conversation, but like I said before, I wanted this content to be raw and unfiltered. Some questions were scripted and others were off the cuff. This type of talk between us is common in our normal conversations, so I didn’t want to muddy the waters with trying to tip him off into thinking I was fishing for a certain response. My strategy backfired, and I can honestly say I wish I would’ve prepped him a little bit more. With the microphone in front of us and knowing we’re being recorded, I didn’t feel the interview was as authentic as I would’ve liked it to be. I felt like Liam was telling me what I wanted to hear as opposed to just expressing his raw views. Like I mentioned before, recording a conversation can be off-putting and change up the conversation style.
As to be expected, there were some technical difficulties to work out. First, we had a hard time hearing each other over Zoom, so we both restarted our computers. Secondly, the background knowledge and skills needed to do audio editing are vast. I tried to use GarageBand, but I’m unable to download apps on this Mac Computer because it is my work/school issued one. Admin restrictions prohibit us from downloading apps, so I had to pivot to another option.
One of the main takeaways from the interview was the glaring differences between Microsoft and Google. Liam’s district uses Microsoft for everything, but my school uses Google. Both of us are very pleased with the products and their adaptability to help students be successful in a distance environment. We both agreed that we lean towards those programs in our own personal use. I think I’ll forever be a Google stakeholder whereas Microsoft has its own base of loyal consumers.
This could present a challenge down the road for students though. Familiarity and proficiency with one software can lead to resistance to adapt to a different one. I know for myself, I don’t utilize the Microsoft Office products for my Penn State coursework, I use Google. I’m hesitant to switch over to Microsoft products.
So if we switched a student in Liam’s class with a student in my class, how much of a learning curve would there be for his student to adapt to Google, and mine to adapt to a Microsoft interface?
Another portion I’d like to bring up is the time devoted to routines and rituals for distance learning. I know both of our schools have expectations for how students are expected to behave when in a virtual setting. Many nuances of computer navigation are assumed by us adults. Computer actions I would consider “basic” aren’t common knowledge to computer novices. So teachers need to set those routines and rituals in order to capitalize on valuable instructional time later.