I’ve promised D. I won’t get too
Vygotskian on Is., but I do
have one sound experiment I want to try out. You (yes, you!) are urged to
participate. You won’t be world famous for it, but you will be famous to
one. It
works like this:

1. Pick a favorite nursery rhyme, lullaby or fairy tale (or write a new one,
if you want to). The shorter the piece, the easier this will be.
Odeo tells me any single recording can be up to
an hour. Really, it’s okay if your piece can be read in a couple of minutes. It
doesn’t matter for now if there are duplications, if, that is, folks
accidentally choose the same piece. Feel free to comment here with a note about
the rhyme/lullaby/tale you have chosen (Collin
has already claimed "Three
Billy Goats Gruff"). I ran a cursory search and located
these
few
resources
to
help.

2. Call Odeo at 415-856-0205 (this is normally used for podcasting
from a cell phone, but it’ll work fine for this, too).

3. Follow the voice prompts.
A. Enter your (meaning my) primary telephone number: 315-708-3940.

B. You entered 315-708-3940. Correct? 1 for yes; 2 for no.
C. Enter your pin followed by the pound key: 40402006#.
D. Begin recording at the after the beep. To end recording, press #.
E. After you are finished, you have three options: 1. Post, 2. Review, and 3.
Re-record.
Posting the sound file will save it to the Odeo system where I can access the
MP3 file. Reviewing the recording lets you listen to the file before deciding
whether to post or re-record. Re-recording lets you give it another try. After
you post the recording, you will be asked whether you want to make another
recording or end the call.

The generic script might open with a hello to Is. and an introduction of
yourself (Hi Sweetie, this is your great aunt," followed by the
rhyme/lullaby/tale). But you’re welcome to break form, have fun, whatever.

I’ve tinkered around with the Odeo system, and as far as I can tell, this
will work. It’s tamper proof (giving out the pin doesn’t mean that just anyone
can log into the system and access the sound files). By the end of the month,
I’d like to have a huge batch of audio files from family and friends welcoming
Is. with their favorite rhymes/lullabies/tales. I have set Odeo so that the
sound files won’t be public (although I can make a file public if you want me
to). But I’ll be able to access them, burn them to a CD and produce a series of
more personal bedtime sound-pieces. After all, why should a baby be listening to
Neutral G. Nobody when she could be listening to your voice?

Last thing: You don’t have to use Odeo. If you’d like to record
something another way (on your own machine using Audacity or Garage Band, for
instance), just email the file to me. Odeo makes it super-easy, however, for
everyone with a telephone to participate. Although Is. can’t hold her cell phone
to her ear for a few more weeks, she can still hear your best
Frere
Jacques this way.

Last last thing: Keep ’em coming until August 31.

My choice: “Over in the Meadow”.