I never really gave a thought to podcasts and how they work until I started my media specialist journey. There are so many wonderful uses for podcasts in the classroom and school setting. The article by media specialist Kristin Fontichiaro, opened a whole new world of ideas for me to share with my peers and students at school. Besides being fun to produce, podcasts can build a child's oral fluency, which in turn carries over to building a stronger writing voice. I don't think I have ever found a student who doesn't enjoy hearing their own voice recorded and to have the opportunity to create something fantastic with added sounds and music is only a plus.
Another great aspect of using podcasts is that the software is virtually free for most computer users. There are some adjustments for mac users, such as different software and microphones but they have a great software call Garage band that has its own set of cool features for the user. There is even a free site called Gabcast, that offers help to those with limited computer access and want to record a podcast. A quick phone call is all it takes to turn your voice into a link that can be posted in a blog or other space for everyone to hear.
The uses are limitless! Some of my favorite ideas were creating audio tours for a bookfair to highlight new and exciting books or a tour for a new visitor to your school. You could save your podcast and use it on an MP3 player for the students or visitor to listen to. The school news is one of my responsibilities as the media specialist but think how cool it would be to have the kids to record a "live at the scene" segment for their peers to enjoy or interview special guests on career day to share later with classes. Adding a podcast to the school's website is a also great way to highlight different events and gives the kids a great sense of ownership in what they are accomplishing.
Follow the link to read more from media specialist Kristin Fontichiaro on podcasts in the classroom
http://ts.isil.westga.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=24038030&site=ehost-live
I really don't have much experience with podcasts, myself. My first thought is that a video podcast would be the best way to go. As most people tend to be visual learners, it only stands to reason that more people would be inclined to watch/listen to a video podcast than an audio podcast. And that probably holds true for elementary students. But then I thought about my experiences making podcasts for my grad level classes. I did not really enjoy watching myself on screen as I talked! I much preferred when I could combine my voice with slides or pictures.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think podcasts are a great addition to a teacher's (or media specialist's) toolkit! It is mind boggling to think about how many ways you could incorporate this venue in lessons, activities, or even as part of a class or media center online newsletter, or blog. I can just picture students having a ball as they find ways to incorporate different sound effects into their podcasts. Of course, this could be very time consuming, as well. But wouldn't it be great to have students spending too much time on a cooperative homework assignment, rather than so many other things they could be devoting their time to? Not to mention allowing them to actually enjoy a school assignment.
As school media specialists, we must make it one of our priorities to be sure that the teachers in our building are taking advantage of technology, such as podcasts in their classrooms. Teachers can be so overwhelmed with all of their responsibilities, it is easy to let the "latest and greatest" ideas slip to the wayside. But what better way to grab the attention of today's twenty-first century learners than through technology? Podcasts, here we come!
I like the idea of a podcast for advanced learners ( who can in turn make it a vlog with a video) or even just a simple podcast. I honestly never thought that it would be helpful for students with oral issues but once I saw that in your post, I thought that would be brilliant! Especially since ELA has several standards that deal with oral presentations. Or even have the podcast playing while they run a PowerPoint presentation in the background, etc. There are limitless possibilities one can do with podcasting!
ReplyDeletePodcasting is such a limitless tool for media specialist. I do not think of myself as being very tech savvy and I certainly do not have a ton of experience with podcasting. I like that podcasting can be used for beginners and can also be embraced by advanced users. The technology is very flexible in its uses.
ReplyDeleteI also love the idea of using audio tours for book fairs and using podcast for student book recommendations. In these times of budget cuts, it's great how much if the software is free.
Embracing the technology available to us can truly enhance our students learning experience and it is great how much we have available to us.
Podcasts are pretty new to me but I agree with you that there is so much that can be done with them. Its amazing how much fun technology can be! Kids, like you mentioned, love things to be all about them so you are right about how podcasts could make learning more enjoyable for students. I love the idea you had about introducing a new student to the library. How easy would it be for the student to be able to see a podcast showing them how to search for a book, etc. I think it would be helpful for the student since being the new person is already overwhelming and having to keep up with all the new information. All they would have to do is check out the media center site to find out what to do!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions of sites to use! I have the garage band but have never tried to do a podcast...may have to give it a go now!