Bethany McCaghren
Podcasts are a useful and creative way to deliver
information in school classrooms and media centers. I have never made a podcast to use at the
school I work at but after reading Kristin Fontichiaro’s article Podcasting 101, I am convinced that this
is something my students could do at school.
The elementary school I work at hosts 3rd-5th
grades and I listened to many podcasts made by students as young as
kindergarten on Willowdale Elementary School’s Radio WillowWeb web page. (The web address to this wonderful resource
is listed at the end.) The students at
this elementary school made podcasts covering everything from the 2010 Winter
Olympic Games to The Constitution. They
had also added background music and sound effects that made their podcasts
attention grabbing.
Podcasting 101
pointed out how cost efficient it is to create and use podcasts in
schools. All you need to create your own
podcast is a microphone/headphone set and free software, such as Audacity or if
you are a Mac user you can use Apple’s GarageBand. The first use for podcasting that came to my
mind as I was researching and reviewing my resources took me back to the time
when I was a classroom teacher. It never
failed that when I was in the middle of explaining a lesson or giving
instructions I would be interrupted by the intercom for school
announcements. One great way to use
podcasts in your school would be to have a group of students come to the media
center in the morning and pre-record the announcements and email the podcast
out to teachers so they could play the announcements at a time that was
convenient for them.
Another useful way to incorporate podcasts in the media center
would be through book talks. As a media
specialist, you could do a podcast of book talks to get your students
interested in reading certain books. You
could also allow your students to choose a book and record a book talk podcast
that they could share with other students to get them excited about a book they
found interesting. Often times students
will choose to read a book based off of peer reviews. You could also use podcasts in the media
center to do author studies or literature circles and share them with other
students or teachers. Podcast 101 also brought up the
suggestion of using a podcast to do an audio tour to walk students through a
book fair by pointing out the highlights of the fair that could be uploaded
onto mP3 players or iPods.
Podcasts are a great tool that you should definitely look
into if you find yourself tiring of the same old way that information is being
presented to your students. It allows
the students to become involved in the learning process and helps them become
more technologically savvy as they work with the software and add their own
personal touches.
Willowdale Elementary School’s WillowWeb can be accessed at
this address:
http://mps.wes.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8&pageid=115312&sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8
Bethany,
ReplyDeleteI have never made a podcast for professional use either, but I can certainly see the many ways podcasts could be useful in education. The only real experience I have with podcasts professionally is through my work as a video journalist. After daytime news broadcasts, our anchors would stick around to record short podcasts including some of the big stories of the day. The podcasts were later placed on iTunes so people who wanted to get a quick look at what was happening in the world could see the headlines. I remember thinking it was a little silly back then. Of course, that was back in 2007 and 2008. I imagine most people don’t use podcasts for that now.
As a future media specialist, I can certainly see several good uses for podcasts. As you mentioned, they would certainly be good for morning announcements and for orientations. I think they could also be a good way to reach out to special education students, especially those who have vision issues. Podcasts could also be a great tool for media specialists who need to create professional development materials for teachers when they have to demonstrate how to use some new technology or resource. The podcast could be placed on the media center website so teachers could access it whenever they needed to. Teachers could also benefit from podcasting. Using this kind of technology could make it easier for students in situations where they have to miss school for a large chunk of time. I had a friend in high school who had to miss several weeks of classes after catching mono. A teacher could create short podcasts of lessons to give to students who have to miss class for a legitimate reason.
The neat thing about podcasts is that they are relatively easy to do. You don’t have to be super tech savvy to make one. Also, there’s a lot of free software that can be used to make them. I like how they can be easily accessed if they are placed online. They are certainly a good tool for media specialists and anyone in education right now.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBethany,
ReplyDeleteMy only time recording a podcast myself has been through our videos this semester, so I’m also a little (understatement) rusty when it comes podcasts. I have been responsible for recording programs and sermons at my church. We were able to post the recordings on iTunes and offer accessibility to those not able to make the services. While there is not as much production involved (light editing and adding an intro) it has been so interesting to see the transformation from using tapes, to discs, and now podcasts/mp3s.
Also just to add a side note on something you touched on with students recording announcements, one of the biggest highlights of my 4th grade year was being able to read the announcements that morning and say the pledge of allegiance. It seems silly, but I agree with having students incorporated in to these activities at school. Recording an announcements podcast offers experience and encourages creativity.
As stated in the article, “Podcasting 101 for K–12 Librarians”:
“I’m convinced that the real power of podcasting is twofold: It gives learners point-of-need access to information, and it disseminates information in exciting new ways. Students eagerly and actively participate in the creation of content-rich podcasts, and those who publish their podcasts publicly are quickly connected to the world community in ways never before possible.”
As librarians in the 21st century, we are required to not only manage our library, but also teach classes and work as a technical support person at our school. Podcast would alleviate the pressure by giving us the opportunity to record tutorials and assignments that can be accessed through blogs or ITunesU. I’ve witnessed quite often teachers not quite understanding how to use a netbook or the smart board. Imagine being able to create podcast (and I think coordinating YouTube videos) for teachers and students who struggle with technology.
Finally, I think a great way to utilize podcast is for advertisement in the library. Having media specialist create a “Your School Library in a Minute” type of podcast would be so great for the library. Librarians could talk about a new book the library has to offer, special deals (at one school they hosted a coffee shop in the mornings in the library) and reminders. It would be short and to the point, but get the message out about the library.