I thought I knew quite enough about podcasting to say I was ready to use it in my classroom. Explorations of podcasts in iTunes and reading about them on the web proved me wrong: I have had only a slight understanding of what this tool truly is and how powerful it may be in daily instruction. My head is spinning with ideas for podcasting in elementary classrooms, and I am eager to share this tool with teachers. Podcasting is an easy way to build lessons in which students are provided with opportunities to think critically, be creative, communicate, and collaborate with each other.
As I try to analyzes what has stopped me from trying out podcasting before, I realize that I always wanted it to be perfect: smooth transitions, no background noise, and studio-like performances from kids. Listening to many examples similar to Mrs. Clark and Mrs. Leiphart's classes helped me realize that a podcast is a raw genre of communication in which "cracks and pops, obscure music, and "ums" and "ahs" are all part of the podcast genre" (Richardson, 2010, p. 113). Teachers do not have to spend hours polishing audio creations because, with technology tools available today, podcasting is a very time-affordable tool that allows learners to focus on developing powerful content and make technology integration invisible in a classroom. Students need to learn that the quality of the stories they share matters the most, while all technical bells and whistles of putting podcats together will improve with every try.
iTunes offers a colossal collection of podcasts on any topic. I focused on locating some that can be used with elementary students, and I was overwhelmed by the number of them. Using Storynory, a weekly podcast for young children, could be implemented in a classroom as a Listen to Reading center in which students would enjoy classic stories read by professionals. Brains On by Minnesota Public Radio should be a part of every science classroom. The topics discussed in this podcast are intriguing, and invited experts engage listeners in fun learning. Digital Inspiration podcast caught my attention because I love to learn different how-to tricks when it comes to using technology tools. I also found The Reading Room, a newly founded podcast in iTunes and an outstanding resource to learn strategies for teaching digital reading with Common Core curriculum. For my guilty pleasure, I subscribed to Life Habits by Karel Vredenburg, a podcast that addresses topics on social interactions, building relationships, and leadership skills. Listening to different podcasts made me think of how comfortable it was to access them. I was able to take breaks when I needed, go back when I wanted to hear something again, and share podcasts with colleagues by emailing out links directly from iTunes. It made me think that podcast is a perfect tool for portable on-demand learning.
There are many ways podcasts can be integrated in a classroom. Richardson (2010) speaks of recording audio conversations with experts via Skype and integrate them in podcasts - a strategy of which I have never thought before, but find useful. I also want to share the blog post from ClassroomTech on podcasting. It offers step-by step strategies for podcast integration that can be adopted by teachers in any grade level. Podcasts erase the cultural definition of communication as we've known it and offer opportunities for kids to unleash their interests and creativity.
References
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. California: Corwin A SAGE Company.
As I try to analyzes what has stopped me from trying out podcasting before, I realize that I always wanted it to be perfect: smooth transitions, no background noise, and studio-like performances from kids. Listening to many examples similar to Mrs. Clark and Mrs. Leiphart's classes helped me realize that a podcast is a raw genre of communication in which "cracks and pops, obscure music, and "ums" and "ahs" are all part of the podcast genre" (Richardson, 2010, p. 113). Teachers do not have to spend hours polishing audio creations because, with technology tools available today, podcasting is a very time-affordable tool that allows learners to focus on developing powerful content and make technology integration invisible in a classroom. Students need to learn that the quality of the stories they share matters the most, while all technical bells and whistles of putting podcats together will improve with every try.
iTunes offers a colossal collection of podcasts on any topic. I focused on locating some that can be used with elementary students, and I was overwhelmed by the number of them. Using Storynory, a weekly podcast for young children, could be implemented in a classroom as a Listen to Reading center in which students would enjoy classic stories read by professionals. Brains On by Minnesota Public Radio should be a part of every science classroom. The topics discussed in this podcast are intriguing, and invited experts engage listeners in fun learning. Digital Inspiration podcast caught my attention because I love to learn different how-to tricks when it comes to using technology tools. I also found The Reading Room, a newly founded podcast in iTunes and an outstanding resource to learn strategies for teaching digital reading with Common Core curriculum. For my guilty pleasure, I subscribed to Life Habits by Karel Vredenburg, a podcast that addresses topics on social interactions, building relationships, and leadership skills. Listening to different podcasts made me think of how comfortable it was to access them. I was able to take breaks when I needed, go back when I wanted to hear something again, and share podcasts with colleagues by emailing out links directly from iTunes. It made me think that podcast is a perfect tool for portable on-demand learning.
There are many ways podcasts can be integrated in a classroom. Richardson (2010) speaks of recording audio conversations with experts via Skype and integrate them in podcasts - a strategy of which I have never thought before, but find useful. I also want to share the blog post from ClassroomTech on podcasting. It offers step-by step strategies for podcast integration that can be adopted by teachers in any grade level. Podcasts erase the cultural definition of communication as we've known it and offer opportunities for kids to unleash their interests and creativity.
References
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. California: Corwin A SAGE Company.