My initial thoughts on podcasting
were that it seemed like a good idea, but it would be too difficult for most
students, too difficult for me, and the payoff probably wouldn’t be much. I’m
happy to say, I was wrong. First, the sample podcasts from Radio Willoweb, were
amazing and the students were in third grade. I realize I was listening to the
finished product, but I really didn’t think it could ever be as good as they
were. Second, creating a podcast wasn’t difficult. I was a little unsure of
myself, but all the software available, and a lot of it is free, made the task
not only easy, but fun. I wasn’t just completing a task, but creating a
project. It’s so hard to find time to create. Finally, the payoff was great. I
was proud of my podcast and shared it with my family. I’m proud of the students
on Radio Willoweb, and I’m betting they are pretty proud of themselves as well.
So with all of my initial thoughts
completely changed, I began thinking of how I could use podcasts with my
students and in my classroom. I currently teach fifth grade, so naturally I
began brainstorming about using it with my students. My students have just
begun on a research and presentation project on key individuals in the U.S.
Civil War. They are so excited to be creating slideshow presentations. They’ve
all done slideshows before, but I think the idea of teaching other students and
being able to demonstrate their knowledge and skills is appealing even if they
are doing a slideshow again. Imagine how thrilled they would be to create a
podcast for this project. I’m sorry I didn’t think of using a podcast sooner,
but I assure you we will be exploring and experimenting with podcasts soon.
Next, I thought about using
podcasts on my website for parents. I send home regular communication and we
have a curriculum night at the beginning of the year, but who can remember
everything two months down the road. I spend a lot of time answering emails and
explaining procedures to parents regarding everything from agendas to when the
kids go to the bathroom. If I had podcasts explaining items such as classroom
procedures, the Accelerated Reader program, and homework policies, I probably
wouldn’t be writing so many emails. Yes, I have all the information on my
website, but listening and/or watching is so much more entertaining than
reading the same dry information.
Then, I reread the assignment and
realized I am supposed to be thinking in terms of media center use. I got back
on track and began imagining all the podcasts I could create of “how to’s” for
the media center. Not just for the students, but for the teachers also. During
preplanning, our sweet media specialist explains copyright law, flex
scheduling, and all the lessons she can teach. Unfortunately, our brains are
filled to capacity, and all we can think about is when are we going to get our
class lists, when will we find time to finish our bulletin boards, and we need
paper to make copies. You get the idea. I think I would continue doing the training
during preplanning, but also have short, instructional podcasts teachers could
access when needed.
I loved the “Booktalks, Quick and
Simple” by Nancy Keane. If you didn’t listen to some of her podcasts, take a
moment and listen. She’s entertaining and informative. I believe students would
be intrigued by her short summaries and race to check out the suggested book.
Podcasting is definitely an avenue
I want to explore. And even though, I’m not working in a media center yet, I
will definitely be using podcasts in my classroom! You should let your
imaginative go wild and see where you can go with podcasting.
I was also blown away by the Radio Willoweb podcasts. So professional! They surely did a better job than my adult self did. Hopefully I'll get as good as these young folks are one day. I think the postcast for parents is a great idea! You should do it. Watching a podcast would be more interesting, but sometimes it’s simpler to skim text for information rather than watching a whole podcast if it's some small frequently asked question for example. For that reason I would keep the written part available on your website too. I enjoyed reading your post.
ReplyDeleteBelinda,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your initial hesitations 100%. This year I moved to a new school and am now the media specialist. I was lucky enough to move to a school where we have been a part of a DODEA Grant where we received 40 iPod touches along with thousands of dollars of supplies. All we have to do in return is create podcasts showing how we are using the supplies to teach the standards more effectively. When I first heard about this I was a little worried because I had never created a podcast in my life, much less, tried to create one which would help teachers teach better. We have the entire year to create our podcast, but after watching these videos and reading the documents I am a little more at ease. I think the hardest part of my job this year is going to be to decide which supplies I want to focus on to create my project. I might even get my fourth and fifth graders to help me create the podcast or, if they are as good as the 3rd graders in the video, I might use theirs!
Belinda,
ReplyDeleteI totally understand how you felt at the beginning. I teach second grade and thought it would be way to hard to accomplish for them. I was really impressed with the Radio Willoweb podcast, and to learn they were third graders was that more impressive. I hope to have my class this year create podcast that cover the standards in Social Studies. The students have a hard time understanding the roles of James Oglethorpe, Mary Musgrove, Tomichichi, and Sequoyah played in the foundation of GA. Hopefully with the use of technology I can motivate the students to learn as much as they can in order to present their information to the class.
Shea Webster
Belinda: I too was very unsure about podcasts, but with further researching and reviewing the items Dr. Cooper had available to learn more about them, my head is just spinning with ideas. Ideas not only for the teachers and their classrooms, but for my media center as well. I am not the type of person to be found in front of the camera. I like the behind the scenes for me, but podcasts I can still be a focal point without being on camera. Listening to the Radio Willoweb and the 3rd graders was amazing. Our students are so stuck on creating PowerPoint after PowerPoint for projects or something on a poster board, I look forward to showing the teachers how easy it is for the students to step outside their comfort zone (teachers too) and create something new and different. Podcasts have been around for a long time, but I think the fact that most of the time it is just audio, the vodcasts can help the students take it to a whole new level.
ReplyDeleteI agree with previous postings that podcasting seemed liked it would be an undertaking that was out of my league...images of Joel Olsteen came to mind. Yet, in this busy world it is more certainly suitable and appropriate as more people have mobile devices and students walk around with ear buds wrapped around their necks. Has anyone found a service that is unblocked? Audacity, if you stick with the basic buttons, appeared to be a great tool but it is blocked at the system level. So frustrating!
ReplyDelete