Technology Integration

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Tuesday Jun 20, 2006

Sharing/Editing Information Through Podcasting

            It is not uncommon to see students walking through the hallways with iPods and MP3 players, listening to their favorite music.  Some students even try to enjoy their music during class-time and are successful when teachers are not wise enough to catch them.  What if teachers encouraged students to use their iPods in class and in school for educational purposes?  Well, podcasting is a fast and growing way to share point-of-need access to information and a cost-effective way to provide professional development to teachers.  According to The New Oxford American Dictionary, podcasts are digital recordings of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player.  Not only can a podcast contain music, but also a mix of voice, music, sounds, video, and photos.  Users of podcasts are no longer required to go to the Web to obtain newly posted MP3 files to download, but, can now subscribe to podcast series to obtain information to use at any time.

The main reasons why podcasts were used in the libraries and classrooms of Edison Schools, Inc. were (1.) to retrieve on-demand information by accessing podcasts created by others, and (2.) to disseminate information by creating and sharing podcasts. The outcome of incorporating podcasts were that efforts to differentiate instruction were supported by this implementation and podcast served a viable alternative for delivering research and content to students who needed remedial or extended support.  Auditory learners are a population of students who can definitely benefit from podcasting.  Even though the article focused on librarians leading the way with innovative programming, new resources, and creative instruction, I too have an interest in incorporating these ideas.   I plan to ensure that I use the steps and recommendations from the article when I create a podcast for use by my students.  Among them included:

  1. Gather the required hardware and software.

  2. Decide on the content.

  3. Practice.

  4. Record the podcast.

  5. Test the podcast.

  6. Publish the podcast to share my information.

  7. Promote the podcast.

  8. Evaluate and learn from your mistakes.

While learning about he benefits and excitement of podcasting, I developed and idea to use this tool in my Business and Electronic Communications classes.  The objectives of this curriculum deals with various forms of communication such as: professional, workgroup, specialized, and persuasive. Persuasive communication calls for the students to evaluate different types of presentations. What better ways to have students critique each other's work than with the use of podcasting.  I propose to use podcasting in units that require students to prepare and deliver speeches to the class.  My students will first use a digital recorder to document their speeches and then produce their own podcasts to share with others.  Their published podcast will record them delivering a practice run of their speech (prior to the due date). Instead of asking students to provide another student with a copy of their speech for peer review, I will ask students to subscribe to at least two other classmates' published podcast and critique their speech by listening. After careful review, the students will then offer their feedback and suggestions for improvement by e-mail or discussion board. Since I will have four sections of this one class, I will probably require students to critique speeches of students in another section.  I know that podcasting is no longer limited to just audio, so I was thinking of the possibility of using our web cams to record students while practicing their speeches. This could allow students to receive feedback on their nonverbal communication as well.

All in all, I hope that incorporating this tool into my instruction will create and atmosphere that is exciting and engaging for my students.

All in all, I hope that incorporating this tool into my instruction will create and atmosphere that is exciting and engaging for my students.

Natasha Deese

Posted at 12:31PM Jun 20, 2006 by nvivey in General  |  Comments[0]

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