Podcasting
Podcasts
Podcasts are similar to radio broadcasts except they are on the Internet and are received via subscription. When a new podcast is created it is automatically sent to the subscribers for downloading. When they log onto the Internet, the new podcasts are downloaded to their computers. The benefit to podcasts over video clips on websites is that the content is delivered directly to the users computer or iPod and the user can listen to the audio files on his/her own schedule. If he/she is using an iPod, the subscriber can listen to the podcasts while "on the go."
In both Eash's "Podcasting 101 for K-12 librarians" (2006) and Flanagan and Calandra's "Podcasting in the classroom" (2005), there is discussion of the steps that teachers/librarians should take in order to make the podcast experience efficient and productive. The steps are simple enough for a group of students to understand, but the article informs the reason behind podcasting for teachers as well. It addresses the needs of auditory learners and special needs students and also serves as a motivational tool for students who enjoy expressing their knowledge in unique ways. Along with the excitement of a new technology, podcasting teaches students about ethical use of files as well as sound editing and basic computer navigation.
The use of podcasts in my school would be a wonderful asset to our school's new adoption, Positive Behavior Support. The idea behind this program is that students are taught expectations and have opportunities to practice expectations in order to prevent many of the misunderstandings that cause "bad behavior." Many times students are unaware of the procedures that they are expected to follow. Weekly or daily podcasts with students explaining the appropriate behavior would be more interesting and probably more effective that the traditional teacher talk. Featuring students who often choose to do the wrong thing might actually add to the programs popularity and to their own behavior training.
I?d love to get some of my ex-sixth graders, current 7th graders, together to do a few podcasts on the beginning of school (cafeteria procedures, locker techniques, moving around the school, etc) and the idea of "vodcasting" is even more exciting, as students would actually be able to see the proper actions. Flanagan and Calandra?s article introduced the idea of vodcasting but also discussed the benefits and restrainers of that fairly new technology. Vodcasting opens the door to exciting teacher presentations as well as student designed programs. Vodcasting does require stronger computers and video editing software, so it's use in the classroom might be limited until it grows in popularity and computers are updated to handle the large files sizes associated with this tool.
Posted at 12:34AM Jun 20, 2006 by svfelder in General | Comments[0]