Podcasting is becoming a bit of a big deal in the internet world, doing for audio on the web what blogging has done for text - making the production and dissemination of audio available to all; putting the means of production in the hands of the many. For schools, it offers the chance to provide lessons and learning opportunities in a way more likely to engage students than more traditional methods and can help reach children outside the classroom. Podcasting isn't about to replace teachers, but it could help them out a little.
What's more, it gives pupils who were in the classroom the chance to listen again to what the teacher said on a topic, to re-check those notes and make sure, as well as to make it easier for non-English native speakers to re-listen to a lesson without the distractions that may make instant translation difficult the first time around. A decent podcast can also mean that you can cover the basics without wasting classroom time. The simple delivery of the facts of a lesson in a podcast frees up the lesson itself for more detailed work - or, conversely, can provide the extra detail that takes some pupils off into other directions that a simple lesson can't contain.
And if it's the class itself producing the podcast, then instantly you're talking about teamwork, enterprise, technical literacy, and planning, as well as the need to research and write up the podcast topic in itself, and the chance for children to engage in a medium they may find rather cooler than a whiteboard. Let the students listen to other podcasts to find out what others are doing and then you can let them loose. They love to hear their voices and others they might recognize in the class. And once they've found that they have an audience, the only limit is that of their imagination. Here are some of the benefits of student podcasts below:
•It gives them a potential audience of thousands for their work produced.
•It's great for developing literacy skills (writing scripts, setting up interviews etc), allows children to develop and practise their speaking and listening skills, and they also learn some amazing technology skills.
•Podcasts can be interactive, and the audience can be invited to send their comments, giving valuable feedback to the children about their work.
•I've found that making a podcast is also great for developing teamwork skills. The students always work together really well, as they're always keen to make a great show.
Has anyone produced a podcast with their students like we are doing for our group advocay groups?
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I haven't introduced podcsting to any of my elementary students and teachers are a little uptight right now before SOL's but I have hope to try to borrow a class and try some PSA's with 5th graders at the end of May or early June. It may be a grat way to summarize the year's learning - but no teacher is willing risk giving me that time now..too bad, it might have been a great SOL review tool.
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