By
now, we are most likely all familiar with a Podcast. It is a technology that has been around for a
while now (at least since 2005), but have you ever investigated the official
definition of a podcast? To me, a podcast is nothing more than an audio
recording that can be easily saved; however, “The New Oxford American Dictionary defines podcast as “a digital recording of
a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for
downloading to a personal audio player.” In
other words, it’s a digital audio file that’s created, shared, and heard”
(Courtney, 2007). Maybe it would be
helpful for us to think of a podcast as a radio show, but a radio show that is
recorded, not live. A podcast, like a
radio show engages auditory sensory and can reach many people.
Knowing that we are teaching 21st
century learners who are more interested in technology than most anything else,
it is incredibly important to infuse technology into education in meaningful
ways. So, how can podcasting change the way we educate our students? First,
podcasting is a great input and output tool.
Educators can input knowledge by recording podcasts for students to listen
to, or they can find podcasts that have already been created on a subject for
students to listen to. Students can create and share podcasts to show what they
have learned on a subject (to output their knowledge) and this is a great
assessment tool.
“For
schools, it (podcasting) 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” (Leach, nd). According
to the Directory Journal, “To
learn something totally new, the average person has to hear the information
more than six or seven times – some people need to hear it upwards of twenty
times before it makes it past the barrier between short term and long term
memory” (Garland, 2010). With the intensity and rigor our performance
standards in schools, I do not know a single educator who has the time to
repeat and reteach more than two or three times. Creating simple podcasts on skills could help
solve that problem. Students with internet
at home could also benefit from the reteaching of skills after school hours and
when students miss school, they do not have to miss the entire days lessons if
pieces of instruction have been turned into podcasts.
One huge push in my school district this year is differentiated
instruction. This is always been an initiative;
however, as students come to us as more and more diverse learners, the need for
differentiation is growing rapidly. The need for differentiation spans past the
classroom and affects all areas of a school that work to meet the needs of the
student body. Eash explains how
podcasting can support differentiation in the following statement:
Podcasting supports efforts to differentiate
instruction in the library in accordance with No Child Left Behind
requirements. The podcast is a viable alternative for delivering research
content or lessons to students who need remedial or extended support. While
auditory learners particularly benefit when podcasts are incorporated into the
teaching model, librarians can help all students and staff find ways to
creatively use podcasting. Sometimes new formats are the key to igniting
interest. While creating podcasts, students learn to research, write, develop
vocabulary, speak effectively, manage time, solve problems, and grab attention
(Eash, 2006).
Podcasting could be a very effective tool for promoting
your media center. Book talks could be
incorporated into podcasts that catch the attention of students. These book talks could have the potential to
reach students who are frequent flyers in the media center as well as those who
rarely visit. Those who avoid the media
center may hear a book talk podcast that sparks their interest and you may find
yourself with a new blooming reader. A
quick podcast could also be a great way to let students know what is going on
in the media center and about new materials/resources that are available to
them. Tutorials for using media center
equipment could be created using a podcast and these could be readily assessable
to all students.
The great thing about a podcast is its ease of
use and reasonable cost to create. All
schools have computers and most of those computers have built-in recording
devices. If you have these things, you have the minimal requirements to create
a podcast and your school has invested no money. After modeling the creation of a podcast
several times, I think early elementary students could start to create their
own podcasts to support learning.
I admit, Podcasting is not something I have
personally ventured into. After reading
the Courtney text, doing so research, and listening to sample podcasts, I do
feel confident that I could create a meaningful podcast for library
patrons. I also feel like to could
effectively and frequently reach my patrons through podcasts to create
connections. I would also really enjoy
teaching students how to podcast and giving them the opportunity to express
themselves through this technological medium.
References
Courtney, Nancy. (2007). Library 2.0 and Beyond. Libraries Unlimited: Westpoint, CT.
Eash, E. K. (2006, April). Podcasting 101 for
K–12 librarians. Computers in Libraries: Volume 26 Number 4. Retrieved February
12, 2013 from http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/apr06/Eash.shtml
Garland, Rebecca. (2010, October 13). Learning By Doing: Is
This the Best Way for Your Child to
Learn? Directory Journal. Retrieved
February 12, 2013 from http://www.dirjournal.com/guides/learning-by-doing-is-this-the-best-way-for-your-child-to-learn/
Leach, Jimmy. (n.d.). Podcasting
for schools – the basics. Education.Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved February 12, 2013
from http://education.guardian.co.uk/appleeducation/story/0,,1682639,00.html
Erin,
ReplyDeleteBeing new to the education field with no prior education background, the term "differeniated instruction" was completely foreign to me, but I think I've heard it upwards of 100 times just in the past 3 months that I've been working in the school! It is being stressed daily, and teachers are always searching for more ways to cater to the needs of their students. I agree tha podcasting is a great option for these teachers. My sister is a fifth grade teacher, and she is constantly looking up new audio files online that compliment her lessons or explain content in new ways. Like you said, students have to hear something multiple times to absorb and synthesize the information that they are given, so we as educators should help enable them to do so. Even if it is the child repeating the information and making it into a recording so he/she can listen to it back and see if it makes sense and the podcast now makes the student a creator instead of a meer consumer. The opportunities with what is basically a recording a device are endless, and the classroom has a great deal of room to get much larger and be open for much longer hours with this concept of putting lessons and instruction online.
I liked the way you related a podcast to a radio show. I thought that was a unique perspective. Courtney’s Library 2.0 shares that podcasting allows users the opportunity to record and dispense audio across the Internet, making everyone a producer and host of their own radio show. It is another way for people to share their thoughts with the world or in our case school and community. The way you explained that we teach 21st century learners who are very much interested in technology is very true. I feel that incorporating technology into teaching and learning does not have to be difficult or elaborate. When students are learning about a topic we as teachers can have them create a podcast on what they learned as a form of assessment. By creating a podcast students are excited about what they are doing and think they are just having fun with their friends. Simply giving students a piece of technology to use creates the excitement. Then as teachers we have a great assessment tool to use and see what our students are learning about and understand.
ReplyDeleteTeachers can use student generated podcasts to help students study. You referred to the fact that it takes a person six or seven times and possibly longer to put new information into long term memory. Podcasts are a unique way to help students learn new information. Teachers can generate or have students generate podcasts on specific information. I use math and reading groups daily. During group time there are students at their seats working on independent work. This would be an ideal time to use podcasts as a learning tool with specific students based on their instructional needs.
I am not in a media center...yet. I appreciate your discussion about ways to use the podcast format to promote the media center whether it is media specialist-created book talks, student-created book talks, or as an advertisement to upcoming events, new books, or new features available in the media center. I also appreciate your discussion on the ease of use and feasibility cost-wise of creating podcasts. I look forward to exploring more inexpensive forums for podcasts.
ReplyDeleteI like how you connected podcasting as both an input and an output tool. Both uses can be very beneficial to students. By creating podcasts or using other recorded material, we are providing multiple opportunities for students to hear the lesson material. This input tool reinforces what students have already heard in class. I have often heard parents fret over not being able to help their student with homework. If parents can also access the podcast, they may feel more confident in working with their student. Listening to a podcast can help both student and parent fill in the missing gaps to gain understanding. When students create their own podcasts as an output tool, they must make those essential connections with prior knowledge to be able to reteach what they have learned to others. They are essentially assessing their own learning. At the same time, they are creating a digital record to share with their parents and others.
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, podcasting is relatively easy to use and inexpensive to implement. Administrators will love it! Media specialists can use podcasting to promote the media program and also spread this tool among teachers. Through collaborative efforts, media specialists can assist teachers in incorporating podcasting in their classrooms.