To be completely honest with you, I just got an ipod for my birthday in October. So I have had a crash course in the past few months with itunes and the whole concept of podcasts. I have downloaded a few podcasts to itunes at school during the process of trying to create new units of study. I have not shown them to the kids and have not finished creating the unit of study. So when I was asked to create a podcast for this class, I was a little apprehensive. Once I got started, I really liked the ease of Camtasia and began to think of ways that I could use it in my classroom.
As I was reviewing the resources about podcasting I found that it is one of the fastest growing forms of information posted on the web. The fact that you can set up your itunes to automatically search and download new podcasts from a series is just amazing to me.
While I was reviewing how podcasts could be used educationally, I came across a few that were really inspiring to me. The first was Coulee Kids' Podcast. These were student created podcasts from a school in La Crosse, WI. There were a variety of subjects to choose from and since I enjoy science it was the subject I chose. In the podcast, the kids were learning about amphibians and their different systems. There were slides of the kids and their specimens as they were describing each part. It was so cool. You could hear the excitement in the kids voices as they spoke. It also made me realized that the kids really learned the information they were discussing. It wasn't just memorized for a short period of time. As a teacher, that is what you strive for in your student's learning. LEARNING, not memorization.
Another site that I really thought was great was the Grandview Library Storytelling site created by Grandview Library in Monsey, NY. She had an AWESOME media center web site and included podcasts of books based around themes. The only drawback was that she just had audio and her voice was not real exciting. It would have been really, really good had she added some pictures of the books as she was reading the excerpts from them. Even just the cover or first page would have been great. But just the fact that she has taken the time and the effort to use podcasting to promote books and reading was genius.
I also liked the A+podcast Rubric that was in our resources. I thought that it was easy to follow and that it could be easily adapted to for younger and older students to use. I think that I will use this as the basis for my rubric when I am creating my kit idea for my digital story. I want my students to research a famous building in America. We are currently working on a house design unit where they are learning about different types of architecture and buildings. I was going to have them create a power point but think this is a much cooler idea and one that they can share with their families.
I also really enjoyed reading about the grants that were available to schools for podcast equipment and use. It was promoted by Tool Factory & Olympus Grants. Teachers would submit their own podcasts for why they felt they deserved the grant. It was not a large amount of money but what I would have really liked as a teacher was the free site license and the fact that they used Camtasia. It was not the same version that we used in class to create our podcast, but it seemed a little more kid and teacher friendly. Some of the other items that came with the grant were digital voice recorders, mics, workstation subscriptions, and Tool Factory cd guides and books. It would be a great grant to help promote Web 2.0 and the 21st century classroom/media center.
I also thought the hosting information was very informative. It would probably be a huge help to the IT department if you stored your podcasts somewhere else other than on the server! I know ours can get clogged with photos and this would be a great safe place to store them, just in case the server decided not to work anymore. Most of the subscriptions were not expensive and could be purchased with media center funds or even via your PTA. I really liked the Tool Factory. They seemed to have thought of just about everything to help teachers, but it was also the most expensive.
Luci, I was thinking the same thing about podcasts as you were initially. I was really nervous about having to do a podcast. Then, I was really shocked at how easy it was...despite the nerves of preparing a script. I see podcasts as sort of a foreign idea. I was thinking of them from too much of a textbook angle. It just dawned on me as I read your post and looked up some of the specific podcasts you mentioned that I actually am used to listening to podcasts without really realizing it. The technology is moving so fast that I guess I don't really sit back and think about it as it comes.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts about your comments was that this could be a much faster way to get students to do a project without having to begin with some at the word processing level. They all certainly know how to talk. When I taught Pre-K, I used to tape record students. I was amazed at finding quiet kids who never wanted to stop talking into the microphone. I could see this as being a great way to get students to participate who might otherwise be reluctant. I have a lot of special ed students who can't read or write well, but who actually contribute a lot to the classroom discussion. This would benefit them as well. It would also give me the time, I think, to go back and listen to what they know later without having to spend all of class time trying to get individual conversations going for feedback. If I could go back later, I could get a much better feel for my students that I can't get with 4 blocks of 20+ kids. I like the idea of getting to record student thoughts and responses. Being able to use a ready-made rubric makes it all the faster. I'm still waiting on a response from our tech person on whether our county allows podcasts or not.
My experience with podcasts comes from my children's high school. Even though they both graduated, I became fascinated by their "1,000 stories" which they began AFTER my kids left. I realize now they are a combination of podcasts and vodcasts. As a boarding school, they strive not only to advertise what they do, but also to keep parents around the globe informed about school life. It helps families feel a part of what their kids experience by sharing personal stories, school activities, success stories, and personal narratives. It made me think about the handbook we're creating. The section on promoting the media center was all about informing the public. If we could help parents feel a part of the school experience, we would get more support on so many levels. What parent wouldn't want to log in and listen to their child? I see it as a great tool.
I hope this link works: http://www.darlingtonschool.org/daily/stories.aspx
Great job Luci! I too was nervous/apprehensive about creating a podcast without personal training. Several of the teachers are involved in an IPod grant at my school. They have been training since the beginning of the year and some still haven’t created a podcast. Podcasting 101 will be shared by me with those at school participating in the grant as well as the resource page from Dr. Bennett.
ReplyDeleteI checked out the Willowcast and was very impressed with the professionalism of the fifth graders as well as the content of their presentations. Out of curiosity, I checked out several to see if each was as well done as the last. They were equally informative and professional. (I couldn’t help but smile at the hesitant voices of the younger children.)
In listening to Nancy Keane, Booktalks, Quick and Simple http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/podcast_list.htm I could hear some animation in her voice, perhaps some of the book talks are better than others. I actually became intrigued about the book “Jake’s 100th Day of School” laminack_jake's 100th Day of School.mp3 I know many elementary schools celebrate the 100th day of school and this could be a great resource. (It may already be but I’m not in elementary and neither are the boys!)
I think some visuals would make these podcasts more inviting, however it has been discussed at school that students cannot appear in podcasts, at least not in my county. Another topic discussed is lessons podcasted by teachers when they are going to be absent. I’ve heard this discussion for some time and don’t know if it occurs, but will definitely help any at my school that are interested.
We also, as a military city are working on vodcasts for students with deployed parents. This should be cool.
Gem you brought up a valid point. Some schools or school systems may not want students to appear in podcasts. I work for Dekalb and have never heard of this being an issue but since I'm currently a classroom teacher and not a media specialist there may be an issue that I'm just not aware of. I am going to ask my media specialist about this tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI have done video in the past as a class project and sent a note home to the parents ahead of time. since I made a copy for each child I had to make sure parents were okay with this. Of course at that time it was on VHS so there wasn't the issues that we have today.
I'm glad you pointed out the information on grants. I think some staff members/schools are afraid to begin podcasting because they think it will require expensive equipment. Not only can it be done relatively inexpensively, there are options out there to assist with the cost!
ReplyDeleteYou had mentioned that the kids who did the science podcast seemed really excited and most likely retained the information they learned vs. just having it in short-term memory. I think this is a perfect example of where teaching is going. No longer will it be a teacher standing in front of the class lecturing, and then testing her students on the information. Students can acquire knowledge and show their knowledge through assessments that are interactive, which are more interesting and engaging, involve different kinds of learners and keep students active participants in learning!