Once again, the focus turns to integrating technology in the classroom! Not that I necessarily think this is a bad thing, it’s just that I continue to be amazed with how many of our classes seem to focus on this subject. Last week in ELA we had a class discussion on various ways to use podcasts and voice threads in the classroom. I love podcasts, and listen to them almost every morning, but had never thought about using them as a tool in teaching by having students create their own.
After hearing about Radio WillowWeb in class, I looked them up, and listened to some of the incredible podcasts created by the Willowdale Elementary school students in Omaha, Nebraska. In these podcasts, an older student generally acted as the host and interviewed younger students about various topics including the Olympics, President’s Day, and endangered animals. I think kids would love to do this type of activity, especially if they knew they would build up an online audience that included their family and friends. I also think students would take great pride in their work and research knowing they would be recorded and broadcast for the whole world to listen to. Podcasts would also be beneficial for school and class bonding.
I believe there are several ways in which podcasts can benefit students. For starters, they are a great way to get shy students involved. A shy student may not want to public speak in front of the class, but may be a great speaker and have brilliant ideas if they could speak into a microphone with only a few people around. In the form of podcasts, students could broadcast the news, hold debates, read stories or discuss various worldly topics as the Willowdale students have. Another amazing way in which podcasts could be used is to communicate with sick or injured classmates. For example, if a student was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment in Vancouver, how amazing would it be to have their classmates send their well-wishes or read stories on podcasts that the sick child could listen to?
There are many benefits to using podcasts in the classroom, and I look forward to exploring them when I become a teacher.
Thanks for your thoughts on podcasts, Jill! What I like about the Willowdale project is the sense of community it seems to have encouraged within the school and beyond its walls.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of coming together to create something so big, really takes a lot of teamwork, and illustrates the power of authentic purpose.
Love the sharing idea with a sick classmate.