Blog Post #4

Eagle's Nest Radio

After listening to a variety of the podcasts Mrs. Edmison's class has produced, I have a whole new appreciation for the art of podcasting.  The students in this class pose as reporters interviewing other students in character in the role of important historical figures.  This is an excellent way to teach history.  The act of role playing places the students in the particular time period they are addressing forcing them to imagine and visually experience the history being taught.  Additionally, the students are placed in the position of teaching others the information they have already gained further ingraining this knowledge ensuring it shall never be forgotten.

Langwitches

  

Prior to listening to first grader's podcast read along to "Dinosaurs Before Dark", the steps these students took to make this story book come to life are highlighted.  During the course of production, it is noted how the children become aware of their own voices.  The students began to play around with the pitch, emotions and volume of speed among other qualities.  They would also insist on  re-recording if they were not happy with the way their voices sounded during a particular clip.  This is an extraordinary activity for students to participate in to promote their self development and boost self- esteem.  Children involved in podcasting are conditioned to be a more self-confident, outgoing individual who will grow to succeed in every aspect of life.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

In this vodcast (a podcast with video), Joe Dale distinguishes the usefulness of having podcasts in the class room.  This particular podcast goes hand in hand with the podcast our group, The Music Notes, will soon be publishing.  Focusing on the millenial generation, it is found that youth, ages 8-18, are increasingly being exposed to what the various media devises have to offer; this is time more spent than reading a book or other print sources. This list of media devices inlcudes ipod/mp3 players, computers, television and cell phones.  Upon initial examination, the results of this data is concerning and bothersome.  After listening to Joe Dale and his thoughts on podcasting in the classroom, I am looking at these numbers with a very speculative mind.  The polls used to obtain these numbers do not ask the question what these children are in fact doing while they are spending time on media devices.  According to Dale, podcasts allow students to interact with one another outside of the classroom.  Educators who provide their lesson plans via podcasts open up options to their students on days they are sick or have other engagements preventing them from attending class.  The same idea applies to teachers, students miss out so much when their teachers are unavailable for class and a substitute is required to sit in.  Podcasts allow students to still have interactions with their teachers when they cannot be there.  While the amount of time students are spending on media devises can be concerning, it is a rush to judgement to assume the time is being spent on nonsense.  It is up to educators to provide quality material for students consume and the parents to monitor what their children are exposed to in order to make these staggering numbers a positive entity.