Current Events # 9: Podcasts in the Classroom

This week for my project I have been focusing on podcasts in the classroom. I have been curious how to use this form of media in the classroom to demonstrate learning and engage my students. What better way to learn about a podcast than through a podcast.

It spoke about the first podcast symposium located at Duke Unviersty. This symposium was dedicated to the use and development of podcasts. Educators pointed out that it is important to make use of the technology that students use, to teach kids through the tools they already use (like their love for iPods) and that kids don’t need to be lectured at but rather they need to be involved in making the content of their course.

The podcast speaks about a project done by a teacher called Art Mob Project. This teacher challenged the students to make unofficial audio guides for museums and art galleries and to make them available for the public to use on their iPods while touring these locations. The kids made podcasts, and some of them made music to go with the art they were viewing through garage band. Others were information based and told of the technique an artist used while painting, or the history behind the work. Kids were using original research and the result was exceptional. People emailed them to respond to what they had done and the  kids became minor celebrities. It allowed people who had gone to these locations many times in the past a new experience and new information.  These students created new knowledge that was put into an archive of information for all to share.

Podcasts can link many forms of media and can also be used by professors to document their teaching and make it available to their students. Vodcasting was also mentioned in this podcast as the next way of communicating (a video podcast) however it was said that it will be much more difficult as the sharing is more difficult because the files are larger, also more skill is required to make them. Finally, people will need to watch the program so they will not be able to walk or jog while they are listening to them.

When teachers asked their students to work on a podcast rather than a written paper, the result was a piece of higher quality and deeper thought. I also love the fact that creating a podcast truly allows students to use other forms of learning styles, and is especially useful for the student who is verbal and oral.

The best part of using podcasts in the classroom is that all the software you need is online and it is free.  After listening to this podcast, there was not much doubt left in my mind that podcasting will hold an important and exciting place in my classroom.