I love this picture. The caption underneath it read, ''We need new ways of learning things''.
So before beginning this course, I had absolutely no idea what a podcast was, in fact I am fairly sure that this word has somehow never managed to be screened by my brain. So my understanding so far is that a podcast is an audio/sound file that can be created and posted onto the internet. These files can then be accessed on a computer (the most common medium) or on a device such as an ipod.
I can see the benefits of podcasts in the classroom, as students could create and share their own podcast or the teacher could create one to share with the class. Podcast have been alikened to radio shows that can be subscribed to and listened to at any time. The subscriber simply downloads the audio and has access to it. I explored both kinds of podcasts on the Podcasting in Education wiki to gain a better understanding of their purpose and uses.
Podcasts for students:
The first podcast that I explored was ‘JustVocabulary’ which introduces new vocabulary and explains their meaning and gives example of it used it context. I can understand how this could be beneficial for some students who are audio learners or even for ESL students as a male voice proceeds through the text below. I personally question how many students would use this, if they were already affluent readers who could quickly read through the same script on a print copy.
I loved the maths podcast that I found at Dansmathcast. I think that this is a fantastic idea for use inside and outside of the classroom. When I was in school I really struggled to get a grasp on many mathematical concepts and as I worked my way through the latest copy of the textbook, I would find myself getting frustrated. All that it took was an explanation of how to do a problem and I would have that ‘aha’ moment. Dansmaths podcast contains explanations of math’s concepts ‘for the masses’ and provides examples of how to work through problems surrounding that concept. I think that this would be highly beneficial for students, particularly those audio learners. I imagine myself as a child again, stuck on a problem for homework –but instead of giving up I turn on a podcast and voila –a real human explanation of the concept surrounding the question. I like how this podcast injected some humour into a concept that could generally be very boring for some students. The particular podcast that I listened to (32) included responses to emails that he had received asking questions about particular things. What a great way to create an online learning environment where students could feel supported in a way not possible with a simple printed text explanation.
Another thought that this provokes is, ''imagine the possibilities for foreign language learning?'' I learnt Japanese throughout my schooling and the amount of times I would be reading texts and see characters that I did not recognise is countless. If a language teacher could record the exact pronunciation of each character in a text I think that this would be highly beneficial to budding language learners...such as myself :-)
The final two podcasts that I listened to were available within an early childhood course that I am currently undertaking. The first podcast was a chapter summary from the course text. Although I had already read this chapter it was great to be able to go back over it a few weeks later when searching for content for an assignment without having to re-read the whole chapter. It ‘secretly’ made me think that I could have not actually bought or read the book and still received the information that I needed…and saved a lot of time. I think that this is highly beneficial in an educational context and I would use this when students are reading a class text. I think that it would be helpful for students to be able to get a summary of the text ‘in plain English’ without all of the fancy terminology often drizzled throughout books. The next podcast that I listened to on the site was a breakdown of an assessment task in five minutes. I have spent about 30minutes previously pouring over the task sheet and trying to work out a format for my essay, when I got a far more clear breakdown of it in five minutes, in language that I could understand.
Podcasts by students:
I loved ColeyCast: The official podcast of room 34. This site had a whole range of podcasts created by the teacher and students, and included many highlights of what they are learning about. This site made me really excited to think about the potential possibilities of using podcasts in schools. A class page that contained audio files documenting students learning would be beneficial to the teachers, students and parents who could all witness this learning first hand. Students could share their work, complete assignments, peer teach, and record daily events available to anyone. I really think that this is a great way of establishing an online learning community and would add excitement to a class page or wiki.
Blabberize
I struggled to get Blabberize to work as I do not have a microphone ,and could not upload a voice file so any help on how to do this would be great. The general idea that I got from watching the introduction is that it is a way of adding a voice (or sound) to a picture. It reminded me of a film clip that I have seen recently by lloyd (uploaded below) and if you scroll through to 2 minute and 24 seconds you will be treated to a ginger cat belting out a tune. I only saw this clip about a week ago and wondered how they made the cat's mouth move. Have I just found out? Anyway I think that this would be great in a classroom to use as a hook, or an introduction to a new topic. It is humerous and I believe that it woud be engaging for students.
Tune in below to Lloyd's song: Dedication to my ex (miss that) to see what I believe to be a blabberize-esque singing cat.
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