I went to the PodCast websites and enjoyed listening to the kids teach me about various topics such as the constitution, fish, and art (Thank you Dr, Schmidt for emailing me the websites). The one thing that stuck me the most was the fluency in reading that I heard in grades 7 all the way down to 1st grade. Those students must have practiced their script several times to be able to read that fluently. They all seemed very knowledgeable of their topics too. I wished they had video to go with them. If they did, my computer did not show it or I didn't understand how to get them to play.
What are the benefits of the Podcasts in the classroom. One benefit would be a deeper understanding of the subject matter. My guess is they learned the information (comprehension), wrote their script (synthesis and evaluation) and then produced the podcast. What a deep learning would take place in this type of project. Reading fluency would improve due to the repeated readings of the script they wrote. Cooperation between group members had to occur which helps with the social aspect of school and the ability to get along and take constructive criticism. Motivation has to be very high in these types of assignments and finally the listening piece by other students.
What would be the uses in the classroom for Podcasts? The two uses that jump right into my head are science and social studies reports and readers theatre scripts or book readings. We could have a whole library at our school of various books being read or reader's theatres scripts that people have written for kids to listen to. It would be easy to record with sound effects and it would be highly engaging for the kids to listen to. For the science and social studies projects, what an awesome way to teach other kids than to listen to Podcasts that kids in earlier years have produced.
Are podcasts better than other technology projects we have learned about in class? I am not so sure. I really like the iPod recordings with pictures and sound that we did at the end of class last week. I am really excited about those for listening to books on tape just because of the visual aspect of those productions. I am also very excited to learn more about talking books. I can't wait to learn how to make those so the sound and animation works.
If I had the equipment at school and I knew how to use it without much relearning, I would do it if it worked into my curriculum and I had a group of kids that could do it. Some years we do have kids we can do just about anything with - some years we do not.
1 comment:
Hey Debra, I agree with what you are saying about podcasts. I think they would be great to use with readers theater scripts. I also understand what you mean about having classes that can "handle" it. I actually had the kids practice reading books to build fluency/expression and then read them into the iPod with a parent volunteer. It was easy for me to have the parents show them how to use it and save the recordings. It actually worked out pretty well.
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