Podcasting in the classroom?

I just learned about podcasting and how it works. It seems to be pretty interesting and beneficial. Do you think it should be utilized in the classroom?

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Permalink Reply by Vas Chrono on April 4, 2011 at 9:57am

How do you use podcasting? Can you explain us?

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Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on April 4, 2011 at 10:40am

Podcasting is a wonderful tool for the classroom! I've been using it for years as a tool to help students synthesize and share information -- basically, as a presentation tool. I also love to have kids publish their writing as podcasts because they can choose music to convey the mood of the piece. I've podcasted with students from 1st through 12th grades, and I've always had positive results. It's an especially powerful tool for English-language learners.

You can find tons of information on the web with details on podcasting in the classroom. I've used Garageband, Audacity, and iPadio to create podcasts with kids. The tools are so easy that students can figure out how to use them with very little teacher support.

This post has some information about podcasting (in the 'Digital Storytelling' section), as well as other ed tech tools that might interest you.

Good luck!

Katy Scott

Stretch Your Digital Dollar

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Permalink Reply by Chad Ackerson on April 4, 2011 at 2:46pm

I use podcasts in science and social studies as well. I have them turn their review into a script and then record it for a review they can listen to online at home or on their mp3 player. You can use podcasts for vocabulary words, book reports, news casts where they have to describe a moment in history or a discovery of a fossil. There are endless ways to use podcasting in the classroom.

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Permalink Reply by Katy Scott on April 4, 2011 at 3:22pm

I agree with Chad -- I've used podcasting in pretty much every subject. I've had students create "video podcasts" (a podcast that includes a slideshow of images) to explain the layers of the rainforest, strategies for solving math problems, Middle Eastern holiday traditions, and even the rules of chess.

The only issues I've had with podcasting are minor technical ones -- sometimes, if everyone is recording at once, there's a lot of background noise. Because I didn't have access to headsets with mics, I started having students record outside, at separate times of the day, to avoid this issue. I also had a few students who accidentally deleted their podcasts or something to that effect. I resolved these issues by having podcasting "experts" (students who picked up the tool exceptionally well) help other students troubleshoot. Also, when working with first graders, I paired them up with older students (4th and 5th graders) to help them record and edit their podcasts.

For more info on podcasting with students, you should check out Tony Vincent's website -- he is one of the foremost experts on hand-held technology in the classroom.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Dale on April 4, 2011 at 4:28pm

I started podcasting in the classroom in 2006 and found it great way to embed learning and give pupils a real audience for their work. I've just finished a blog post about using Posterous in the classroom which can be used to host a podcast plus many other things. See link here:

http://joedale.typepad.com/integrating_ict_into_the_/2011/03/easy-c...

Here are all the other posts I've written about podcasting on my blog

http://joedale.typepad.com/integrating_ict_into_the_/podcasting/

Best wishes

Joe

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Permalink Reply by Lauren Lennard on April 6, 2011 at 10:06am

I have created a few podcasts during the past few years in college and I feel that they can be extremely beneficial in the classroom. Podcasts are a great way to add to a lesson because the teacher can put what they want word for word on the podcast or they can put prerecorded information on the podcast. For example, a teacher can put a famous speech on the podcast for the students to hear.

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Permalink Reply by David Dean on April 6, 2011 at 7:02pm

I have been podcasting in my class now for the past 3 years and I love it. The most beneficial aspect of podcasting in my classroom is it gives my students a voice. I allow them to work with a partner, choose a "segment" or "Story" for the podcast, then they begin their research and start writing their part for the podcast.

Topics I allow the kids to use in our podcasts include 1 minute book reviews, Weekly School Sports Updates, an interview with an administrator or teacher, editorials (Should we adopt school uniforms?), Fashion Tips, Video Game Reviews, CD Reviews, Movie Reviews, etc.

The podcasts give my students a voice, and an audience for their voice. They know these podcasts will be posted on my webpage and can be heard by anyone in the community. This isn't just some short paper that ONLY their teacher is going to read, grade, and return. They work so hard on writing their part, practicing the delivery, and the actual recording because they want to sound good for the general public in our community or any students who may listen to it.

I normally give them a full class period to get their story together and we take turns recording them as a class the next day. I find it easier if we record the project all together instead of trying to piece together multiple recordings from multiple computers. If students do not have their story ready, then we do not wait on them and they will not be on that podcast. The thing is, THEY WANT TO BE ON THE PODCAST. Most of the time, they will get their work done.

Also, you will find that if you are doing Podcasts for the first time, you will have some students who have never heard themselves on video or audio before. I have about 4 sixth graders per class that have never heard themselves off of a recorded video or audio before (I know that is crazy to believe). You will have students who notice how they read their stories, and you can even improve their reading skills or at least allow your students to see/hear what they need to work on!

We use the free download of Audacity for our audio recordings. I even created a "How To" guide for Audacity to help you set it up for podcasting and even edit your recordings. You can check it out here!

http://classoftech.blogspot.com/

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Permalink Reply by Christina on April 13, 2011 at 1:17pm

I definitely think podcasting can be utilized in the classroom. Teachers can record lectures or reviews for test so student can access them online at home. You can even download some to an iPod or mp3 player and take there where ever you have to go. It gives students a new way to study.