Podcasts

As with most of the technology activities we have experimented with in our ITS class over the past five semesters, podcasts were no exception to being grouped with several others that I had heard of, but had very little knowledge about before we actually were forced to dive right in and analyze/create them.  I definitely think I learn more when I am put in a situation where I have to kind of figure things out as I go, rather than reading about how something works.  It was interesting to make a podcast with a classmate this week and I will admit, even a bit FUN.  One thing that I think I could appreciate about them when I compared them to the video assignment we had in the past was that, while we still had to put time and effort into researching our content and composing our script, it was much easier and I think a lot less pressure when it was time to actually record the segment.  Knowing it was only our voices we had to concentrate on, and having the safety net of a script we could actually read from was much more comforting than having to perform in front of a camera. 

It also was easy to come up with a lot of neat ideas for how I could incorporate podcasts into my classroom and lesson plans with my students.  It is a simple enough concept that I think even 6th graders could handle, without having to designate an entire week or more to the project.  My kids love making up little skits, so this would be a way for them to still play with the idea of taking on the acting role if they wanted to, but isn't as complex as having to actually perform in front of a camera and take three days to film the "perfect" scene where no one messes up their lines or makes a goofy face or any other little distraction they let get in the way.  I thought they could take something we read, like a novel and model their podcast after an interview with the author.  They could also pretend to be characters from the story they read and put themselves in their shoes based on what they know about their personalities, setting and plot of the story as they answer questions for the host.  It seems like the possibilities are endless and I think they would LOVE sharing their podcasts with each other as well.  I'm excited to see how I can incorporate this different tool into my classroom.