June 2007 — News
Print this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
Podcasts: Where's the Learning?
Where's the Learning?
Students develop literacy skills as they create podcasts. They become more engaged with their learning, or at least with the uniqueness of the technology itself. David Warlick provides evidence of learning at his Education Podcast Network. You will find topics in 21st century teaching and learning and subject-specific podcasts ranging from computer and information skills to dance, music, and visual arts education to mathematics, science, and second languages. There are also student and class podcasts categorized for elementary, middle, and secondary school.
There seems to be no limit to ideas for learning with podcasts. Tony Vincent (2007) suggests that podcasts can be used to provide weekly updates on classroom news, report on field trips, record a class discussion, conduct interviews, share book reviews, and review curricular content. Peter Meng (2005) notes that university students can record and upload foreign language lessons to their instructor's website. Teachers can record notes and lectures for download. Students can use podcasts for projects and project support interviews. They can be used for oral history archiving and on demand distribution. Podcasts can be used for audio recordings of chapters in textbooks, which support audio learners and make content easily portable. Podcasts that capture unique sounds found in nature, such as animal, bird, and human heart sounds, would be valuable for studies in the field.
In developing podcasts, students become involved with the project method, which is a real-world experience. At Longfellow Middle School in Wisconsin students write storyboards, conference about the content, edit, perform, analyze the raw footage, combine the spoken word with photos or video, work in teams, and meet the class deadlines. They develop higher-order thinking skills, their ability to write, select facts, develop and organize ideas and content, and communicate orally.
Jim Moulton (2007) reported in his blog that seventh graders are creating "Words of Wisdom" podcasts for their school's morning announcements. They are "spending significant amounts of time reading, understanding, rereading, reflecting on, and ultimately recording the words of Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt, and others, along with a pithy moral. They are thinking about how to modulate and pace their voices, how to read in tune with the words so as to make their recording engaging and meaningful, entertaining and instructive, popular and purposeful" (para. 5).
With guidance, elementary students can create podcasts. Students at Willowdale Elementary School in Omaha (NE) created Radio WillowWeb, a podcast series for kids. Third-grade students recently posted what they learned about the ear and the world of sound in Willowcast #26. Grade 5 students at Tovashal Elementary School (CA) post what they are learning to ColeyCast, named for their teacher. Their recent podcasts address interesting facts about the United States, Puritan life in New England, weather, inside the human body, and the solar system.
Ann Marie Dlott (2007) suggests using a think aloud strategy to demonstrate how to rewind, replay, and pause to take notes, which are skills students need when using podcasts for instruction. If students then create their own podcasts, provide a rubric, such as the one developed by Ann Bell at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, so they will know how their work will be critiqued.
So the potential for positive, rewarding learning experiences is there, along with proven strategies for using podcasts in a wide range of academic scenarios. But, technically speaking, not all podcasts are created equal. Next week, in the second part of this two-part series, we'll take a look at methods for raising the level of quality in podcasts and making those podcasts accessible for all learners, including those with disabilities.
