February 2008 — News
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Podcasting Basics: Simple Steps for Introducing Podcasting into Your K-8 Class, Part 1
Getting started with podcasting in your class doesn't have to be a complex undertaking. The software you need is free. The special hardware you need--if any--can be purchased for under $20. And you don't need to know a line of HTML. Yet the payoff--in student engagement, creativity and dedication--can amaze you.
How Smart Boards Can Help the Podcasting Process One question that Pearl gets asked by teachers is what age is appropriate to begin podcasting. His experience tells him that for the most part the students have to be adept at using a mouse in order to work with the audio files they're creating, which he said he believes is about third grade. "They can click sound files from one place to another in the editing screen," he said. "They can put [pre-recorded] sound effects in." The problem with that, he pointed out, is that it's hard to keep the rest of the class engaged if someone is working on a small screen and everybody else is watching. "Really, the person doing it is learning it." Even an overhead projector that displays what's happening on the computer is only a partial solution. "Someone still has to come [to the keyboard] to use a mouse on a very small screen." But an easier and more effective way to teach podcasting techniques is with a Smart Board from Smart Technologies, which allows the teacher to project images but also acts as a touch screen. "You've got the whole class sitting around, and you can have a child walk up," said Pearl. "Instead of working with a mouse, they're pressing the screen and it's activating. Then they can hold it down and drag and move files around.... It's an incredible piece of technology, and that's how I'm doing it now. While Pearl has had access to Smart Boards in his high school, they weren't in use at his elementary school. He said he believes their existence in the classroom would be a useful addition for getting younger students engaged in the computer aspects of podcasting. |
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Brad Pearl runs the K-12 Podcast Academy, a consultancy that educates teachers in how to integrate podcasting into their classrooms. In this two-part article Pearl, who taught at Bonner Elementary School and currently teaches at Furr High School, both in the Houston Independent School District in Texas, shares six steps for introducing podcasting into your K-8 classroom.
Compile the Equipment
Presuming you have a Mac or a PC in the classroom, preferably full-time, you'll be able to get the software you need for free. On the Mac, which Pearl has more experience in using, the software you need for audio podcasting--GarageBand--will be included in a suite of software called iLife. GarageBand, said Pearl, will record your sound, allow you to edit the sound into podcast programs, and help you publish the results on the Internet.
For Windows or Linux, you'll need to download a fairly small and free program called Audacity, which lets you edit the podcast. Audacity also comes in a Mac version if GarageBand isn't available to you.
Also, you should have Internet access in the classroom to expedite publishing the podcasts once they're done.
For Windows, unless you have a microphone built into your computer, you'll need to buy one that plugs into your computer. You can find basic models for $5, he said, or you can get a better quality one for more. In his K-8 classes, he used a $30 USB mic that plugged directly into a USB port on his computer.
If budget isn't a concern, Pearl recommends a $65 stereo microphone sold by Giant Squid Audio Lab, which includes two mic attachments--one for the person doing the interviewing and another for the person being interviewed.
Also suggested for recording that is done away from the computer: a small, preferably hardy digital MP3 player/recorder.
