Thing 14 - Learn About Podcasting

I have heard so much about podcasting recently, but never really took the time to look into it. Since I am not in a classroom daily, it was hard for me to think of ways to use podcasting with students in the role I play at school. I think that podcasting will continue to grow and be a very popular tool in education. When I think of the middle school students with whom I work, it seems like only a small percentage of them would really benefit from (or could truly take advantage of) podcasting. So many of them still need that one-on-one interaction with the teacher, giving them an opportunity to ask a question immediately. I can see how it could really start to catch fire as the grade level increased though. I would have loved to have something like this when I was in college. To be able to hear the lecture over again and make sure I recorded the notes correctly would have been a huge help.

1. Michigan State Superintendent, Mike Flanagan
http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-37818_45256---,00.html

I thought this was a very important podcast for educators. Sometimes it gets overwhelming reading article after article about what is happening in the schools, so to be able to just sit and listen to someone explain it made things much easier. I think it is so important that educators keep updated on all of the changes being made, and it seems like this podcast could really help people become more involved.

2. Radio WillowWeb
http://mps.wes.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8&pageid=115312&sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8

I was interested in checking out some podcasts created by students, and found Radio WillowWeb to be one of my favorites. One of the biggest challenges at school seems to be getting kids motivated to do the assigned work. It seems like if we offered them the chance to demonstrate their knowledge through a podcast, we might get a more enthusiastic response. It could be something that the students could show their parents or grandparents and really take pride in. I think if the teachers also mentioned that their podcast could be helping other students, it may give the kids even more motivation to really make the podcast something special.