Blog Post #5

Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog

I was very impressed with Eagles Nest Radio & Class Blog. The podcast are conducted by a group of third graders in Mrs. Edmison's class. The specific podcast that caught my attention was Episode #2, Totally Terrific Time Travel with Explorers. I really enjoyed their theme, of time traveling, and the way they were allowed to use their creativity. Projects such as these gives students the ability to be themselves, and a boost in self confidence. Boosting their sself confidence at a younger age, pushes them to want to be more involved in learning as they get older. The students also seemed to be very knowledgeable of their topics and the information presented. They presented the information as if they have been creating podcast for many years, and the students had very little hesitation throughout the entire podcast. This was a wonderful podcast, and the students seem to have had a lot of fun.



The Benefits of Pod casting in the Classroom by: Joe Dale

In a video entitled The Benefits of Pod casting in the Classroom, Joe Dale talks about the benefits of pod casting in the classroom. These benefits are as listed:

• an effective way of interacting with students outside of the classroom
• a form of learning students of today are familiar with and therefore makes it relevant to them
• it allows for differentiation and project based learning
• students can access the higher order thinking skills in Bloom's taxonomy
• it promotes creativity and innovation
• it can offer distance learning opportunities for absent students
• the process of creating and uploading audio files is easy
• students can record role plays in character making their learning more memorable
• parents can see and hear what their children are doing at school

I believe pod casting can be very useful in classrooms. From personal experience, I was introduced to podcast by communicating with a teacher on a day to day basis, listening to lectures outside of class  and students explaining information, they have learned, with your fellow. To me, pod casting is way better than typing long emails, with a disadvantage of getting your entire point across. For example, at a previous college, any questions the students had from the lectures, we were required to ask them in a podcast and post them in a discussion board. From here the entire class could hear them. Anyone who was able to answer the question was allowed to explain it in a responding podcast. This way we were able to get a clearer understanding of our questions and responses, and we were able to incorporate fun into learning. I think methods such as this should be used in all classes. If so students will learn another great way to incorporate technology in learning.

Langwitches

This post was about first grade students who learned how to use podcasting in their classroom. They created their podcasts from scripts their teacher wrote for them. The scripts were based off books that were read to them in class, and their teacher designed the books so that the students could read along as the podcast was being played. Once their teacher finished writing the scripts, she allowed the students to record them in their own voice. The blog mentioned how the students enjoyed rerecording the podcast, if they did not like the way their voice sounded. It seems to me the students really enjoyed this activity, and will benefit from it in the future. Teachers such as this one really encourage me to incorporate tools such as podcasting in my future classroom. this will introduce my students to using technology at an early age, and give then the courage to wanting to be involved in classroom activities.