At first when I heard about podcasting I thought there was no way it belonged in an elementary classroom. With the lack of time able to be spent in the computer lab and the worries of student’s personal profiles being posted online, it wasn’t anything I had ever thought would benefit my students, while supporting curriculum standards at the same time. But my viewpoint, after investigating what exactly a podcast is, as well as diving into some elementary created podcasts, has been changed completely!
You might still be asking yourself
What exactly is a podcast?!
Well, I thought the same thing to myself a few weeks ago. It sounds cool…..but what does it entail? According to Podcast Alley , podcasting “allows individuals to publish (podcast) radioshows, that interested listeners can subscribe to.” Podcast sounds a lot like ‘broadcast’ because that’s what is: it’s broadcasting different audio sounds (music/voices/etc) to various different users in a new and innovative way! Many podcasts focus on one concept, but can be as broad or as narrow as the podcaster wants. The Podcast can range in time as well!
Now you’re probably thinking
That’s great, but where does it fit into the classroom?
Luckily for you, I thought the same thing! After researching various podcasts and listening to the perks of them, I realize there are MANY different ways to use podcasts in your classroom, from elementary school to college level!
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Podcasts can be used to broadcast to others about FIELD TRIPS! Students could tell various accounts about what they learned and how it tied into what they had discovered in school! Their field trip might help another class better understand content who can’t go to that place (ex: Jamestown wouldn’t be a place students from CA would go to learn about the colonies. A podcast from a class in VA who took a trip there could help them further/deepen their own education!)
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Podcasting can help with storytelling. One student might begin a story, while another adds on. This could be a continuous story created by the entire class and would be very funny to listen to when complete!
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Podcasts could be used to help students practice fluency. They could read along with the voice heard on the podcast, as they would have done with a tapedeck years ago!
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Podcasts could document class lectures, particularly at higher levels, so that students who missed class or needed a review could listen to the podcast and gain insight on what was learned.
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Students could post a podcast about math tips, days in history, words of the day or even create a class podcast for other students to view. Not only would it help them review concepts learned, but it would reinforce concepts for other classes!
And now you’re probably thinking
…..ok, but why would I want to do all that?
Yeah, my thoughts exactly! But Podcasts are great tools to use, alongside the curriculum to
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Improve fluency
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Give a great motivator for students to complete the writing process, as their end result can be broadcast over the web
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motivate students to learn information by listening to other podcasts (if it’s not a teacher in front of the room they’re all sorts of motivated to listen!).
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Allows them to write about things they’re interested in and then read them over the internet so it expands their thinking (instead of just being in the box) since they know they have a wider audience of listeners.
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Allows them to make connections to their learning while podcasting (especially if about a field trip or guest speaker!).
So, is podcasting for you? It’s amazing the various different directions it can take you!
