Podcasts in the Classroom!

There are countless ways to integrate podcasts into the classroom; for example student-produced podcasts for publishing, podcasts for connecting classrooms, and using podcasts as a form of information about a subject area. Podcasts are audio and or visual files, which are shared through the Internet.

Student-produced podcasts are a form of publishing classroom work with peers, family, and beyond the classroom walls. During the publishing process, students are brainstorming ideas, assigning roles, writing a script, and rehearsing their writing. Before they can produce something onto a podcast they need to check their timings, practice their lines, and edit their work to make sure they are publishing their best work. The last step is to upload their podcasts and they will receive feedback from other students and listeners on the web.

Connecting classrooms through literature circles or online science logs can create a connection among classrooms. Similar to pen pals, classrooms can share their experiments and thoughts about projects they are working on in their school and reach out and share with their digital pen pal. This is a common form of communication that students need exposure to as these forms of communication become increasingly important in our world.

Students can research topics online and use credible podcasts as sources for information. Podcasts can increase the diversity in their research sources and give students a wider pool for collecting information. Education Podcast Network (EPN) has made available academic podcasts can be used in the classroom, from primary grades through college. Beyond research in the classroom, podcasts can be used for digital storytelling during the writing process. Students will be motivated to write when there is a place for their work to be seen and heard. If the teacher is the only audience, the motivation will not be as great as when others outside the classroom can view their work.

http://fcit.usf.edu/podcasts/

http://epnweb.org/

Innovative Tech in the Classroom.

Twitter in the classroom is not something I would have thought to try but I found many useful ideas on Sonja Cole’s article, 25 ways to Teach with Twitter. The majority of suggestions were collaboration tools for connecting teachers with ideas and lesson plans for successful classrooms. Teachers need to use technology and the amazing communication that can be accomplished to broaden our thinking. Our students are taught to think outside the box and we encourage them to search out new ideas through research and we need to follow our own advice! Twitter is limited in word length but it is quick and simple to use. A sample question could ask ‘Does anyone have a great smart board lesson for 2nd graders?’. The answers may be diverse and can include input from a wide range of viewers or could be narrowed down into an educational tribe. The tribes help organize the people into groups based on interest.

Interactive whiteboards are an incredible education tool. The ability to create a presentation, save it and use it for a future class session makes traditional whiteboards obsolete. Digital story telling, working on math problems in whole class discussion, and having access to interactive Internet sites for enhancing lesson presentations are many of the ways that interactive whiteboards can be used in the classroom. With Promethean Boards, students can use the ‘clickers’ to answer formative assessment questions during a lesson and these devices can motivate students to participate who may have been too shy or anxious to commit to an answer in front of their peers. Overall all of the different kinds of interactive whiteboards can be used in the classroom to enhance the daily school day.

Pearson Education had a presentation of new innovative technology that is available for classrooms. Their goal is to provide digital and online education globally. ‘Pearson is revolutionizing schools with an: array of digital and online tools that include research-based content, personalized intervention, assessment for learning, data management and professional development solutions to set every child on an individual learning path to success in school’ (Pearson website). One of the example curriculum to purchase was 7-8th grade Biology were online experiments, dissections, and class blogs could allow students to share their observations.

Cole, Sonja. 25 ways to Teach with Twitter. 2011. Retrieved from:
http://www.techlearning.com/article/25-ways-to-teach-with-twitter-by-sonja-cole/46075

Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources Center. U.S. Department of Education Grant PT3. 2010. Retrieved from:
http://rmtc.fsdb.k12.fl.us/tutorials/whiteboards.html

Pearson Education. 2010. Retrieved from:
http://www.pearsoned.com/california/pearson-technology-for-california.pdf