The
webinar I watched had to deal with podcasting--what
is podcasting? and how can I use it to support my teaching?
Many
of you may be wondering what exactly is a podcast? I learned that a podcast is
defined as a multimedia digital file made available on the Internet for
downloading to a portable media player, computer, etc. which is often
subscribed to or streamed. What differentiates a podcast from a regular audio
file is that is uses RSS--Real Simple Syndication, which basically
describes how the podcast is saved and broadcasted. Podcasts can typically be
found in blogs, Wikis, and iTunes.
So
it is not surprising that as technology continues to emerge in the classroom, that podcasting should not be used too. In
fact, it can be a great tool for both students and teachers alike. At the very
beginning of the webinar, they had a poll asking 2 questions: Have you ever
created a podcast? and have you ever had your students create a podcast? It was
quite amazing that a majority of the people in that webinar had. I, on the
other hand, just simply sat quiet and wondered to myself what exactly it was
and how does one use it. Call me naïve or what but I was completely lost. I
mean, I’ve seen the podcast icon on my iTunes but I never bothered to check it
out.
This webinar really opened my eyes to its uses and how it can be
used in the classroom. As the presenter Kevin Honeycutt stated, writing is
considered a social medium. When a student is given an assignment to
write a paper, it typically results in only one reader—the teacher. Sometimes,
this may affect the student's motivation because they may feel like the teacher
doesn't like them and assume they will in turn get a bad grade regardless of
what they wrote. In comes podcasting, which enables the student to write a
script, record it, and post it to the web allowing for a wide range of viewers
who provide feedback. Other uses for podcasting in the classroom are class presentations,
as a way to engage learners and encourage participation, self-assessment, as a
way to help teach academic vocabulary, and lastly for professional development.
Overall, this webinar was very, very informative. Not only did
it help me understand what podcasting is but also how to use it in the
classroom. The webinar goes on a little further to address the process for
podcasting. It opens vast opportunities both students and teachers alike. I
feel this definitely is something worth investing time in and exploring as a
future educator.
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It all sounds very interesting and with all your information, i feel like prodcasting can really be useful for teachers and students. I feel like with this tool, students are expanding their knowledge of education with technology and its important because as you say, technology is emerging and its important for young students to learn how education may not only be in the classroom but on the computer as well. Great post sandie :)
ReplyDeleteI never knew what podcasting was until now. I agree with you, this app is very useful for teacher's and students because it gives them the ability to put their work online and get feedback from it, whether it positive or negative feedback. It will help strengthen ones work by using this. Other than that, I think that webinars are very informative and it's better if everyone can use power point slides for their presentations so that we won't get lost.
ReplyDeleteWow! I love the part about writing a paper and only the teacher gets to see the final product and comment on it. The student may feel that teacher could be biased based on attitude or preference. In this case, broadcasting the media via podcast allows for a greater audience. Not only the teacher will be commenting on the assignment, but you can also receive comments from other listeners. Good post Sandie!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting tool here, podcasting. The amount of assistance that it provides for teachers to help their students is truly remarkable. Now with podcasting teachers are able to have students listen to them online which will greatly help the students to retain information if they have access to the lecture at home.
ReplyDeleteSandie girly, after reading your post, I was like "dang, podcasting really is BA*" Lol. I love how technology is constantly growing making learning soooooo much fun and creative nowadays. Thanks for sharing, brut:)
ReplyDeleteRSS is a subscription code - so if you subscribe to a RSS Feed you'll know when something has been updated on the Web. You'll see it with podcasts, blogs, and webpages. You can add one to your blog, that way someone knows when there's activity. If you see a RSS button on a site or blog you like, click on it. It will ask you how you want to subscribe to the changes. Google Reader (surprise!) is a tool you have with your account and one you can choose. This way you can subscribe to multiple RSS feeds and check Google Reader to see what's up.
ReplyDeleteNow that you know about podcasting you know one way SoundCloud can be used. I'm surprised you guys don't know about podcasts already but I guess you don't have iTunes? There are thousands upon thousands of podcasts to choose from on music, sports, comedy, ... anything.