I am going to a conference Thursday to learn more about blogging and podcasting.
I get blogging, but the allure of podcasting eludes me.
How is it different than using magnetic tape?
How do you use it in your classroom?
Posts
Performance Review
12 years ago
9 comments:
Ironically you're a Luddite with respect to podcasting but a techno geek with respect to blogging. Paint me with the same brush. There always seems to be another new play in the technological arena that needs to be confronted.
The real question is "How can you use the recorded voice (in any format) to increase learning?"
The answer is: many. Take magnetic tape and now make it available online for anyone to access at any time.
Gentlemen, flip that brush this direction as well...
I have seen few examples of a use of podcasting that actually transformed a classroom in a really new way. One of the first examples I ran across that interested me was this post by Karl Fisch: http://snurl.com/71jzx on using podcasted lectures to minimize large group direct-instruction in chemistry classes.
I linked to the post in one of my own referencing SlideShare. (http://snurl.com/71k1z) That too, is simply a way to take a visual communications element and stick it on the web- thereby making it easily accessible across time & space.
I feel little pressure to launch into the world of podcasting, though I have meant to make a more concerted effort to swim around in it for some time now. Perhaps summer?
ps- I just realized- the slideshow there might be entertaining to some of the folks who read here. I forgot it was on that post.
One last thing: Mr. Doyle is actually a "techno geek" with respect to aesthetic uses of the English language. To me, this blog is a conduit for critical and creative thought. Don't tell me it is something different like a "reflective tool" or "way to sort out thoughts." It is... what it is to the receiver. Just like everything else in education and life in general.
Thank you, drive through...........
;-)
Sean
Thank you, gentlemen.
I hadn't thought much about the ease of access (but then again, I'm a tad deaf, and recorded lectures never appealed to me--my bias is showing).
I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some super sexay aspect of podcasting that transcended my presences in the classroom.
I feel better now.
I would tend to agree with you. I think there is an intense amount of hype compared to the reality of podcasting as a learning tool.
Here's what I would say:
1. Ease of access is a big thing - it makes the human voice portable. Today on my Learning with IMPACT blog I mentioned the notion of students analyzing the effects of technology on communication. Podcasts could definately fall into the category.
2. Ease of editing - It's easy to mix music, add pictures (if it's a multimedia podcast) and edit speech. On the positive side, students can be creative and analyze speech. On the negative side, there is something lost when people edit.
I would also add this: I have had students create podcasts and videos from the same interview (such as a state legislator) and then compare and contrast each media tool. It helped them think critically about how we process information.
@John
A few teachers were just discussing why kids will read off computer screens what they won't from books. I suspect the some of the warm fuzzies I get curled up with a book arise from happy associations with books long before I could read.
If kids associate screens with fun, then I imagine they get some warm fuzzy feelings with monitors. (My association with monitors started at work, so old folk like me may be less enamored of these light boxes than the young'uns.)
Still, I underestimate ease of access, and that may also be a reflection of my old-fartiness. I spent hours and hours poring through the Index Medicus way back when, volumes taking up tables yards wide. So I may just be jealous of youth bettr spent than mine.
Once I get a handle on this thing, I may toss it at the students and see what they do with it. They continue to surprise me.
The first (and to date only podcast my kids did was to record as passenger or crew of the Titanic). Was it better than some other format? It did allow our website readers and parents to hear the stories without having to invite them in. I can think of a lot of good podcasts uses but have heard a lot of ridiculous kid ones.
http://connections.smsd.org/titanic
In one of those ironies part of being human, the conference is cancelled tomorrow.
No phone call.
No email message.
No nothing except a red "CANCELLED" sign on the website, only noted because I was double-checking directions.
So podcasting will remain a mystery.
I am experimenting with 'podcasting' in the form of synthesis and evaluation for my 5th graders . check it out here and see what you think.... ok, there is some LOTS (lower order) going on too. riosclass.com
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