Blog Post # 4 Why Podcast? How Do We Podcast?

Langwitches-Flat Stanley Podcast The first podcast that I viewed was The Flat Stanley Podcast . This podcast was presented by Silivai Rosenthal Tolisana and a group of eager 1st graders. This podcast described how these six year olds were inspired by their peers to create a podcast of their own. The children were allowed to be creative by relying on their senses in regards to how Flat Stanley would have smelled and felt during his travels. This podcast project also allowed parents to be involved by helping to get addresses of friends and relatives that Flat Stanley could go visit. I remember about six years ago, my husband's grandson sent Flat Stanley all the way from Houston, Texas to us here in Alabama for a visit. We took pictures of Flat Stanley with us at the beach and out to dinner and even at church. His grandson was so thrilled when he received the pictures. I was just thinking that if Podcasting had been around then, we could have recorded everything and my husband's grandson could have presented to his class via podcast. If your are interested in seeing the Flat Stanley podcast, I suggest that you check out the langwitches website at Langwitches.

Podcasting with 1st graders by Silvia Tolisano

In this podcast, I think that the children were more excited about receiving comments than anything else. Just like the children in this podcast, I was thrilled when a second grader knew that I existed when I was their age. I also liked this podcast because all of the children were treated equally. Everyone got to experience each part of the podcast. There were no teacher's pets. The children were able to engage constantly by being interactive. They were also learning how to be professionals through planning and organizing. I think that if podcasting and vodcasting was around thirty years ago, I would be able to speak in front of a group without may voice involuntarily changing.If you want to know how to incorporate a question and answer segment into your classroom podcast, check out this site with Tolisano and her experienced first graders.http://langwitches.org/blog/2009/12/11/podcasting-with-first-grade/">

Benefits of Podcasting by Joe Dale

Mr. Dale begins this podcast by giving us the definition of a millennial. A millennial is anyone who was born after 1980.I definitely don't fit the category. Most children these days are introduced to technology at the age of two. I was a college freshman when I experienced my first computer class. A couple of benefits of podcasting is that it allows for differentiation and project base learning. It is also a good lecture tool because when students have to miss class for circumstances beyond their control, they can still upload their podcast lesson and not get behind on their studies. Another benefit of podcasting is that the students are able to be creative . They can be actors while gaining higher order of thinking skills. I think that it is good to act some things out because somehow you are able to retain the information better. The last but not least benefit of podcasting is that parents get to see what their children are doing.

What is a Podcast?

A podcast is a recording that can be recorded and played on an IPod, computer or MP3 player. It is free to use and does not take long to download. I think that it would be a tragedy if we as future educators did not use it in our classrooms. I would definitely use it as a learning tool for my students.