Podcasting in Education

There are many ways that podcasts could be used in a classroom, both by the teacher and for the teacher.  Podcasts that have already been created can be shared to a classroom or to parents or even to fellow teachers who could in turn learn from them.  Teachers could also create their own podcasts in order to inform students or parents about upcoming events or to summarize a lesson.

Three very useful podcasting tools available are iTunes, Audioboo, and Audacity.  The first, iTunes, is great for searching for pre-created podcasts that can be shared among many different people: fellow teachers, parents and students.  Audioboo is another great tools to do this, and it is a little easier to use, in my opinion, because all it has is podcasts whereas iTunes has many different features.  Along with what we already talked about, Audioboo is also very useful for making your own podcasts and sharing those as well.  This is helpful when you can't find what you're looking for, don't like the ones you find, or have something very specific you want to say.  This podcast can then be embedded to another site or shared.  Audacity is on the opposite side of the spectrum as iTunes.  A user could not find podcasts that have already been created with this tool but they would be able to create their own.  One major difference between Audacity and Audioboo is the length in which a podcast can be made.  Audioboo has a limit of three minutes for each podcast, but Audacity can be much longer.  Here are the links to these three tools, just click on the one you want to go to:

Audacity

iTunes 

Audioboo

Here are two examples of podcasts that I have created.  One is a podcast made by Audioboo explaining a podcast that I found on iTunes, and the second is a podcast I made using Audacity then uploaded to Audioboo.


This is a summary of a podcast found on iTunes called Teen-Babble, Episode 2: "Are You Independant?"

listen to ‘iTunes Summary’ on Audioboo

This is a podcast I created using Audacity, and then uploaded it to Audioboo

listen to ‘Audacity Upload’ on Audioboo

Using Digital Storytelling in Education

This is an introduction to my classroom via digital storytelling.  Viewing this video will give you information on what to expect in my classroom and what it will be like.  If you are interested in creating your own Digital Story you can click here to go to PhotoPeach, which is the website that I used. Welcome to Mr. Drifmeyer's Jurassic Jungle!

Social Media

• The way that the world is progressing today, social media is almost a crucial tool to becoming a great teacher.  The generation today will not know a time when computers were unavailable, and surfing the internet will be like second nature to them.  The best way to reach any child today is through the internet, where they already are involved.  Meet the child where they are and earn the right to be heard. In the article "Social Networking Goes to School" by Michelle R. Davis, Principal Eric C. Sheninger from New Milford High School in New Jersey, once an antagonist of social networks, tells how he now supports them to the fullest.
• Two potential drawback to this, at least at this point, is running into the few parents who are against the internet and the lack of computers in every home.  To a parent who is not technology savvy, using social media can seem unprofessional and might even embarrass tat parent.  As a young teacher it will seem even more as if we are immaturely using tools that don't really work.  Also it is often forgotten that not every home has a computer and this is something that will need to be considered, especially when working in a lower income community.  
• Two very useful social media tools are twitter and blogs.  Twitter is a great tool to give students and parents a simple reminder or update on what is coming up in the classroom.  As a college student some of my teachers have actually used this tool and it has proven to be effective.  Even the simple reminder to bring a laptop to class can save a student a rough class period.  Blogs are great tools in which teachers can give a detailed summary or outline of what is going to be happening in the future of the class.  

Final

In the past five years technology has help revolutionize American education exponentially by giving teachers better opportunities to reach their students.  This is the age of technology and we are in a generation where even children are able to use technology.  It is important, as a teacher, to be able to relate and adapt to your students, and because of the constant uprising of technology it would be in the teachers best interest to become in some way familiar with it.  Teenagers are all over the internet and social media, which just so happens to be a great way to reach students and meet them where they are.  Via communication websites such as twitter and blog sites, teachers can post assignments or lessons in which students are much more likely to participate.

This advancement in technology has also been very difficult for teachers as it has actually become a necessity that they adapt.  It is no longer acceptable to simply hold a lecture and pass out homework.  Today's youth is so impatient and needs to be constantly stimulated, which makes the job of the teacher so much more exhausting.

In the next five years technology will most likely have an even stronger impact on education.  With technology schools could potentially save a lot of money and raise their test scores as well.  If schools started using online books and/or iPads/Kindles as a source for text books they could save money in the long run.  It would be a more expensive initial buy, but would pay off well over time.  Through technology students will potentially be more inept to learn and would therefore raise test scores, which would lead to more money for the schools.

Below is a podcast about my thoughts on the technology that will be most useful in my future classroom.

listen to ‘Final Project ’ on Audioboo

Podcasting

• Pod-casting is a short audio description or introduction via the internet.
• It is a great tool for teacher as they can prepare their students for what is coming up as well and keep parents informed as to what their child is learning.  When parents are aware, they are more likely and more able to help at home.  
• Students can use pod-casting in the classroom through projects.  A great way for students to inform their teacher or their peers about what the topic of a certain project will be is through pod-casting.
• Pod-casting adds a lot of advantages to a wealthier school where the majority of the students have a computer at home, but for a more impoverished district pod-casts could potentially be more of a burden than a benefit.  
• Embedded to this blog post is an example of the potential of pod-casting.  In it I summarize an episode of Teen-Babble Podcast called "Are you Independent."

listen to ‘Teen-Babble Podcast Review’ on Audioboo

Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is an amazing tool to catch students attention.  Many times teachers can get into a routine that might not work for every student and some might even get bored.  Digital storytelling is a great way to shake things up and keep students interested.

It's also a really fun way for students to show their own understanding of a certain subject.  Digital storytelling can easily be made into a project for students to work on and is a good peer group activity.  It is simple enough that students can work on it on their own at home or in the school computer lab, and they can focus on the material rather than how to get the video to work.


Here is a video I made to show what Digital Storytelling looks like.


The United States' Civil War on PhotoPeach

Social Media in the Classroom

Social Media is almost necessary in the modern classroom.  It's important for teachers to make learning enjoyable, especially in the higher grades.  Most students don't have a desire to learn, but rather feel the need for it or just simply put forth zero effort.  This puts a daunting task on the shoulders of today's teachers.  Social Media, as it stands today, is one of the universal ways a teacher can connect with their students and help them to want to learn.  In the article "100 Reasons Why Educators Should Use Blogs" the author, Maria Magher, tells us how blogs can be useful for both teachers and students.  Magher tells how most students are already tech-savvy and that they probably already have their own blog set up.  Teenagers love to tell the world their thoughts via the internet, so why not give them an opportunity to share their thoughts about what they are learning in the same fashion? Of course there are some negatives to this method such as the lack of a computer in every home, but in a college setting it's much more rare for this to be the case and depending in the poverty level of the district you teach in this might not be an issue.