Podcasts+in+your+classroom

=Podcasts In the Classroom:=

A link to an article about students podcasting: http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/wells/ This is a school district that is very committed to podcasting: http://mabryonline.org/podcasts/ Here's another one! http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/index.html And more....http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/radio/podcasts.html

** You may add your classroom podcast examples here: **
Michele: Well, it took me long enough, but I found an interesting podcast from the University of Michigan. "The Environment Report is a news service committed to revealing the relationship between the natural world and the everyday lives of people." This episode featured the tomato / salmonella issue and the Super Ferry in Hawaii. I thought this could be applicable for science or current events! You can download this at http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4819393.

Abby: The example that I found, that inspired me the most was actually a game. I often include quotes on tests, which students HATE! This game, titled [|"Who Said -- Literature Game"] gives popular quotes from literature and students have to guess who it is. This is precisely what I would use a podcast for in my class.

I looked through multiple podcast examples, and I ended up finding one created by a math teacher at my own school! His [|podcast] may seem sort of bland to some because it is going over procedures to solve Algebra 1 problems, but I think that it is incredibly useful! He displays the podcast using youtube, which allows the students to see the problem-solving steps that he is completing, while listening to his narration of how to complete the steps! I think it is a great way to "bring a teacher home." - Erin

Dan:

This is a really good [|example] of a podcast that I found. This podcast is students conducting a radio talk show about explorers, specifically Lewis and Clark. They interview people such as Thomas Jefferson, who describes the Lewis and Clark expedition in more detail.

Kevin Direction to my podcast. Open iTunes à Click on iTunes Store à In the search type “Coulee Kids” à Click A School in the Coulee Podcast at the top of the screen The podcast I selected is entitled Chromosomal Disorders. The students explain several chromosomal disorders. The students focus on what causes the disorders, and what the disorder looks like. Ed

This is a quick but informative blog/podcast about [|e-Bullying] that I have found. I like that this site had the blog and the podcast in the same space. It would be good for ESL, and developing readers because they can follow the text as they listen to the words.

Ed, I really enjoyed this podcast. Great way to educate students, parents, teachers and the community. I think I will use it this school year as part of my internet safety education. Thanks Ellen

Jim [|NPR Podcasts] NPR posts all of their interviews online. I have linked to a podcast of Walter Cronkite's interview regarding the Gulf of Tonkin affair. They are a great way for students to get a different view on historical events.

Kimberly I checked out a bunch...Some of which were not impressive. Actually, I found some of them to be simply boring. It were as if a student were simply reading from a text book...using a podcast to simply give an audio file. However there were several that I found useful. Particularly I enjoyed [|StoryNory]. This was a great way to listen to stories for children. The stories included originals, fairytales, classic authors, poetry, Greek myths, St. Holidays and even Bible stories. Many of the stories are accompanied by video and can easily be added to you existing blog or wesite. I would love to down load some of them for my son on my mp3 for long car rides...they would be great! Story Nory even has learning English from Japanese for Japanese speaking students.

I agree some are very boring. I love storynory and so do my students. Another great story site is www.tumblebooks.com It is a subscription site but worth every penny. For one fee you get unlimited access. Parents love this site! Ellen

Oscar [|SpanishPod.com] has very interesting and informative podcasts for the language learner. This is just one example of many - [|podcast]. What I enjoyed about this podcast it is both entertaining and informative. The hosts have a playful interaction with another, adding to the pleasant tone of the presentation.

Mindy: The teacher in this podcast used it by having two "[|expert scientists]" (Darwin and Watson) interview about their findings in biology. It was clear that students needed to have an understanding of the contributions that their person had on science in order to answer the questions in this interview.

Danielle: The example I found was done by second graders, which I just thought was fabulous. There [|podcast] was on volcanoes. They had music added and each segment had a catchy title (i.e. volcano theater). The podcast was done as a research project and I think they did a great job!

Steph: "http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/educators/podcast/" I actually found a collection of podcasts from NASA's Space Place Musings. They were answers to questions that the students in my space camp asked quite frequently. I love the fact that they are answers at an elementary level. Space topics can be wayyy over a 2nd graders head, and I think they did a good job explaining. I also liked that they had transcripts of each podcast.

Jason: I liked this [|site/podcast] because it gives students the opportunity to create a podcast for other students from anywhere around the globe to learn about the location in which their school is located. This would be a great way for students to learn about geography, history, and other cultures, and share what they know about where they are.

Ellen: Great examples, now we need to assess them! Here is a rubric I found: http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/podcastrubric.html Also when I search my del.icio.us account for podcasts this site came up http://www.readthewords.com I haven't used it yet but I think it would be fun for young children to type in words and they would be read back to them. Maybe some one else has some ideas how it could be used.

=Student Examples of Podcasting:= =Examples of Podcasts for Classroom Use:=
 * Radio Willow Web: http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/radio/
 * Coulee Kids: http://www.sdlax.net/longfellow/sc/ck/index.htm
 * ColeyCast: http://www.murrieta.k12.ca.us/tovashal/bcoley/coleycast/index.htm
 * This podcast has a student explaining the Quadratic Formula and solving a problem demonstrating the use of it: [|Quadratic Formula Podcast] This could be used as reinforcement of the concept or to help other students to review - since it is a student author.
 * http://www.mpsomaha.org/willow/radio/shows/Willowcast29.html This podcast is done by second graders on volcanoes. They have added music and catchy titles for each of their segments.
 * Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing: http://grammar.qdnow.com/
 * Math Grad: Everyday Mathematics Explained: http://www.mathgrad.com/
 * Storynory: Free Audio Stories for Kids: http://storynory.com/

=Podcasting Resources for Teachers=

Tony Vincent of [|http://learninginhand.com] has downloadable worksheets that help elementary students plan and write their podcast segments ([|http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/RadioWillowWeb.pdf).] Tool Factory's Worksheet Station also has some great podcast planning worksheets for students ([|http://www.worksheetstation.com/code/index/view_tree?id=720).] Additionally, Dan Schmidt posts a fairly regular podcast called "KidCast: Podcasting in the Classroom." In his podcasts, he shares examples from kid-created podcasts, discusses classroom management and sustainability of podcasting, student safety and security issues, and much more. Visit [|www.intelligenic.com] to listen to his podcasts, or subscribe to KidCast through iTunes music store for free. Karen's Educational Mashups often discusses podsafe music, audio, and images. According to her site, her podcast "features mashups (compilations) of short excerpts from podcasts and other digital content of potential interest to the educational community. It is intended to give you a taste of a various podcasts that you might want to explore further" ([|http://k12handhelds.com/mashups/).]

=How can podcasts be used in the classroom?=

Review & Reinforcement
Students could create a podcast at the end of each week, taking turns, to summarize the content of the week. This would be a great reinforcement of learning, and would also be helpful for students who were absent during the week. The teacher could create a review podcast for a topic or unit for students to listen to, or have the students do the same as a test review.

There are also some great language podcasts out there - such as the Italian word of the day, learning Spanish... these would be great for foreign language teachers to use for students to listen to a vocab list and be prepared to be quizzed on the vocab. Something like this could also work in an English class. For younger students, voice, fluency, emotion, etc can all be demonstrated through a podcast.

Alternative Assessment
Podcasts provide another alternative for assessments. Instead of a test, a podcast could be a project where students summarize the essential concepts of a unit.

Multiple Intelligences
Appeal to all learners. While one student might learn best from writing a summary of a topic, other students might learn best from listening to a review or creating one themselves.

Current Events
On itunes there is also a student version of the news, which could be used in a history class. Most major newspapers have podcasts - also could be used in history class. There is a vocab word of the day (English),