Podcasts

Okay, this has nothing to do with podcasts directly, but I really was not a fan of the Johnson and Cooley text - maybe because it was published eight years ago, and I just expected a technology text to be a bit more current. The book was full of things that I considered old news or even just plain common sense. Unfortunately for our students in education, teachers sometimes are slow to catch up. For example, there is this whole chapter on engaged learning. The benefits are proven: more motivation, multidisciplinary learning, advanced reading and comprehension skills, world class learners (Johnson & Cooley, 2001). And these benefits can actually result in higher test scores for students. It seems I have been hearing about engaged learning since college in the early 90's. When I think about best practices, no matter what term is given to it, the characteristics are shared with engaged learning - things such as collaborative learning, hands-on experiences, critical thinking and problem solving, interdisciplinary work, and real performance opportunities (Johnson & Cooley, 2001). Common sense stuff, but unfortunately, many teachers see varied instructional ideas as fads and are reluctant to give up the control they have with more traditional models of teaching. But things are not going backwards - and the technology available today makes engaged learning very easy to incorporate. To be honest, I knew very little about podcasts before reading up on them, but I now see that using podcasts in the classroom would make for engaged learning very naturally.

First, one thing I did not understand was exactly what makes a podcast different than any other audio or video file. What I have learned is that the only thing that makes a podcast different is that it is available through an online subscription. Hedron (2008) offers the analogy of buying a magazine at a grocery store and then deciding to subscribe to the magazine and have it sent directly to your house. Only with podcasts, they are sent to you on your computer. Okay - so what? How can they be used? Hedron describes a few ways. Perhaps a superintendent can produce a weekly podcast to communicate not only with educators but also with students and parents. Or teachers can create podcasts of best practices. Oh, we teachers are so good at borrowing ideas. Hey, if something is a sure thing in the classroom, why reinvent the wheel?

My real heroes in the podcast world right now are Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, who both teach in the School of Library and Information Science at the Indiana University. I HIGHLY recommend their articles on Podcasting that were published in Teacher Librarian. I've found part 1 and part 2. If there are any subsequent parts, I will be sure to read them. Reading these articles got me excited about using podcasts even though I really still know nothing about them - first hand, anyway. I guess I should say that these articles made me excited about experimenting with them. In Lamb and Johnson's (2007) part 1 article, they offer an introduction to what a podcast is and how already created podcasts can be successfully found and used. They pointed out a few extremely important points to consider. First, the library's selection policy and educational standards should be considered while looking for podcasts. When I get excited about something, I tend to mindlessly throw myself into exploring it. But certainly this reminded me to slow down and stay focused while beginning to consider podcasts. Otherwise, I can see how I might get overwhelmed.

Second, another thing to remember is that anyone can create a podcast, and this is important for a couple of reasons. First, it is important to consider the authority of the person creating the podcast - simple information evaluation skills must not be forgotten. And considering the volume of podcasts on all subjects produced by just about anyone, just "googling" for podcasts is likely to become frustrating. Johnson and Lamb provide a great list of starting points for locating quality podcasts.

Lamb and Johnson in this article provide a wealth of ways to use podcasts in the classroom. They talk about the kinds of things that are out there: current events, government documents being read, interviews, lessons, programs, reviews, health information, and much more. Then they continue to discuss how to use these programs in specific subject areas. For example, in an art class, children can go on a virtual tour of a museum and then discuss the works of art. In health, students can watch podcasts as a starting point for research. They can watch (or listen to) podcasts of health topics and then develop lists of questions for further investigation.

Lamb and Johnson's (2007) part 2 article is more of the same, except the focus switches to how to create a podcast. They provide several sources to help in the production of a project such as this - from free share sound sites to sites that will aid in publishing your podcast. They also offer several project ideas: from creating a news broadcast to virtual tours to interviews with local talents.

The thing that I respected most about the authors is that they remind the reader to not use technology for technology's sake. Podcasts can be a great tool, but Lamb and Johnson remind the reader to consider, "Where does voice and sound make a difference?" That's where you use a podcast. What a great question to consider before jumping into a project.

When considering podcasts, I am reminded of the learning styles classes that I have taken. Some people learn better by actually hearing something. And considering that many podcasts also offer transcripts, there is the option of listening and reading at the same time. Using podcasts are a great way to differenciate learning. They are a great way to incorporate engaged learning in the classroom. They are a great way to offer teachers and students more content on a topic or learning standard. And what is amazing to me is that it can all be done for free. Technology is wonderful. It is fascinating to consider what is available right at our fingertips if we know where to look!

Hedron, J. (2008). RSS for educators: Blogs, newsfeeds, podcasts, and wikis in the classroom. Eugene, OR: ISTE.

Johnson, M. & Cooley N. (2001). What we know about: Supporting new models of teaching and learning through technology. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service.

Lamb A. & Johnson, L. (2007, February). Podcasting in the school library, part 1: Integrating podcasts and vodcasts into teaching and learning. Teacher Librarian, 34(3), 54 - 57. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Lamb A. & Johnson, L. (2007, April). Podcasting in the school library, part 2: Creating powerful podcasts with your students. Teacher Librarian, 34(4), 61 - 64. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.