Technology Articles: School is almost over!

Technology Article #1-Podcasting

Podcasting in the classroom can be extremely helpful in engaging students. There are pilot programs going on in major universities like Duke and University of Washington. Teachers saw that students who took the classes that had podcasting were less likely to drop because they could keep up with the material. They also reported that students were more engaged in lectures, projects, and field research by using iPods. The students are also given more of a voice in their own learning. They can receive feedback not just from other students in the class, but from individuals around the country or around the world!

There are additional benefits for the teacher as well as the student. Podcasting is very cheap. It only requires a microphone and a computer with the correct software on it. You can buy a microphone for a reasonable price at Wal-Mart or Radio Shack. There are many programs that can help create podcasts such as iTunes, CCPublisher, and Feedburner (which is blogger friendly).

I could use podcasting in my classroom to record the lectures for those who miss my class as well as providing additional materials to students who want to learn more. I could post the Podcast on Blogger and it would allow others to see what is going on in our classroom. Parents could listen to what I am teaching their students in class. Parents could learn the material along with their students. It would also allow students who had questions on the material to ask them in a Blogger like setting. This could lead to more interaction between students and the outside world, which would ultimately engage them in classroom learning.