Blog Post #4

My Thoughts on Podcasting with First Grade and First Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobook

First of all, let me say that Langwitches' Blog  is a wonderful resource for teachers that includes How-To Guides available for download and easy-to-use information on numerous class projects involving modern technology.  The site's author, Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, is a trainer and what I would call an "educator of educators."  Her blog seems to fit perfectly with the projects for this class, even those other than podcasting.  These particular posts about first grade podcast projects that she oversaw were surprisingly instructional for our upcoming podcast project.  I say "surprisingly" because I honestly did not believe that first graders could put out such quality work as the podcast about "Vacation Under the Volcano" and the read-along book.  Ms. Tolisano's reflections showed that she shared my sentiment of shock.  She detailed how involved the students became in each project, critiquing their performances and embracing the "technical side" of editing.  I think that our group should definitely try to use her model of the process to do our podcast, including reflection on what we could expound upon or do differently. 

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale

Joe Dale's video clip about podcasting not only describes what he sees as benefits of using podcasts for instruction but also describes some basic aspects of podcasting, including the difference between a podcast and a "vodcast" which is very helpful for those who are unfamiliar with this technology.  This clip also provides links to how-to's on creating podcasts on Mac's and PCs at the end of it.  During the course of the video, he also shares other helpful links such as podbean.com which is a helpful tool for teachers.  I personally enjoyed this video because of Mr. Dell's classroom, a social studies teacher who used podcasts for his History lessons.  I thought the idea of using other teachers to voice different characters was a great way for students to have a more in-depth experience with the lessons. It's an exciting idea for any future History teacher.  The portion of the video where students give their reactions to the podcast lessons was powerful. They used words and phrases like "exciting" and "keeps my attention." One student even said her family listened to the classroom podcasts in the car on trips! I am sold on using this tool in my classroom some day.