Why Podcasts?

I can see how podcasts can be beneficial, but I don't think they would be that beneficial towards my field. I just don't visualize middle school students and especially high school students, enjoying this type of learning procedure in a history class. I think it is a good idea, to an extent, for elementary school students. I think the main group that podcasts would be wonderful for, would be children with learning disabilities. It could really help with students with dyslexia or speech impediments.

Many great examples of podcasts being used in a elementary classrooms are showed in Langwitches blogs. One in particular, Podcasting with First Grade, the students are assigned the story "Vacation under the Volcano" by by Mary Pope Osborne from the Magic Tree House series. The students interviewed the two main characters, "Jack and Annie". It seems like it was a great group project and the students practiced patience and listening. They did one chapter at a time, so I know it had to be pretty time consuming. The teacher addressed these skills during the podcasting lesson :listening, speaking, presenting, comprehension, storytelling, performance, voice acting, oral fluency, media, and technology.

Flat Stanley Podcast, is about a little boy who accidentally is flattened, but in turn, has the chance to travel the world! He visits friends and relatives and has the chance to view amazing sights! This project gives the students the initiative to choose a place they want to visit, how to get there, what they see and who they see. It opens their imaginations and teaches them how to use all five senses when expressing or writing a story.

The Listening Comprehension Podcast assists students in leaning a different language. This podcasting lesson was about writing a script, listening, comprehension, collaboration, speaking skills, and fluency in the target language, which in this case, was Hebrew. The tool allowed them to manipulate sounds, re-listen, think critically and logically about the best way to present the story- all in Hebrew. By being able to play their voices back, they could hear where they were making the wrong pronunciations and fix it. I can see where podcasting can help someone learn a new language.

Overall, I think podcasting can be a great tool and a fun activity for class, but I still think we should not steer away from the basics of learning how to read. Technology is not perfect, it can have a malfunction at any time. At least you know, a plain paperback book won't let you down! You can still bring life back into reading without podcasts. You can have the students act out the story, or even bring in props to to help bring the story to life! Like I said earlier, I think podcasts would be extremely useful in a resource classroom, but I do not think it should be the main source for reading in the general education classroom.