A few years ago, I hired an audio archivist to interview my, then, 85 year old mother. You see, my Mum, was the last of her generation in our family and as such, the keeper of our memories. Whenever we browsed the old photo albums, Mum would break into story—stories of the prairies, of her parents coming to Canada, of herself as a little girl. What I began to notice is that as the years went by, Mum was forgetting some of the significant events of her life and our oral history. Hence, the interview. I am so very happy that I had the forethought to archive some of those memories before they completely disappeared through the effects of aging and finally with my Mum’s recent death. What I didn’t know then was that this was a form of podcasting—a form of computer generated talking, chatting, dispensing of information and stories which are then shared with others who may have the same interests. What is Podcasting? The word podcasting is derived from combing the words iPod and broadcasting . Now add video-editing, and the concept become a new word, vodcasting. “Because bloggers are using built-in web feeds, many have chosen this format for their Podcasts, using each posting as an individual episode. These are often called audioblogs or vlogs.” (Lamb and Johnson, 2007) Podcasts are created using software that is easily downloadable from the internet. Audcacity, is one example of software designed to record and edit the audio components. Something as simple as recording one voice or as complicated as producing a show with dramatization, sound effects, and music is what this type of software handles. Skype, a free internet phone service can even be used effectively to communicate with others from around the world. It’s a good idea to check the communication speed when using Skype in countries such as Cuba. Their speed of connection is slower and therefore, it takes significantly longer to host an interchange of ideas amidst frequent disconnections. No matter what software is used, it must be able to record, edit, and export your creation as an MP3 file so that it may be heard on your blog. You may upload the file to your iPod to be heard instantly or to a site such as OurMedia.org which stores your file for free so you can link it to your blog. (Richardson, 2009) Selecting Podcasts for a Purpose: When looking for podcasts to supplement learning, teachers begin their search with the question: “What are the information needs?” When considering learner needs we might think of the curriculum outcomes, the types of learners in class, for instance “Who might benefit from hearing the information rather than reading about it or from the textbook?” and the grade level expectations. Supplementation of information for a course indicates that one is interested more in the quality of content rather than quality of recording. A person would not expect many added features other than the dissemination of information but it pays to give consideration to the technical quality of the sound. Some other aspects to consider here might be the audience, the authority of the author of the podcast and length. Selecting a well-known and qualified source such as the BBC would be a good idea when selecting a podcast for history or some aspect of culture. A short segment such as a part of a series might be a good option to hold student interest. (Lamb and Johnson, 2007) With the ease of video downloading today, likely a teacher would select course supplementation with a video which is more appealing to today’s learner. Check out “What makes a Good Podcast?” on Kathy Schrock’s website. Podcasts are an interesting means of delivering information to students with alternative learning needs or who require extended support. Primarily serving auditory learners, podcasts when incorporated into the curriculum component as a listening activity; however, when students are given the task of creating their own podcast in relation to curriculum, the kinesthetic and visual learner are also engaged. Much can be learned through the incorporation of podcasts into curriculum areas. “While creating podcasts, students learn to research, write, develop vocabulary, speak effectively, manage time, solve problems, and grab attention.” An added bonus is that many of our students have created YouTube videos so podcasts will seem a related medium. Given the expertise of the students, they can now share in the creation of classroom content and act as a learning leader in any particular class where podcasting is required. Guaranteed, today’s learner feels more at home with podcasting than many teachers will. Another bonus should a teacher decide to add an audio component to the notes provided for a course, students can easily transfer and listen to them on an iPod or another portable MP3 device as a means of study. This really makes learning portable and can serve to decrease stress should a student need to miss class. If the teacher’s podcasts are available on a website to which students have access, parents can feel included in student learning. The main questions that educators need to ask when thinking of incorporating podcasts into student learning are: • Is a portable audio format the best format for this task? • How does the podcast support my goals? • How does a podcast enhance student learning? (Esch, 2009) “While podcasting is getting easier as the software and equipment for it becomes more user-friendly, teachers who aren’t techies still need to carve out some time to negotiate podcasting’s learning curve.” (Borja, 2005) I stumbled across Audacity in 2004 when our school was looking for a way to record final examinations for students with learning needs. After playing around with the software, I was eventually able to record two sets of examinations and demonstrate the use of this technology for others to use. However, that was the last time I used it and I had to save the files so they could recorded onto CD’s to be used over several years. Do I recall how I did any of the recordings? Very little yet I distinctly recall how frustrated I felt because I truly knew nothing about MP3 files, or recording devices. It took me days to finally record, without error even one of those exams because I had to rewind, and record over the areas where I had made mistakes or misread lines. Remember, I am a Digital Immigrant! After my recent podcast, I am not much further ahead regarding downloading the podcast to my blog. I was, however, able to link to the address of my podcast which is hosted at Internet Archive . After I got the hang of saving my podcast as an MP3 and then creating an account at Internet Archive, things progressed rather smoothly. I still havne't been able to upload the image through my RSS feed but will continue trying. I'm still a Digital Immigrant! This all takes time out of a teacher’s long and stressful dayand makes for some very sleepless nights.
Teaching Suggestions using Podcasting:
- Poetry and short story and drama readings
- Oral history recording • Current events
- Collaborative projects such as reading buddies or interviews
- Debate of issues
- Language lessons—ESL
- School radio programs or the gripe of the day
- Virtual tours such as those used by the Calgary zoo for animal formation using audio
- Conduct and listen to author readings or interviews • Conduct audio readings for the book of the month featured by the student book club
- Explain “How to…” of technology along with the written format on the library web page • Recording readings and questions for final exams for those students who are required to have audio along with the readings.
- Advertising events such as book fairs, or banned book week
My podcast:
http://www.archive.org/details/PodcastJoExamples of Free Quality Podcast Sites:
Free Audio Stories for Kids http://storynory.com/
NASA science Stories: http://science.nasa.gov/
Math Grad Podcasts: http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/7095
Family Health Radio: http://fhradio.org/
Reader’s Digest http://www.airsla.org/readers_digest.asp http://www.rd.com/all-podcasts.do
Scholastic Podcast href="http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/multimedia/podcast.htmStone">http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/multimedia/podcast.htmStone
News (archaeology) http://recap.ltd.uk/podcasting/humanities/stonepages.php
EPN http://www.epnweb.org/index.php?view_mode=questions
CNN News Updates http://www.cnn.com/services/podcasting
History According to Bob http://www.summahistorica.com
The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/ref/multimedia/podcasts.html
National Public Radio http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php
PBS American Experience http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/podcasts.html P
residential Radio Addresses http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/radio
Sites for Free Music and Sound Effects Creative Commons:
- Sound effects only: http://www.freesound.org/
- Creative Commons Music http://freeplaymusic.com/
References
Borja, R (2005). Educators discover value of Internet audio programs.. Podcasting Craze Comes to K-12 Schools, Vol. 25, Issue 14,, Retrieved 07,16, 2009, from http://chatt.hdsb.ca/~elses/boylit/edweek%20article.pdf
Esch, E (2009,07, 19). Podcasting 101 for K–12 Librarians. Information Today, Inc., Vol. 26, No. 4, Retrieved July 19, 2009, from http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/apr06/Eash.shtml
Islam, K (2007). Podcasting 101 for Training and Development: Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
Richardson, W (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful WEb Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.
Rosenfeld, E and Loertscher, D. (2007). Toward a 21st Century School Library Media Program. Podcastingin the School Library Part 1, Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc..
Rosenfeld, E and Loertscher, D. (2007). Toward a 21st Century School Library Media Program. InfoTech: Podcasting in the School Library, Part 2, Lnham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc.. Schrock, K (2009). Teacher Helpers. Retrieved July 19, 2009, from Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators Web site: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/evalpodcast.html
http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/9780787988494/ch01lev1sec4
That is amazing that you have your mother's stories recorded. That is yet another example, to add to the rest of your uses for podcasting in schools, of an authentic learning opportunity. I am sure many of our students have parents and grandparents who have interesting stories to tell.
ReplyDeleteI agree. With recent immigration numbers increased by our government, we are seeing increasing numbers of students whose country of origin and therefore, their culture, is very different from ours. I think it would be terrific if we could have students tell their stories and those of their extended family. Having said that, we do need to be sensitive to the situation which has lead that family to our country. Some stories are very tragic but there is always a way to draw those out for the benefit of all.
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