Podcasts
Podcasts have a wide range of uses in education. Teachers can make podcasts for students to listen to. These podcast could be listened at home with reminders of skills learned that day. They could also be used at school as a way to give the students a new means of learning information. I especially like how podcasts were used at Mills Murfee. The podcasts featured students and their work. Sometimes one student was the featured in a podcast, sometimes a group, or sometimes the entire class. Using the podcasts in this way lets students know that their work is important. Parents would also be able to have access to the podcasts and have a better knowledge of what the students are accomplishing at school.
Grandview Elementary used podcasts in a similar way as Mills Murfee. In their podcasts, Grandview featured units that are being learned. Some podcasts were of children creating their own works, previewing information that had not yet been learned, etc. Along with the podcasts were photographs of activities that the students had completed. One of my favorite things about the podcasts at Grandview is that some of them are of books being read aloud. This is very helpful for students whose parents do not have the time or do not take the time to read to them. If a computer is accessible, the students can have a book read to them through a podcast. Grandview’s site is definitely worth the time spent navigating through it. It provides so many good examples of podcasts and the many ways of using podcasts.
I think, as a media specialist, I would like to have a site where I could put podcasts of books being read. It is important for kids to not only read on their own, but to also be read to. It is especially important for students in lower grades who may not be able to read by themselves, or those students who are having difficulty with word pronunciations.
