Podcasts are downloadable audio bytes that can be used for practically any genre. I used them a lot during my bout in University. The professor would record each lecture, questions from students included, and then post it on the class website. This was useful not only for students who missed class, but for students like me, who needed to go back and listen to difficult parts of the lecture. With this technology, I was able to pause, rewind, or revisit a topic I was having difficulty with. Podcasts aren’t just for teacher use. Tony Vincent’s Learning in Hand website discusses how students can make podcasts of themselves and post them online for others to listen to. This can draw in parental support, community bonds, and give students a bigger audience than just their classmates. They are put on the web along with NPR or the Discovery Channel podcasts to be useful to others around the world (Vincent, 2011). The Carrolton-Farmers Branch Independent School District near Dallas has purchased iPods for the classrooms that students can listen to educational podcasts from other organizations or to recorded vocabulary and stories from their very own teachers (Smithsonian Education, 2010). The Smithsonian is one organization that puts out educational podcasts that student can download and listen to for sources of information. Other organizations that do podcasting that could be incredibly educational are the Discovery Channel, NASA, or even NPR for your Junior High or High School students. Podcasting can be an incredible tool in the classroom, a great way to get primary sources, and yet another way to get kids excited about using their generations technology to learn.
2010. “Podcasting with your students.” Smithsonian Education. Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/lesson_plans/podcast/intheclassroom.html
Vincent, Tony. 2011. “Podcasting.” Learning in Hand. Retrieved from http://learninginhand.com/podcasting/
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