Pod casting is part of my everyday life. My daughters go to Youtube to learn how to French braid their hair in a fishtail. I go there to figure out how to insert a strange tack to hold the mirror on the frame of my daughter's dresser. I miss the sermon at church on Sunday, I download the file to listen to on my way to work. In the classroom, I will pull up a color word song to sing with the students to bring them quietly to the carpet. All of these things were made possible because someone else created a podcast and posted it for me to hear. The options for using this in my classroom are endless. We can take virtual fieldtrips, watch a teacher in another part of the world teach a lesson, or learn about a person from the past. As a teacher, I can grow professionally by sitting in the comfort of my living room and watching someone show me examples of what they are doing in their classroom. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZxeCm-SdNU This is a great source of information for the person that has never done Reader's Workshop before. I can watch another teacher and learn from their example without ever leaving my house. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/new-teacher-building-relationships-lisa-dabbs. If I go to this site, I can get a refresher on the beginning of the year. The opportunities are endless.
This is all about me using someone else's work. I really never thought about how I could use podcasting to help or engage my students. I have recorded my students performing reader's theater in the classroom. Later we would watch it with popcorn and celebrate our hard work. Here is an example of a video we uploaded. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhGM6LeAYZE&feature=youtu.be This was a lot of fun for the kids and they worked really hard on improving their fluency without realizing they were working. So, I guess I have created my own podcast, I just never labeled it that way.
Doing this research for class made me start realizing something big. After talking about mobile technologies last week, I was so excited to find a way to record students reading during reader's workshop. I have already started trying to discover ways to get iPod touches in my classroom so I could encourage students to begin a digital diary. But stop. I don't need iPods. Don't get me wrong, it would be nice and there are a ton of activities I would use them for. But could I get started with digital diaries this year or at least recording students reading their book? Absolutely. I could use Audacity or something similar to begin hearing my students read. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ If I just bought 4 or 5 headset microphones (costing from $4-$80 each), I could use the computers in my classroom to begin immediately. YEAH! Pod casting isn't just for me to learn something new. I can actually create my own and so can my students. How powerful would it be for a second grader to hear themselves read a book at the beginning of the school year and again at the middle. They could hear for themselves just how much they have grown. What an amazing tool that will empower them to continue to monitor their own learning and growth!
I will still be looking for a grant for the iPod touches though. There is still so much that can be done in the palm of a child's hand!
You are absolutely right...technology has widened the horizons of everyone's knowledge and has eliminated location barriers. You have wonderful ideas and plans for your students to use technology and improve their reading. I loved watching your readers' theater video! Not only did your students do an amazing job, I am sure they learned so much, too! I think you have a great plan of recording your students reading throughout the year for them to hear their growth and development. A tool like that will benefit your students, but also serve as a tool for you to use in assessment and as documentation of student growth. I am sure parents would also love to hear the reading growth their child is experiencing. As a parent of a third grader, I wish I could have heard a recording of his reading development over the last couple of years. I may just take a little time to record him now and periodically,so he and I can celebrate his continued progress. Your post demonstrates your excitement and passion for your students, and their success in learning!
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