Podcasting



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 * Podcasting Description**

This podcast stems from a lesson I was teaching on the importance of exercise. Previous to the involvement of the voice thread technology, I had students watch a video on obesity. The video became a catalyst for discussion on the issues surrounding the rise in obesity levels in school age children, the challenges in choosing a healthy lifestyle, and the effects of being overweight at a young age. From this discussion, I decided to create this voice thread prompting the students to respond to questions to assess their learning.


 * Summary**

I used the voice thread here to allow the children to learn to formalize and verbalize an oral response to an oral question, which is a life skill. The process of having the children do this included many steps. I first explained and demonstrated the assignment to three students in the class. I then had them write down what their response would be to my questions I pose on the thread, practice their response with the microphone on their head but not recording, and then I had them do the actual recording and listen to their response played back. I then had these three students helping me to prepare the remaining students for what the process of doing the assignment would include. This helped the process go smooth. As students were prepped and ready, I took them one at a time, let them listen to my questions on the thread, practiced their response, and let them record. The process was involved and time consuming. However, the results were phenomenal!


 * Reflection**

When I first heard about this portion of the program, I was a little anxious about how involved and challenging creating a podcast would be. Contrary to those beliefs, this process was simple and enjoyable. In its entirety, this project was fun and created much enthusiasm among the students involved.

I saw this project as a challenge to involve a class I personally have struggled with behaviorally most of the year. I used this project to create a positive turning point with this group. I started by having the three students who presented the most resistance in my class as my helpers for the project as described above. Placing them in a position of power and allowing them to be the authority on this to the remaining students opened up a dialogue with the students that may not existed otherwise. I was able to communicate with them about the importance of what I am teaching and why they need to pay attention to it during class. This dialogue then was passed on to the rest of the class as the helpers prepared them for the project. It was a very exciting process to involve the students in. We created a situation of trust, empowerment, and understanding by using technology as the central medium.

In addition to the way the technology changed student relationships with me, the technology allowed the students to express themselves and gain confidence in their educated opinion. By having the students practice their response and writing their thoughts out ahead of time, it allowed them to learn the importance of clear communication, especially when they heard their voices played back to them. Some students were shocked to hear their own voice. But, it allowed them to learn how they sound to others; thus, they deduced the importance of speaking clearly and in full sentences.

More exciting then the process of creating this and the intrinsic lessons students were learning was the response other students had to hearing their peers speak. I anticipated that some students make fun of their peers’ voices. That did not happen. When I played some of the students’ responses to other students, the listeners were genuinely interested in the responses and even learned from them.

This project was fun in that it helped change the relationship I had with a group of students, challenged them academically, and taught those lessons that will benefit them academically and socially the rest of their lives. The technology of podcasting alone is exciting and powerful. When combined with academic rigor, it can literally change lives.


 * Maryland Technology Student Standards**

//6.A.1, 2, 3,4, 5, and 6//

1. Collect Information 2. Compare information from different sources 3. Analyze findings 4. Determine the need for additional information 5. Draw conclusions 6. Communicate conclusions, inferences, and ideas
 * Standard 6:** Technology for Problem Solving and Decision Making: Demonstrate the ability to use technology and develop strategies to solve problems and make informed decisions.
 * **A:** Students use technology tools to: