What is a Podcast?
A podcast is an audio file that
is shared online with others across the internet, this is usually achieved
through the use of an RSS feed and subscriptions (day, 2018 ) . A podcast differs
from an audio file because of its shareability across the web, this
shareability is a result of the RSS feed which is able to update websites
across the internet that host podcasts quickly.
What can a podcast do?
A podcast will enable students to work to a higher level as
they would need to be able to present their topic in a digital form, but as a
podcast students will not be able to use images like they would with a video.
This difference will hinder students who are more of a visually learner but it
may help students who learn better through audio or by having thinks expanded
to then verbally. There are many ways in which a teacher can fully utilise
podcasts, one such way that would be very useful for a history teacher such as myself
would be for the students to give their parents or grandparents interviews on
their family history and then having those podcasts shared so the class can
learn more about their peers
Podcast sharing.
Podcast are different from just uploading an audio file
online and as such they require a different set of skills that would not be
suited to a classroom environment. A way to avoid or circumnavigate this issue
most people use a podcast hosting website such as libsyn
Safety with podcasts.
There are many problems that can arise with exposing
students to podcasts such as giving students access to podcasts containing
things inappropriate for students (profanity, descriptions of violence or assault).
As a teacher we are tasked with making sure students are taught in a safe and
nurturing environment and as such we should make sure that any podcasts that we
show the class have been thoroughly listened to so that nothing explicit or graphic
is exposed to the class. Other safety issues can come with students uploading
their own podcast and giving away personal information to strangers. If a
student was interviewing a family member for a podcast and their home address were
to be mentions that podcast would not be suitable for sharing with the internet
and perhaps not being shared with the class unless that information can be cut
out.
Teaching with podcasts.
There are many different ways in which podcasts can be used
to teach one that I believe could be particular fun would be doing a historical
interview podcast series where students take turns each lesson to interview each
other as historical figures. Students would need to have an understanding of the
figures that are going to interview in order to write up questions and answers
for the series as well as be able to use the technology involved such as a microphone
and compute to a large degree in order to complete the task. I believe that
this would enable an ordinary task to be completely redefined so that students
are able to complete new tasks that would be otherwise unthinkable
References
day, i. p. (2018
). WHAT IS A PODCAST? Retrieved from international podcast day:
https://internationalpodcastday.com/what-is-podcast/
edtechteacher.
(2017). Podcasting – Using Podcasts in the Classroom. Retrieved from
edtechteacher: http://edtechteacher.org/tools/multimedia/podcasting/
Gray, C. (2013,
March 07). What is a Podcast? A Simple Explanation of Podcasting.
Retrieved from YoutTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_awu2loGzL0
libsyn. (2004). libsyn.
Retrieved from libsyn: https://www.libsyn.com/
Schrock, K.
(2018, January 16). Resources to support the SAMR Model. Retrieved
from Kathy Schrock Guide to Everything: http://www.schrockguide.net/samr.html
Hi Brenton. Good post especially the use of questions to guide the post.Podcasts can be used for a huge range of teaching and learning reasons. As a teacher you need to avoid signing up for commercial sites that require student data. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post about podcasts, and you gave some really good ideas about how they can be used in the classroom at a higher order thinking level. It was also good to read that you had thoroughly considered the legal, safe and ethical side to it as well.
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