Podcasting for teaching and learning...

Creating my first podcast was easier than I expected! The toughest thing was thinking of a topic. I chose the states of matter because its what the kids at my student teaching placement are working on right now. I saw a neat journal article using the definitions explained in my podcast and thought that it would be a good way to explain the states of matter to kids. Maybe the kids in my class will be able to listen to it for a review or a reminder about this important concept! Once I had the topic chosen, I found the actual creation of the podcast to be very simple.

Podcasting may have some important educational value for teaching and learning. I can think of a few potential benefits to using podcasting as a teacher. Creating podcasts of lessons or reviews (or other educational materials) for students may help kids who are confused or who missed a lesson. It may help parents understand the material kids are covering. Teachers may also be able to allow students to listen to educational podcasts recorded by other teachers or experts to help them get different perspectives on issues.

In general, podcasting seems like a great way to learn more about any topic one is in interested in. On the websites that categorize educational podcasts, there is a great assortment of podcast subjects. I had never really explored podcasts before and didn't realize what a variety of information is available. Any students and any lifelong-learners could really benefit from the world of podcasting.

My first podcast

Hi everyone, I thought you might enjoy my podcast: sstewar8s Podcast

It aims to help kids define and classify the states of matter (solids, liquids, and gases).

- - Sarah

What do I think of blogging for teaching and learning purposes?

I think that I would be willing to use blogging in a classroom environment. The major reason is that children are already interested in computers and allowing them to blog gives them a way to use that productively, to communicate with words and pictures. It seems students would be enthusiastic about blogging and would be motivated by having a genuine audience.

I could see myself using blogging in one of two ways. I think it would be a fantastic tool for aiding communication with parents. As in some examples I have seen online, homework assignments can be posted, as well as links for additional information. I know that sometimes parents want to help their students but aren’t sure how; I think a teacher-written blog documenting what is going on the classroom could really help with this issue. It would also be a tool for helping the teacher and the students stay organized.

Another possibility for using blogging in my future classrooms would be to have students create science blogs. Many teachers currently have students use science journals to document questions, experiments, and findings. This links science with writing and literacy, which is really important. I believe that allowing students to “publish” some of this work would be highly motivating for students. It would give them the sense of actually DOING science, instead of just filling out worksheets or reading a textbook. In the real world, success in science is based upon discovering something and then sharing it with the world. Blogging could give students a chance to do this within the classroom.