Blog Post #5

Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
This video describes just why podcasting is a valuable tool for student's to learn from. Podcasting is also referred to as Project Based Learning. Some of the benefits of podcasting in the classroom are that it makes learning more memorable for children. Rather than hearing a lecture or reading from a textbook, the student gets to engage in the lesson. By student's recording their own podcast, they are able to get into character for their specific project, which makes the lesson more animated and enjoyable and easier to recall from. Podcasting is also useful if a student is out sick or they can't make it to school for whatever reason. Their teacher records a podcast, posts it on the class blog, and the student can access it from wherever they are and they will never miss a lecture. Also another reason why podcasting is beneficial in the classroom is that parents get to see what their child is learning daily. In this video they interviewed a few student's and asked them what they thought about podcasting. Every student expressed that they enjoyed it far greater than the more traditional forms of learning. They get to role play and they also liked learning how to edit the recording and working with the blogs. Children spend a lot of time on the computer as it is or using other forms of technology. In fact, this video opens with the definition of a "millenial". A millenial is someone who was born after 1980, and they have never lived in a world without personal computers and technology. Why not let our students learn in a way that they can actually relate to? It's pertinent, in my opinion, for student's to interact in their daily lessons, rather than just listening to a teacher read from a book. These are learning tools they will benefit from throughout their lives and their careers.
Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog
This was great! These third graders put together several Podcasts full of fun facts. They talked about Ancient Romans, Gladiators, Julius Cesar, Cleopatra, Christopher Columbus, Poetry, Shark Facts and Vocabulary, and even an interview with a shark expert. Already in third grade they are learning the art of an interview! Phenomenal!!!  What an exciting way for them to learn this stuff. They were so animated and sounded so enthusiastic! They sounded as if they were actually enjoying learning in school...Imagine that! It was like putting on a play but not having to get in front of an audience. The music and sound effects were great. These kids will always remember this information. Like I said in my previous post about the benefits of podcasting, learning this way and being able to engage in the lesson, makes it so much more of a memorable experience. They did a great job. Their teacher is doing them an incredible justice exposing them to this new way of learning.
Here is a link to Eagle Nest Radio. EAGLE NEST RADIO

The Educational Podcast Network
Here is a really informative site. If you have no idea what a podcast is, here you will find the answer. If you need step-by-step instructions on how to construct a podcast, here you go. The Educational Podcast Network is a network of educators can share their knowledge and ideas on the ever-growing world of technology in education. There are tons of recorded podcasts, for elementary school, middle school, and high school, in just about every subject matter you can imagine. But not only for the school-aged, but for the career oriented as well. There are close to 500 podcasts. I listened to several, just to get an idea of how to accurately devise one for my own purposes. Very descriptive site!!!!!
The Educational Podcast Network