Blog Post # 4

Podcast Collection

Judy Scharf's Podcast Collection shared a ton of information with me. I am so glad that this assignment was given, because I was clueless about podcasting. So what is a podcast? A podcast is a radio style talk show that is listened to by an audience on the internet. A podcast can be downloaded for free and listened to through Itunes. I learned exactly how Audacity worked amd how to use it when podcasting. A podcast is essentially just a mix between a broadcast and an ipod.

I now know that when creating a podcast that being comfortable is the most critical step. No one wants to listen to a extremely nervous speaker because it brings down the quality of the podcast. Secondly, in the classroom the teacher should give students a topic to choose from so that they will be interested and eager to do an excellent job. Lastly, giving an appropriate amount of time is necessary because editing is such an important step. Podcasting allows students to gain feedback from an audience over the internet.

Mrs. Scharf helped me to understand exactly what a podcast is and what they are used for. I immensely enjoyed learning about something new, and how I can apply podcast into my future classroom. I like how they are highly interactive and easy the programs are to use. They are also very cheap tool for students to use, so much involved with teaching comes with a high price.

Langwitches-Flat Stanley Podcast

I can remember reading the story book when my little sister was in elementary school. She was so excited to mail her Flat Stanley to friends and family. Flat Stanley is a story book by Jim Brown, and this classroom took it a step past the general rules of Flat Stanley. I thought the idea of making a podcast was so neat! Before this assignment, I had no clue what a podcast even was about. This class was inspired by another class when seeing their success of their Magic Tree House podcast. The students all received a homework assignment for their podcast. They all had to read a book and then write a short script about the location of where they got their book. The students all recorded their scripts using Garageband . Garage band allowed the students to edit and practice expressing their feelings and mood throughout the podcast. Flat Stanley is generally just mailed to friends and family. Then when he comes back, he has lots of stories and pictures joining him. This is a way for students to know all the places that Flat Stanley has visited since they mailed him, and he was passed along to someone new. I like the idea of podcasting because it allows students to have an audience listen to their scripts.

Langwitches- Learning~Comprehension~Podcast

I think using a podcast when learning a new language is an excellent idea. It is so interactive and can help with the pronunciation of new words. It can help with attaching feeling to a word, practicing how it is used in a sentence, and even reading sounds. When recording a podcast the student can edit the recordings, and play with the mechanics of the language. Students would love to work on podcast because they are fun, and they are also an effective tool for the classroom. Having a real live audience comment on your work seems like it is very constructive, rather than a teacher being the only audience and giving a grade in red ink on paper.

I loved the students podcast it was very entertaining listening to them speak in Hebrew. The second graders all learned a sentence in Hebrew and read the script of the story Purium in a podcast form. They experienced speaking in a new language and also had fun listening to all of the recordings. These students used Garage Band to edit their podcast when they took all of the students sentences and put them in order.