Podcasts

Thinking about what the fall semester will hold for me, I thought it would be smart to start planning for days that I would be out for my practicum. Before the summer started, I had discussed with my principal, librarian, and fellow teachers that I would create podcasts and upload them to our learning management system, Schoology, possibly create playlist for students to access for directions and lecutes.

I decided to make this podcast for a day that I would not be on campus and left instructions for my students for the day. I provided reminders of consequences if they misbehaved, became disruptive,  for the substitute, as well as instructions on navigating through Schoology to find their assignment. This is not a definite recording, but an idea of what I would record for them.

Podcast in the Classroom

Podcast can be beneficial to students in many ways. Teachers can create gallery walks for students to participate in completing activities within the units of study. These can include, but are not limited to;

• "Radio Broadcast"
• Students can practice their summarization skills over a novel they just completed. This can be done each grading period when Accelerated Reader is due. Students can pick one book they read that grading period and create a radio broadcast.
• "Sports Casters"
• The school year is full of events. From athletics, to fine arts, to student council, to campus clubs, students can record interviews or summarizations of events and create podcasts. 
• Pen Pals
• Students can record a message tosend to another student or school within the district to across the world. This is a great opportunity for students to learn about others cultures and interacts within one another. It may only be audio, but students will hear the different dialect and diction that their pen pal use.
• This can be done on campus between students and they can record back and forth podcast to help one another with the diction and speaking.
• Audio Tours
• Every year our feeder middle schools come to visit for half a day to see what their new intermediate school has to offer. This is a great way to provide a scavenger hunt for students to learn about the school. Students can interview teachers, administration, student council adn anyone who would provide information about the campus. 
• The audio files could be previously downloaded to iPods for students to check out and use as they walk the campus, just like the Fien Arts Museum and Holocaust Museum here in Houston. 
• Teachers could create an audio gallery tour for assessments. Students will walk around listening to questions and answer accordingly.
• Teacher at Home
• With podcast uploaded to the teacher website or learning management system, students who are absent can still hear the days lectures and access the activites to complete upon returning to campus. 
• Debate
• Students can record their persuasive or argumentative essays and students can listen to the different audios.
• This is also a good idea for debate students to hear themselves when speaking and practice perfecting until competition.
• Narrative
• Students can record their narrative essays.
• This would be great for LEP students to hear themselves speak and work on their speaking and diction.
• ESL Teacher Talk

Podcast in the Library

Not only can podcast be beneficial in the classroom for students, they can also in the library. It can include, but it is not limited to;

• Book Synopsis
• Students can use the library Kindles to scan QR Codes that will lead them to a podcast to listen to.
• The podcast can be created by the librarian, teachers, and students to provide information to current and future students;
• Biographies of important individuals;
• Events that have impacted the history of our nation;
• Information about the cultures within the student body; 
• Summer Reading List;
• New books and authors;
• Fun Facts;
• Summaries of fiction books.
• Story Time

No matter how podcast are utilized within the classroom and library, it will enhance the students engagement with the lesson presented and help with listening skills, following directions, and multitasking by learning to work while listening.