Blog Post #4

Podcasting

The benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
In Joe Dale’s blog post “The benefits of podcasting in the classroom” he discusses the benefits of using podcasts for students and teachers. Podcasts not only promote creativity and innovation but keep students involved and interested in the topic at hand. I especially like the opportunities it creates for absent students to stay up to date on what they’ve missed. I think it could also be beneficial for when I am absent. I can record a quick lesson and explain what I would like my students to do in class that day. This way there may be a smaller chance of the substitute or students being confused. I know that I love classes where the professor uses podcast for lectures. It’s wonderful to have my own notes as well as the actual lecture to use while reviewing for a test. I think my future students would benefit if I recorded my own lectures and made them available to them.

Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting
In Ms. Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano’s blog post “Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting” she writes about a second grade class using podcasts to help with learning and comprehending Hebrew and the story of Purim. With the help of Garageband, a SmartBoard, and a microphone each student recorded a part of a script reviewing the story. After recording their script, out of order, the students were given the task of listening to clips and placing them in the right order. Ms. Tolisano discusses the importance of hearing new vocabulary words while learning a new language and how listening to the clips again and again help the students with further comprehension of the material. I think this method is ingenious and I had never thought about using podcast in such a way. I think this method could definitely be easily translated into a science class to help understand and comprehend several key concepts.

Flat Stanley Podcast
First, I would like to say the finished podcast at the end of Ms. Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano’s blog post titled "Flat Stanley Podcast" is absolutely adorable. Ms. Tolisano’s describes how the first grade class in Jacksonville, Florida brainstormed and created a podcast after reading the book Flat Stanley by Jim Brown. They were all asked to imagine that they were flattened, like Stanley, and had to pick a location to travel to. Each student researched places and described how they arrived, what they did, and how they came back. I believe this is a fantastic way to help promote reading skills and creativity in children. The students are able to hear how they’re pronouncing words and the emotions behind their voices. Because the students were reminded to use their senses to describe their travels, I think this is a great way to help teach students how to begin thinking in a more descriptive manner.