For the first time in this course, I think I have finally been able to explain a Web 2.0 tool that I am studying to my mother. At 86 years of age, she was a child of radio, so she does have some frame of reference when it comes to understanding the popularity of podcasting today. The “Golden Age of Broadcasting” is generally considered to span from the mid 1920s through until the early 1950s. For many of our parents and grandparents, radio programming was the main form of family entertainment growing up. It’s easy to picture a Norman Rockwell-esque painting illustrating the family gathered around the radio, listening to their favorite programs.

Programming on the radio offered something for everyone… news, drama, adventure, serials, comedy, music and children’s shows. Radio entertainment also had a great influence on the listening public. Perhaps there is no better example of how much radio could sway listeners into action than the 1938 broadcast of “The War of the Worlds” (narrated by Orson Welles) that caused thousands of people to call the police and to flee from their homes in fear of an invasion by aliens. Today, podcasting may remind us of the oldtime radio programming, but it also gives new meaning to providing both information and entertainment on demand.

What is a podcast?

Podcasting refers to a web-based broadcast that allows users to record audio (or video) content via the Internet. The term podcast is formed from the words iPod and broadcast, and is also sometimes referred to as “audio blogging.” The podcast format is useful for sharing your thoughts on a new book or discovery, relating an experience such as a trip, communicating news to others, conducting interviews, or reviewing curricular content (Podcasting for teachers & students). Content from a podcast can be easily downloaded to a computer or a portable listening device or you can subscribe to a podcast and have new episodes sent directly to you.

Broadcasting versus Podcasting

The Common Craft video entitled Podcasting in Plain English gives a neat and tidy summary of how a podcast differs from traditional broadcasting:

• requires minimal equipment (a computer, a microphone and a connection to the web
• no recording studio necessary, anyone can create a podcast and broadcast their content to the world
• no longer matters if you miss a program broadcast online because you can subscribe to podcasts and listen to them anytime and anywhere you choose. A podcatcher allows you to “capture” a program and listen to it as often as you like
• use RSS feeds to subscribe to podcasts that you may be interested in listening to at a later date. RSS also enables new content to be delivered directly to you, just as soon as it becomes available.
• download your favorite podcasts and take them with you. Portable devices like iPods and mp3 players allow you to listen to your podcasts wherever you are, not just from your home computer

Podcasting as digital storytelling

As a form of digital storytelling, podcasting requires students to become better writers and editors of their content. In her article “Sound off! The possibilities of podcasting,” Anne-Marie Gordon notes that “the writing process can be an integral part of podcasting” and that “creating a script can actually take more time than recording it.” By the time students “write a script, practise reading it, and perform it, they have actually had three chances to learn the information they’re presenting.”

In the classroom: Kid podcasts of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! uses this Newbery award winning book as the framework for a set of class monologues. Each student has the opportunity to personalize one of the characters in the book and bring them to life in their podcast. This is a great use of podcasting and an instructional strategy that could be applied to other genres such as non-fiction texts, plays or poetry.

Just one more book is a podcast where the hosts discuss children’s books from “their favorite coffee shop.” One of my favorite features on this site is the collection of informal interviews with well known authors and illustrators. What a treat to hear their voices and feel like you are right in the room listening to them speak. Students could study these podcasts in preparation for creating their own booktalks online. A podcast can provide students with a more authentic learning experience by broadcasting student booktalks and book reviews to a much wider audience.

There are many excellent examples of how podcasting and storytelling can be used together not only for teaching and learning, but entertainment as well. Storynory provides a collection of approximately 180 high-quality, audio stories that can be downloaded for classroom or home use. Of course, these stories can also be downloaded on to an iPod or mp3 player, giving children hours of storytelling fun whenever and wherever they want to hear a story. The technique of Natasha, the narrator, is definitely worth studying if students and teachers are looking for their own recording tips from an exemplary role-model.

Implications for Teaching and Learning

In terms of using podcasting for teaching and learning, there are really two areas of use to consider: podcasts as a presentation tool to express or share your own understandings, and podcasts as a reference source that you access to learn information on a topic.

In her article “Sound off! The possibilities of podcasting,” Anne-Marie Gordon calls podcasts “a fun and effective way to reach and engage wider audiences.” A great instructional advantage to using podcasts in the classroom is that teachers can demonstrate a concept or read a story as a podcast, and post it for viewing by children and parents in their class. Students can have access to information they need, well outside school hours and parents can hear what their children are doing in class.

Podcasting is already being used in universities so that students can download a professor’s lecture in preparation for writing a term paper or as a review before a test. Podcasting can be a powerful tool in learning a second language or studying music. Solomon and Schrum state that “the ability to hear these items as often as one wishes puts the learner in control of the learning.” For students with special needs, podcasting gives them increases access to content and opportunities to re-play information as often as required

In her list of “Best sites for educational podcasts,” Joanne Troutner views podcasts “as yet another reference source” that teacher-librarians can promote for use with both students and teachers. There are a wealth of podcasts available online and unlike many traditional resources, they are free to use, anywhere and anytime. One of my favorite podcast finds is Radio Willow Web at Willowdale Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska. Even students, as early as Grade 1, prove that it is possible for very young children to share their new understandings in a very polished and professional manner.

In addition to accessing student-created content, teacher-librarians can also subscribe to podcasts that support curricular content. For example, National Geographic offers a variety of free podcasts that are useful to students and teachers. Teacher-librarians can create an electronic collection of podcasts and include them as resources on webquests, pathfinders and bibliographies. Since anyone can produce a podcast and share its content on the Internet, students and teachers will also need to be able to evaluate the quality of these programs effectively, just as they would for any other online resource they might use.

In their article, “Podcasting in the school library, part 1: integrating podcasts and vodcasts into teaching and learning,” authors Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson observe that “in addition to motivating learners, podcasts are a way to convey ideas and emotions that are difficult to express in a text format.” This is good news for our auditory learners because, as a communication tool, podcasts give students another opportunity to have their voices heard or demonstrate their understanding of curriculum content. Early years students will also find it easier to explain a concept in a podcast, rather than write about it at length.

In the podcast Women of Web 2.0 (#65), Joyce Valenza comments that although our students may seem proficient in using Web 2.0 applications such as podcasting, we may have been premature in granting them “guru status” in using these new tools. I would agree that student use of Web 2.0 tools does not necessarily translate into “applying skills to real-life needs.” Students will still require guidance and “explicit teaching,” especially in the area of content creation. Joyce Valenza also tells us that teacher-librarians need to be educating students as both “content creators” and “users of content.” Planning a quality podcast takes time. In Part 2 of “Podcasting in the school library,” Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson outline how students can create more powerful podcasts by identifying their audience, working in teams, using their voices effectively and rehearsing the performance. In addition to preparing the content for a podcast, students also need to learn recording skills that include careful enunciation, speech delivery and breathing techniques. It’s not difficult for students to make a podcast, but it is a challenge to create one that is both powerful in impact and well-produced technically.

Implications for Professional Development

According to Gwen Solomon and Lynne Schrum in Web 2.0: new tools, new schools, “schools are starting to make professional development training sessions, lectures and ideas available through podcasts, which leads to individualized professional development on demand” (p.113). In our school division, I am already seeing professional development being delivered to teaching staff in this way, particularly in the area on ICT. These podcasts are available in our portal and can be accessed by our teaching staff at any time of the day. I would agree that we will probably continue to see the delivery of professional development via podcasting become even more popular because of the convenience of being able to access PD information on your own schedule and being able to revisit the content as often as you like.

In regards to the school library, a colleague of mine is embarking on a new podcasting project with the teacher-librarians in her school division. It sounds like a very interesting project that will invite teacher-librarians from different schools to discuss a variety of library related topics in a series of podcasts. The podcasts will be archived on their divisional website and made available for staff for professional development purposes. I think these podcasts will also be an excellent source of advocacy for school library programs in their division and continue to promote the role of the teacher-librarian as an instructional partner. It would also be worthwhile to create podcasts where teacher-librarians and classroom teachers could discuss ideas for collaboration that support student learning.

‘Twas the night before Thanksgiving

In “Sowing the seeds for a more creative society,” Mitchel Resnick discusses how “new technologies help students navigate the creative thinking spiral” (p.18). I agree with him when he says that “knowledge alone is not enough.” In order to be successful in this new Web 2.0 environment, it is becoming increasingly more important to “imagine” and “think and act creatively.” Podcasting encourages learners to do just that… imagine what you want to do, create original material and share your ideas with others.

I felt very comfortable using Audacity to create my podcast, but there are many other web tools and services available, with iTunes being one of the most popular options. For my first effort, I chose Audacity not only because it is free to use, but also because it is the program used by students and teachers in our schools to create podcasts. In addition to being a cross-platform software, it also allows you to edit your recording and even add audio effects such as how to fade in a musical intro which I experimented with in my podcast. I found that I was much less anxious to create a podcast which I attribute to the auditory nature of the task. I enjoyed the challenge of using the voice over the visual, to engage the listener and communicate a message.

thanksgivingpodcast