Sunday, September 18, 2011

Blog Post #4

Eagles' Nest Radio & Class Blog
Visit the Eagles' Nest Site

     The Eagles' Nest Radio and Class Blog was very impressive. This is a site set up by a third grade class. This class made podcasts of different lessons they have learned. The podcasts were about Ancient Rome, explorers, and sharks. They also did a podcast where they interviewed someone about sharks using Skype. Those are some very talented third graders. I especially enjoyed their background music and sound effects. The ocean noises in the background as they interviewed the different explorers was my favorite. The kids did an excellent job on the radio. They spoke well and gave lots of interesting information. This is a great idea and could be used in all the different grade levels. This allows the parents to hear what their children are learning. I would love to start a page like this at my own school, and maybe I can use some cool sound effects in my own podcast. 


The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
Watch this video

     "The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom" is a video that shows teachers the advantages of using podcasting in the classroom. The creator of this video, Joe Dale, reminds us that as teachers we are teaching students who have never lived in a world without technology, so it would make sense to use that same technology to teach our students. Dale also says that students' creativity is allowed to flourish when they are allowed to podcast. One of the ways shown was using podcasts to record teachers' classroom lectures, so students who are absent do not miss out on the instruction. I absolutely love this idea. I always worry about my students who miss my class, and this would solve a lot of problems for the teacher and the student. Another way was to have students interview historical people using podcasts. This would be great for  a history or social studies class. I teach reading, and you could also interview famous authors or famous characters form literature using that same idea. The class could also do book talks and book reports through podcast. There is just so much you could do with podcasting in the classroom. The possibilities are truly endless.

Langwitches
Visit Langwitches

     Langwitches is a blog by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano. This blog seems to be such a valuable resource for teachers trying to integrate technology into the classroom. There were so many great articles about ways to use several different forms of technology, but I paid particular attention to the ones that focused on podcasting. The first one that really grabbed my attention as  a reading teacher was allowing students to use podcasting to record chapter books. The students are involved in all aspects of this projects. They must make a script as well as record the podcast. Then the teacher would upload these podcasts to their class blog and to itunes. What a great idea. So many students are auditory learners. Listening to recordings of books on podcasts could certainly help with comprehension. There was another assignment about the literary aspect of point of view that was perfect for the class I'm currently teaching. Middle school students would read short stories and discuss point of view. Then they would record the story from another character's point of view to see how the story would change. Some students used podcasts and some also made powerpoints. It was a great lesson and there were examples of the students' stories to listen to. What a great way to teach literary skills. My students would really enjoy this. I also learned about Glogs, which are interactive posters that can include different types of media. Students can use images, audio, video, and text to do any type of report. There were some examples of these as well. Needless to say, I became a fan of this page. I will definitely be following Langwitches.  




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