Week 4 - Deep Dive into Podcasting

I listen to a lot of podcasts while driving. Some are informative, some narrative, some just for fun. One of the things I love about this medium is its portability - you can listen to a podcast just about anywhere! In contrast to print media, or video, podcasts require only the ears of the audience to be effective.

Because of this portability, I am envisioning some opportunities for movement while introducing my students to the world of podcasting. We could take a walk in the park while listening to a short episode, and then discuss it when we get back to class. Exercise AND learning - what a great combination! The Walking Classroom is one program that exists specifically to provide content to teachers for walking and podcast-listening, which is part of my inspiration. Rather than using a provided curriculum, however, I would like to draw from a variety of podcasts (chosen by myself, or suggested by students) in order to explore many styles and themes.

Project Audio, which I had linked to in a previous post, has a lot of helpful information. Included in the article are suggestions for implementing podcasting in the classroom. I spent today reading through the article and making notes for future reference.

Something that really resonated with me was the importance of making the link between story-telling techniques and podcasts. I'm still debating what style of podcast to produce, and reading this article has me considering creating more than one podcast, in order to separate students who would prefer to create a narrative from those who are more interested in an interview style of podcasting. I will be weighing the pros and cons of those options over the next little while, in order to make a decision that will be sustainable for next year and beyond.

I've downloaded the Anchor app, but haven't yet had much of a chance to play around with it. I'm planning to record an introductory episode in the near future, to make sure I understand how the technology works. I'd like to have three or four episodes recorded by September, so that I have something for students to listen to before they start creating their own episodes. I often tell students that I don't ask them to do things I'm not willing to try myself, and this is no exception.

To stay organized, I've started a Google Doc with a list of resources and ideas for podcasting in the classroom. I'll keep adding to this document, in order to have all of my resources in one location. I'm feeling very inspired and excited about the possibilities for using podcasting as part of Project Based Learning in my classroom.