Blog Post #5

1. Eagles Nest
I listened to the short podcast of “Roamin with Ancient Roam”. I really enjoyed this podcast because not only does the podcast encourage creativity, but it also teaches our younger students about the different ways to incorporate technology into their learning experiences. Seeing the picture posted along with this podcast was great as well. It shows that the students are able to be creative by dressing up which in returns gets them excited to learn something new.

Setting up activities like the Eagles Nest Radio is a great way to motivate kids to be excited about learning. By changing things up and introducing new ways to learn like using the internet and technology we give students the ability to think outside the box, making them more creative. Growing up it was always more exciting to learn something by physically doing it and being involved rather than sitting in a desk and reading something out of a book. By putting together a radio station, a school play, or just simple games, kids are more likely it be excited about learning and wanting to be involved.

2. Langwitches
Langwitches was a post about a first grade teacher who was inspired by a podcast made by a group of second graders. The idea behind the project was to get her students more involved in the chapter book they were reading “Vacation under the Volcano”. By grouping her class she had a group of students doing the part of asking questions and a group answering the questions. By starting this project she saw shy and quiet students coming out of their shell and becoming more involved. A few of the skills she was able to address during this project was; listening, speaking, comprehension, technology, media, oral fluency and many other skills.

3. Podcasting in the classrooms
This was a great short film that did a great job on explaining the benefits of podcasting in class. I really appreciate the fact that students can go online and go over what was taught in class at their own pace. To me I feel that this is one of the greater benefits of podcasting. I know from my personal experience that sometimes during class you wish that your instructor would slow things down, that way you don’t feel so rushed trying to absorb everything in. With podcasting you now have the option to feel at ease and know that you can always go back and go over what was taught in class and not feel left behind; not to mention the benefit of a student being able to stay home when sick and concentrate on getting better and not have to worry about returning to school to be greeted with a stack of work.

I know that had we had podcasting during my high school years it would have been a big help for me. Unfortunately for me my mother passed away during my sophomore year of high school. Initially after she passed I had a hard time getting myself back into the school mode. I was very grateful that my teachers at the time were able to give me extensions on my school work. Even with these extensions I still had a hard time trying to understand everything on my own during my absences. Had we had the option to log onto a podcasting of our class it would have been a big help. I totally agree with schools podcasting in the classrooms. I can see it helping students to get a better understanding in what was taught further helping them to improve their grades.