So, the podcast that we created at the beginning of this class was the first one I had ever done. I found it to be a very useful and pretty easy way to get information to people who you don't have a lot of direct contact with. After looking at the others podcasts, I started to see the potential of this for a media specialist. Being one of the technology "experts" in the school, the media specialist is a very sought after person when anything goes wrong with computers, overheads, projectors, interactive boards, etc. It would be very easy and very beneficial to have podcasts that can be accessed when problems arise. For instance, if the bulb in the overhead projector blows, the teacher can access the podcast created by the media specialist with step-by-step instructions and illustrations on how to replace it. Podcasting would be a perfect way to troubleshoot in situations like this.
As a media specialist, I also feel that it is my job to educate and encourage teachers to use podcasting. I could offer training sessions after school for teachers to come to. Hey, I could even make a podcast about podcasting that they could refer to whenever they needed to! :) It would be very beneficial for teachers because as an elementary school teacher, I know how many questions I get every week about homework, spelling words, assessments, etc. I am required to send out a weekly newsletter about the coming week. I think it would be more beneficial to post a weekly podcast about the upcoming week. I could explain in more detail everything that will be happening in our class for the week, and parents would be able to access it whenever they needed it.
We are becoming more and more technologically savvy these days. It is very important for our students to be learning about and using many types of technology in order to prepare them for their future. Podcasting would be an easy and exciting technology for them to use. Instead of doing a project and presenting them to the class, they could create a podcast. They would be able to share what they learned with not only those students in their class, but others who might be interested in their project. Not only would they be learning about whatever subject their project covered, but they would also be learning a new technology to use in the future.
Podcasts can be beneficial to every person in the school. As a media specialist, it will be my job to make sure that people learn about podcasts. Promoting this and other technologies will make it easier for those that don't really get exposed to technology to keep up with the new technologies that come around. Also, by knowing about and promoting technologies such as podcasts, you are making yourself an invaluable resource to everyone in the school!!!
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I looked at the recommended podcasts that were a part of this activity and I can see a lot of potential for using them as an alternative way to spotlight student achievement in reading. I love that these blogs could be used by students to display what they have learned about a particular subject or to recommend a favorite book. Many of my students this year are reluctant to write, but they love to talk! :) They would love this format and I think it would elicit greater elaboration of ideas which is a key component of prewriting.
ReplyDeleteI can see the organizational strengths of blogging for the media specialist as well. It would be a great way to do book talks for new books in the media center. It would be a great way to collaborate with teachers to determine what lessons need to be developed for media center visits. Inservice training for those absent would be facilitated with this approach.
Amanda your idea about homework help is a really good one too! It multiplies a teacher's efforts and time for a student to be able to select the topic of the lesson on a podcast menu list and then listen and come back to the same podcast at the end of the year when reviewing the year's content for CRCT.
I spoke to our media specialists about blogging and podcasts. We don't utilize this technology YET, but of course new things are added all the time and I hope we see this kind of technology in the near future.
The podcast we created for this class was the first I’d ever made as well. I found it to be easy to use and I could see how it could be used in many different areas in the school setting. As a media specialist, I liked your idea of having podcast that walk teacher through things like replacing a bulb or connecting the LCD projector! As a teacher, podcasting gives you the ability to “talk” to parents and students even when they are not in front of you. Your example of a podcast newsletter illustrates this point and you are right you can give more information through a podcast than in a written newsletter. We have a teacher at our school that post podcast to her webpage so that students and parents can refer back to them for difficult concepts and homework. She has found that parents really appreciate this resource. The only draw back to this is that not all students have computer access at home.
ReplyDeleteWe are tech savvy like you said and our students do need to be prepared for the future by being taught to use various technologies. Podcasting is an excellent way to engage students and is beneficial to variety of people in the school setting.
I love the idea of creating a podcasting newsletter! I admit that after first hearing about podcasting, I was not so convinced that it is something that should be used in education. Now I can see the convenience in this tool. As teachers, we have all had the common problem of students not bringing home newsletters to parents. This information is vital to parents when they are trying to take an active role in their child's education. A podcast is a great way to communicate this information in an effective and personal manner.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I had ever heard the word podcast was the one that we did for this class. I was very stressed while doing it and did not come away with a very good impression of podcasting. However, when you said making how to podcast on fixing equipment it rang a bell with me that this would be a great thing to have for teachers when something messes up and needs to be fixed. Since a media specialist is only one person it would be nice to have podcast to refer back to when you need to remember how to replace something or how to set up some piece of equipment. This is a great idea for media specialist and a real benefit for teachers.
ReplyDeleteUnlike many in our class, I did not know exactly what a podcast was until it was time to create one.....for a GRADE. (LOL) I really enjoyed creating mine, and I emailed the link to all of my friends and family so they could take a look at it. At that time, I thought of podcasts as more of a social tool. It wasn't until I read Linda's post and the corresponding comments that it really sunk in that we might be looking at podcasts so we can use them in our educational settings--newsletters; installation, repair & maintenance guides; homework helpers & lesson recaps. (Duh!) I know that as a classroom teacher, there are times when I would like to record a set of directions or a lesson and reserve it for later when one of my students asks, "What am I supposed to be doing?" At that time I could simply push the play button. Podcasts would be a great tool for so many media services. They would be like pushing that play button.
ReplyDeleteYour ideas about implementing podcasting in the media center are very insightful and meaningful. I really liked the ideas you have about using them to help deal with common issues teachers with technology. I would call them FAQ podcasts. I think teachers and students would like to have the podcast instead of or in addition to a quick sheet or manuel. Not only will they have directions and photos but they could also have a live simulation to follow as they attempt to solve a tech problem. FAQ Podcasts would definitely free up a lot of time for the media center because it would hopefully eliminate having to address those common issues like changing passwords, replacing bulbs, and using software and hardware over and over and over again.
ReplyDeleteAnother idea I fell in love with is using podcasting as a newsletter or homework resource. Sending out weekly newsletter uses lots of paper and can take a lot of time to do. These podcasts would save a lot of paper and eliminate problems with students loosing their newsletters or assignments. Podcasting would also allow teachers to give specific directions and examples of how they want projects and homework to be completed. I can’t wait to share this idea with my grade level team at my school
Amanda, I think that you have some great ideas for implementing podcasting into the media center. I had never thought of that. My school is working on using podcasts on our website for students that have missed seeing a speaker and for the principle to address different topics. It is amazing how fast podcasting has caught on. I first heard the word podcast several years ago while attending a web site development class. The podcast was just an emerging technology and was not being used much at all. In just a few years, it has grown to be such a useful technology for teachers and students. I am thinking about how I could use podcasting at my school. I think that I will see if I have any teachers interested in using it and teach them how to use it.
ReplyDeleteMy first podcast was the one for this class. After seeing the examples for this assignment and veiwing my classmates podcasts, I can imagine many ways to utilize these as a media specialist and teacher.
ReplyDeleteI can definately see the value of FAQ Podcasts for teachers. I mentioned on another blog that in our county the IT professional is no longer in elementary schools, so the media specialist takes on these responsiblities. Having FAQ Podcasts wouldn't take the place of IT pro, but it would allieviate some of the gap!
I love the idea of using podcasts for remediation or accelleration.
Digital Storytelling is another fun project that can be done by teachers or students. This puts a new spin on a old idea.
We can hope that our teachers will come to us saying, "Hey, help us with podcasting!" Often it will be the other way around -- we will go to a teacher to share the new tech tool, expecting that others will follow when they see the fun/student engagement/success. Either way, as is pointed out here, the LMS needs to be, and be perceived by teachers as, the go-to person for questions about implementing technology for instruction. We may not have all the answers, but we can be willing to quickly find them.
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