One piece of technology I would like to try this year is the podcast. It seems a little old-school, but it's something I've never done before. One of the teachers had purchased a bunch of MP3 players a while ago, and she got rid of them this year. That seemed rather wasteful to me, and I started thinking about how they could be used. I have a couple of high school students who are not very good readers; one of them is at about a fourth grade reading level. As I looked at the textbook I have, which is geared more for upper middle school students than high school, I worried about how successful "Jane" was going to be if I left her to her own devices, even with a lower reading level. I think there are a couple of other kids who would also benefit from listening to the content as well as reading. Although I need to do a little research about how to create podcasts, it doesn't look too daunting, and I think that this would be something that I can accomplish.
What I would like to see out of integrating this technology into my classroom, as I think about this one particular student, is an improved attitude. I've know this kid since she was an elementary student, and the older she gets, the less she accomplishes. She can get a bit 'snarly', and has been known to have an leave-me-along attitude - her refusal skills are strong! Unfortunately, she often refuses to do assigned work. I am hoping that if the text is available in an audio format, and she can take notes on the content, she will be able to participate in class discussions, and be able to be assessed on her knowledge using any notes she's taken. I would like to be able to break her habit or cycle of refusing to participate in class.
I am lucky to have four iPads in my classroom for students to use, and I would like to be able to use iTunes as the vehicle for the podcasts. I'm willing to play around with this to help my students be successful.
2 comments:
I like sharing podcasts in the classroom, but I haven't had students create their own. I would like to do that. Two of my favorite podcasts to share which are very well received by students are from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. They relate to anti-semitism, and might work in your US History class or your Psychology class. http://www.ushmm.org/confront-antisemitism/antisemitism-podcast/david-draiman
http://www.ushmm.org/confront-antisemitism/antisemitism-podcast/frank-meeink
Thanks, Heather! I'll check those resources out for future use.
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