Podcast Response

1.) What is a pod cast? A podcast is like the combination of an Ipod with broadcasting. Using podcasting, you are able to publish files to the web, allowing other people to view or subscribe to the material. You can download podcasts onto your Ipods, however you do not need an Ipod to view or listen to these files, just a computer.

2) Podcasts have many advantages over other technologies. An example would be the radio. Producing a radio show is expensive and time consuming and takes a lot of specialized equipment. However, a podcast is just the opposite. You can create a broadcast in little as five minutes, and they don’t cost a thing to publish. Inexpensive and fast, couldn’t ask for anything better! Also, with the radio if you want to listen to a show, you have to be listening at the exact time and station it is playing on. If you miss it, you miss it. With a podcast, you can download what you want, and listen to it days later. You can listen to a podcast wherever and whenever!

3) There were a few examples given of how one could use it in the classroom.
One example was a kindergartner who showed she understood the basic ideas of shapes by going around her house and taking digital pictures of each object that exemplified that a particular shape. She then added in her voice in the video with an explanation. This assessment of her knowledge is just as foretelling as any other type used in the classroom.

Another creative way the presenter used podcast in the classroom was for her special needs students. She taught to blind and visually impaired students, so when she came back from vacation in Berlin, instead of showing them pictures she used a podcast. When she was in Berlin she recorded the sound of the city so that when her students listened to the broadcast they could get a good picture of what the city was like.

One of my favorite strategies you could use podcasts in the classrooms was for creating note cards. She suggested using them in a foreign language class to help learn vocabulary words. The students have a picture of the item and then record themselves saying it out loud, using sentences and examples. This is better than the traditional flashcards because students will want to listen to it over and over again. They’ll want to show their parents and friends, and by this, their skills are being reinforced without nagging them to study. They won’t even realize they are studying!


4)If I were a teacher, I would definitely use it in the classroom not only because it’s a great strategy, but like the presenter said, when students find out they will be broadcasting to an audience other than the teacher, they will work harder and produce better quality work!



5)Before this podcast, I only had a small idea about what they were and how they could be used. However, after listening to the presentation, I now have a pretty good understanding about what they are and how they can be used in a lesson. I like the fact that you can incorporate these so easily in the classroom, but I also like how they are great for your personal use.