The rise of podcasting in schools has been a grassroots occurence. Depending on what school you look at, podcasting -- if present at all -- may be introduced by teachers, administrators, students, media specialists, or technology specialists. At Willowdale Elementary in Omaha, Nebraska, the technology specialist Tony Vincent introduced podcasting and has taken upon himself much of the work of spreading the innovation and guiding the quality of the podcasts produced. At Beverly Elementary School in Birmingham, MI, the media specialist Kristin Fontichiaro podcasts (herself) and hosts a Podcasting Club for 4th graders. The podcast is disseminated through a blog. At other schools, no one is podcasting.
So, imagine a teacher approaches you and asks you if you can help him to start up a podcast for his class (something like Radio WilloWeb). In truth, you may know little about podcasting. So, how do you respond to the teacher? Do you tell him farewell and good luck? Do you tell him you don't know much, but you're willing to find out? What is your role? What are the reasons behind how you choose to respond to this teacher?
In the media center, I feel the method and carrier of information is always advancing and changing. I think a media specialist should try to keep current with these new trends. Podcasting is a new, easy, and attention-grabbing way to get students and teachers involved in fluency, exciting lessons, research projects and much more. If approached by a teacher concerning podcasts, as presented in the scenario, I would first be familiar and able to explain the school system’s policy or filters on podcasting or recording students on a potentially shared recording. I would try not to deter the teacher if podcasting is blocked, but find another avenue. If podcasting is not blocked, I would admit not knowing everything about podcasting. I would also offer to research, practice, and learn about it. There are many resources online that are “how to’s” for podcasting. In our school, the media specialist has two planning times every day (teachers have one, four times a week), I would learn what I could and concise the information for this teacher, who may not have the time needed to learn about podcasts. I would then suggest we both try the condensed tips out by making samples. I like to learn with someone, not fumbling through it on my own. If podcasting tended to be successful with this teacher, I would put out “feelers” or even sample podcasts in the library (like the book talks) for other teachers to use this technology in their classrooms. I think using the connection and comparison of a reading center with cassette players would help in getting older teachers on board with this avenue. I think my response should be one of enthusiasm and of “we’re in this together”. I think this attitude would encourage more teachers to try new things to reach our students and make them more information literate. I already use a basic form of podcasting in my classroom. Students record themselves on a PowerPoint presentation or reading a story aloud for fluency. I have seen how a microphone can turn a nonreader into an excited one. This excitement with new technology should be fostered and perhaps start in the media center.
I completely agree that because of teachers' lack of planning time, media specialists must actively help their peers in learning about new resources and tools. The media specialist could not only help a teacher improve their students' learning in the classroom, but also learn of a new way to promote the media center.
ReplyDeleteI did not think about the possibility of strict internet filters blocking some schools' ability to post podcasts. Our school's website is very strictly formatted, and teachers cannot easily add content. I believe that if this is the case, the media specialist has a responsibility to "fight" for the teacher's right to post podcasts that could improve students' learning.
I also agree with your thoughts about letting students use a microphone. If a media specialists tells students they have the chance to be heard on the internet, many students will immediately want to read a book so they can produce their own podcast. This could have a tremendous impact on non-enthusiastic readers.
I liked how you discussed how you would make it a very collaborative learning process for both you and the teacher. So many teachers and/or media specialists want one party to find the information, rather than working together to figure out what will work.
ReplyDeleteOne other safety issue that could be a concern would be whether or not we would be able to post the students' voices and names on a website. We have to make sure that the parents are aware of how the podcast would work.
Finding ways to get teachers motivated to use any new type of technology in their classrooms is key. Learning together and enthusiasm for these learning tools are two ways I've found to get teachers to give up excuses for not using technology. Sharing with them the podcasts I've used while in graduate school is one way I've demonstrated what this technology can do to increase learning. Dr. Snipe's cataloging class was a great example. I used her podcasts and replayed them over and over until I grasped the concepts of how to catalog. She took me step by step through the process. As a teacher it would be wonderful to set up a podcast for my students to access for tutorial purposes. It would be lots of fun to get students or teachers involved in doing book talks to be seen by everyone in the school as a way to promote reading. I use Nancy Keane's Booktalk website many times.
ReplyDeleteAs a media specialist, it is important to remember that teachers and students are your most important customers. With that said, no matter how little you know about podcasting or being an expert on podcasting, it is still your job to help your teachers. In this scenario, the media specialists should research, play with and experiment on her own on podcasting before she sits down to help this teacher. However, if she admits that she is weak in the area of podcasting, collaborating with the teacher can be of great advantage. Also, since she was asked for help, she will now have knowledge of how to use podcasting for future use, and could even then hold a "workshop" on basics of how to use a podcast. Either way, providing support for the teachers and collaborating with them also, is pertinent to being a successful media specialist.
ReplyDeleteLaverne--Because of our changing society, we do need to learn, develop and advance our skills. I do agree that learning about how to create a podcast would be a new motivation way to bring in a new technology resource. You gave great ideas and interesting ways on how a media specialist could use a podcast. Such as: developing a book talk and creation a reading center. Lower grades students would love to hear a media specialist read a book that makes the characters in the book come to life.
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From Cecilia:
ReplyDeleteI think that Podcasts are a great tool, especially now that I've done one. I think reading a book via a podcast is a good idea; so is doing a book talk via a podcast. Our third grade teachers have just finished a "Mystery" theme about fictional characters in books solving a mystery. The characters and books they chose were Nate the Great, Junie B. Jones, Cam Jansen and the Jack and Annie series, to name a few. Some of these books were read in class and discussed in literature circles. The students had normal assignments, but as a fun exercise, they had fun, "mysteries" to solve like crossword puzzles, anagrams, word searches and other activities. A podcast book talk by the media specialist would have been a great "preview" to this unit.