Thing 17: Podcasting

Why wouldn’t you use podcasting in your classroom? I’ll admit that it may take you a little bit of searching to find podcasts that will fit with your curriculum and grade level but they are well worth the search. I have used a few from iTunes and the students love it. I have also used Garageband with teachers and students to create podcasts. Our podcasts were on a specified topic not a weekly episode. Most of our podcasts were a work in progress. There never seemed like enough time to put the finishing touches on them. I am definitely a novice at this and would love any advice or suggestions on planning and implementing podcasts at the elementary level. One of the most challenging pieces has been finding a quiet environment in which to record – how can you replicate a “recording studio” atmosphere? This year we are going to try recording directly into ipods and then transferring the sound files into garageband; whereas in the past we usually record in garageband and then add the musical elements and pictures. It’s a project both the students and teachers enjoy working on.