Podcasting in the Media Center

Podcasting is a useful and viable tool for the Media Center.  My first introduction to podcasting occurred when I assumed the position of Media Specialist.  I received an email stating that various teachers in my school, including me, were involved in a grant to produce podcast for the school district.  I had to learn very quickly how to produce a podcast and assist the other faculty members with their productions.  I was an exciting and stressful experience that produced over 600 instructional podcasts for the district.  The core academic subjects as well as instructional “how to “podcast are now available for viewing at on the district website.  I have used the podcast to teach classed and provide tutorials to students.  

Out text, Courtney, list two types of podcasts:  enhanced and videocasts.  Both can be useful in a Media Center.   My assumption is that the podcast would be cataloged and made assessable on the Media Center, school or school district website.  This would ensure easy access for the students, parents, teachers and administrators.  Library instruction is the category that I have used podcasts most frequently.  Providing visual and audio instructions on how to access Destiny from the Internet was my first podcast.  The average length of 3 to 5 minutes ensures that the information is clear and concise.  The various topics that are included in Library instruction are numerous.  The podcast complements the visual screen shots to assist the view gain understanding of the topic or process.

Listening to the podcasts on Radio Willow Web and Booktalks, Quick and Simple exposed me to a new and different use for podcast in the Media Center.  Using podcasts to capture and present student work is a unique and engaging tool.  Many of the students in my school would be very excited to participate in classroom projects that involved the production of a podcast.  Even more students would listen and view the podcast that are created by their peers.  Podcasts lend themselves well to encourage academic credit recovery and independent learning.  I think the students would be thrilled to hear their own voice and the voices of their peer review books and express their opinions in a podcast.

Courtney also suggests that the Media Center news could be presented via a podcast.  Announcement, new books, DVD’s and other material can be promoted through this medium.  Podcasting essentially makes the Media Center available at any time.  Library orientation, book reviews and professional learning is just a few of the areas that would benefit from podcasting.  Students and faculty can retrieve information provided by knowledgeable and creditable sources.

School districts will need to allow the download of the podcasts on school devices.  Educational, instructional and entertaining podcast are available to enhance and enrich the learning experience.  The use in the Media Center is endless.  I plan to produce a podcast each month that features excerpts from the new books in the media center in hopes of increasing circulation and the number of students who are reading for pleasure.  Podcasting is a digital tool that I am excited to incorporate into the Media Center.

Podcasts and Vodcasts: Tools for Instruction and Learning

Podcasts and Vodcasts (video podcasts) are excellent ways to communicate and present information.  When you consider the proliferation of videos on YouTube- which range in topic from things like ‘how-to’ video tutorials, to product reviews, to original song or poetry performances- it’s plain to see that people like to express their knowledge and ideas through video and audio technology.   This interest in projecting one’s thoughts and ideas to an audience is something that we, as educators, can use to our instructional advantage.   We can create pod- and vodcasts that serve as important instructional tools for both students and teachers to use.  We can also help students use the pod- and vodcast format to convey their own thoughts or present their learning to an audience.

In the media center, there are many ways for media specialists to use podcasts to relay information to students and teachers.  We can use podcasts to promote new materials in our media centers with book-talk podcasts the way that Nancy Keane does on her website (http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/podcast_list.htm), or we can take it a step further and make vodcasts with which the students can actually view the cover and/or an excerpt of the book we are discussing. 

We can also create tutorial videos showing teachers or students how to use software programs, navigate through the OPAC, or give a virtual tour of the media center.  We could make these vodcast videos available through our media center websites or post them on YouTube for easy access for our teachers and students.  This would be an excellent follow-up resource for an after school in-service or class lesson, and it might actually be more helpful than an in-service for teachers or a lesson for students, since teachers or students could view a vodcast any time it was convenient for them, and as often as necessary.  And while creating these tutorial videos might require a significant amount of work on the ‘front end’ for media specialists, it could save time later, when a teacher sends a frantic “Help!  I don’t know how to set up my X machine or access the Y database,” email.  You could send that teacher a link to your tutorial video which will hopefully help him or her work through the problem.  Then, if there are still issues, you can help the teacher during a planning period or after school.  But having the videos available will take a lot of pressure off of the media specialist to drop everything and go fix the teacher’s problem right away.

Podcasts and vodcasts are not only great instructional tools, but they’re also a great format for students to use as products of their learning.  Most schools have access to webcams and microphones for student computers, making it simple for students to create podcasts or vodcasts.  There is software available that makes it pretty easy to edit recordings as well.  Audacity, Photo Story, and Movie Maker are not complicated to use with a little practice.  It has been my experience that students who ‘play around’ with programs like these (especially when working in groups!) are able to become more proficient with them than the teacher.  And they love to create products that display their learning using their own voices and images. 

There are many ways for students to display their thinking and learning using podcasts and vodcasts.  One popular use of pod- and vodcasts is a school news program.  Many media specialists and social studies or journalism teachers help students create school news programs about the school’s current events that are shared with the campus weekly via closed-circuit TV, recorded, then posted to the school’s website.  News programs and pod-/vodcasts are powerful learning tools because not only is their creation a collaborative effort, but they allow students to share information with others while learning about video production, broadcasting, and using technology. 

Another way students are using pod- and vodcasts is to share information about topics or units of study they have recently completed.  Examples of these were made by the students on Radio Willoweb (http://mps.wes.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8&pageid=115312&sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8) who, as a class, create podcasts on units they’ve learned about in class.  Using a radio program format, several students from each class speak on topics related to their unit of study, and in doing so, they are able relay the information they’ve learned and practice their speaking skills.  This is a great opportunity for students to share information with the world outside the classroom as well- including with their parents!  Aren’t we, as teachers, always looking for great ways to communicate what has been learned in class to our students’ parents?

Even young students can use podcasts to show what they’ve learned.  This could be as simple as a first grader doing a digital book report- recording his or her review of a book, then reading a favorite excerpt of the book (fluency practice) to go along with the review.  There’s an online site called Sketchcast* (www.sketchcast.com) that allows students to create recordings as they use the site’s drawing tool to make pictures.  This program would be a great way for young students to practices verbal skills and sequencing as they create drawings and record dialog to go along with them and the finished products can be saved and shared on class websites the way vodcasts are for other students or adults to see.

As with anything posted on the internet, it’s important to be aware of Fair Use and Copyright issues when allowing students to post words, images, or pieces of music that were originally created by others.  This is something that media specialists must teach students about and always keep in mind when they help students create podcasts and vodcasts.  Also, internet safety must be remembered and addressed at all times, meaning, students who create podcasts and vodcasts must be careful not to post identifying or sensitive information, especially without the consent and knowledge of their parents.  As long as we keep these precautions in mind, we can safely and legally use podcasts and vodcasts to project student learning far beyond the walls of our classrooms and schools.

*Note: although I have used Sketchcast in the past, I was unable to access the site this week.  Hopefully this is just a glitch and it will be back soon, because it is a very neat tool!

Welcome

Team 1, MEDT 7477, Fall 2012: Based on the student numbers and schedules, do your original blog posts here.
OPC