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!