While reading about the in’s and out’s of podcasts, I became
intrigued to find out more information about this new technology and how others
are using it in their school libraries. I found a great overview article by
Esther Kredier Eash titled “Podcasting 101 for K-12 Librarians” on
Infotoday.com (http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/apr06/Eash.shtml)
I’d like to discuss a little more about Eash’s thoughts on podcasting and ways
in which it is beneficial to a school library program.
Eash believes that there are essentially two ways to use
podcasts: retrieving information or disseminating information. While podcasts
are a fairly new technology, there are schools out there that are beginning to
use this platform to distribute or receive information. Eash notes that from
her research, the problem with using podcasts in schools is that there isn’t a
great deal of quality podcasts for K-12 instruction, so many times she has
found that instead, media specialists are helping students and teachers create
their own podcasts.
Further into the article, Eash discusses ways in which she
believes podcasts can be integrated into school libraries: Promoting the library,
Using student products to share learning, Sharing school news, and Providing
professional development. I think that the examples Eash gives in her article
are great ways to incorporate the usage of podcasts into a media center, but I
also think that as schools become more involved with newer technology, the uses
of podcasts in schools will greatly increase.
Source:
Eash, E. K. (2006, April). Podcasting 101 for K–12 Librarians.
Retrieved from http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/apr06/Eash.shtml
Podcast- Information sharing
ReplyDeleteAs a classroom teacher, time is a very precious commodity. If I were not currently taking this course in technology and learning about the plethora of resources available to enhance my classroom instruction, I would not take the time to find out. I think SLMS have the unique role of being able to find ways to share new technology findings with classroom teachers. Sending emails about the SLMC offerings will be deleted by most teachers but perhaps sending a short student created podcast may engage the teachers and lead to the willingness to learn how simply this technology can be incorporated into classroom instruction. The heart of students' learning take place in the classroom and my goal as a future media specialist is the find a way to encourage teachers to make the classroom a place that is ever-evolving with the new ways of engaging students with the resources available in the SLMC.