While
reading Fontichiaro’s article, “Podcasting
101”, I was intrigued to find that podcasting equipment is rather reasonable. She
states that a PC computer with an operating system of Windows 98 or newer can
handle the task which was surprising to me. What was not surprising to me is
the fact that podcast equipment for the MAC users is a little more expensive.
(In my experience, anything to do with MAC equipment is more expensive.) I
appreciated her research of the best (not to mention FREE) programs to use for
those librarians on a tight budget.
I was drawn to her section about “Students with
Special Needs”. When I was student teaching, my supervising teacher worked the
afterschool program for a few of the special needs students so I got the
opportunity to watch how these items really affect the lives of special needs
students. It is really a great product for special needs classrooms to have.
Another one of her ideas that I thought was great
was the Audio Tour. At our school, we always do a Black History Wax Museum
where the students dream up like a Black History Hero and give information
about them. It would be an awesome addition to have the students record
podcasts about their person and have students walk around with the audio like a
true wax museum.
I think all in all, this was a perfect first
introduction article to podcasting. The author describe what it was, how to get
it, and what to do with it. I really love all of the podcast ideas Fontichiaro
gave and cannot wait to use them in the future.
Fontichiaro,
Kristin. (Mar 2007). Podcasting 101. School
Library Monthly. Retrieved from http://medt7477spring2014.weebly.com/uploads/7/5/8/9/7589068/7477_podcasting101.pdf
Brittany you hit my point about Apple/MAC products they cost so much money and the software is fearful. I have to get up to date on my products or should I is the question? I try to always focus on the money aspect when buy things for my classroom or self to be more specific and the SLMS is on a tight budget all the time, this makes it hard to give into a company like Apple but it is what the students have and want. So, someone needs to take into consideration how advance technology is becoming and us it to the advantage of learning and not budgeting in my opinion. Free is always good but you have to have the system first. We have Dell everything in my school and the Administrators shave IPads to do observations, I think the student should have one too, or at least a cart of Ipads for each grade level. I also cannot wait to practice more with Podcast this summer so I can introduce the booktalk podcast ideas Fontichiaro used with my students. I am starting to overcome my technology fears daily. I need to keep up with my students and other teachers and SLMS so my students will be ready for the next level.
ReplyDeleteI was excited also about all the possibilities that podcasting can offer. I love the idea of the wax museum audio tour, students recording their part and being able to walk around with the recording on an IPod or some other device while looking at an exhibit. The idea to use podcasting for special needs students hit home with me. I remember when I first started teaching and had special needs students with IEP's in my class. One of the modifications for a lot of students was to have the text read to them. To have the material as a podcast is a great way for that to happen. Also, if teachers recorded some of their lessons, students who are absent could benefit from listening to the podcast.
ReplyDeletePodcasting an excellent tool for school/classroom/media center. Our county is behind in technology and all our students are far more superior than we are when it comes to technology so I think podcasting would be great. The wax museum idea is very cool and even having the students do a podcast in lieu of the old boring newscast would be updated.
ReplyDeleteplus, since the equipment for podcasting is relatively inexpensive, it's something my media center could feasibly acquire.
Our school does not use a lot of online resources such as podcasting, blogs, and other things I am sure we will be discussing soon. As media specialist I want to get our teachers comfortable with using some of these valuable resources. This blog showed lots of good examples that could be used. I especially liked the reminder that this would be an excellent tool for students with special needs. In our school we have a student who has cancer and is homebound during chemo and other difficult times. So far we have been using Skype when the situation allows so that he feels a part of the classroom, but it would be great for his teachers to create pod casts to help keep him up to date on the days when he just is not able to Skype. It would also be cool for him to create his own podcasts for his classmates to listen to and keep them up to date on how he is feeling.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked the wax museum ides, but thought we could do even more by having the students create a model, or replica of their own of something to do with the historical figure and the podcasts could walk them through the models.
These were some great ideas!
It is always useful to have a tool to use for students with special needs. My heart always goes out to them as they are usually in the classroom with students who are regular ed and they often feel that they are being left behind. I was glad to hear that using a podcast can be a great way to have my special needs students to complete assignments. Creating a podcast also has a cooler reputation versus doing some other alternative assignment due to a disability. The podcast will give them something to look forward to and something to be proud of.
ReplyDelete