Week 9: Podcasting Blog

Nathan Renfro

ETEC 424

October 27, 2010

I found it fascinating that the invention of the MP3 resulted in the development of podcasting. The book defines podcasting as a way for “…anyone to become an independent producer and distributor of audio and/or video content that can be offered worldwide through the internet” (Crismond, Howland, Jonassen, & Marra, 2008). The use of RSS and Mp3 technology is something that has been developed in my lifetime. I thought it was great to learn how to use this; not only for my teaching career, but for personal use as well. I intend to create a podcast that will, hopefully, include video for personal use by the end of this semester to become more familiar with the technology. When I do, I’ll provide a link in my blog to it.  Students can create their own podcasts and use it to become better public speakers. Podcasting is another technology that can allow students to collaborate to learn better. Telling stories electronically or digitally allows students to tell others about their personal experiences and make authentic, original videos and audio files. There are several different applications for this technology in the classroom. What is listed above barely touches the surface.

            Podcasting is similar with other technologies that we’ve learned about in that it is an advanced and modern technology that has only been applied to the classroom recently. It is not an old technology. Podcasts and video feed can be applied with other Web 2.0 applications that have been discussed. A podcast can be embedded by a link or directly onto a blog; personal or public. It takes the text-based discussion board to a whole another level and allows people to transfer audio or video files from their computer directly to an MP3 player. This allows the podcast’s accessibility to be maximized. I could see the use of videos that are made privately being used like podcasts.

            I do own an iPod. I mainly use it for music when I run or am driving; I hook it up into my car stereo via an auxiliary port. I could see myself using this technology in my classroom. I am not sure how I would use it, exactly. I may have students do an audio book report or presentation about how they respond to a written work. I could see this technology being a big hassle. It would not be helpful if the students did not have access to a computer to record and edit their audio file. Using this technoogy, I think, is a big assignment for middle school and certain high school aged kids. Though they do love technology at that age, it may take too much time away from the content of my lessons. It would take a lot for students to get comfortable with podcasting if they didn't pick it up right off the bat. The amount of time they would use creating the podcast would not last as long as the podcast. If I have time in my course to apply this technology, I will. If I need to spend more time going through the curriculum and maintaining department standards, I will not include podcasts into my lesson plan. Blogs and online discussion forums have a much better shot at making their way into my classroom than podcasting. I'll have to try it out and see how it works.

References:

Crismond, D., Howland, J., Jonassen, D., Marra, R. M. (2008). Meaningful learning with

technology. Columbus: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall.