Thing 19

Which podcasts did you find interesting? Identify one or two podcasts and describe how you would use them in your teaching. (Be sure to include links in your blog entry to the podcasts mentioned.)

I first listened to a few This I Believe segements created by students at Charlotte High School. I love the original NPR serious and think this is a wonderful assignment for high school students. The montage introduction was very moving and the variety of topics reflects the variety of students. Some were incredibly moving. I enjoyed listening to them. I can see this being an interdisciplinary unit with either Language Arts or Social Studies. The LA or SS teacher could doing the writing, the research. In my class we could do the recording, the mixing, and the posting. Very fun.

Next, I explored Booktalks Plain and Simple by Nancy Keane. This was a great twist on the book report. Again, this could be a great interdisciplinary unit. My class is called a "Fifth Wheel" which means I am considered a Core Elective- an elective that every student is required to take. Because I am on a team all of my students have the same Language Arts teacher at one time. Podcasts could be part of a literature unit- as the students read independently they write a report for the language arts teacher and then record and post it in their media literacy class. An added bonus could be teachers doing podcasts on their favorite middle school books. The list could be posted on the school website for students to listen to for inspiration on which book to read next.

I currently podcast on a daily basis. The podcasts are the school daily announcements.