Recently, I made my way to Jody Davidson’s classroom at Hand Middle School to work with her students. The students were creating podcasts and wanted to incorporate a little handheld technology. I showed Ms. Davidson and her students how to use iPods with microphones. Of course the students were pros at manuevering through the iPod menus but many of them had never used the voice memo or recording functions. We quick to figure out how to pause the recording instead of stopping and starting over when someone got the giggles or if they needed to think a little more about what they needed to say.
By the end of class, 6 groups created the beginnings of what I like to call “Literacy Talk” podcasts. The students turned in the iPods and I got to work on editing the student’s conversations. With a little editing, the students lost the um’s, ah’s, and music was added to add a little flavor.

The Literacy Talks covered topics such as what makes students excited to read, how do they choose a book, and what happens when they are forced to read. It was a great way to express how they felt about reading. Podcasting is a great way to get students engaged in the learning. Think about it… students go through the writing process from brainstorming to writing a final product. Although you don’t necessarily want students reading from a script they have to prepare what they are going to talk about. Students are also publishing their work. There is a sense of anticipation and nerves with how will I sound? Will I be able to communicate a clear message? With interactive lessons like podcasting we are reaching students on so many levels and preparing them for the world outside of school.

Take a listen…

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