WEEK #11: Podcast/Vidcast

WHAT:

This week we talked about what podcasts and vidcasts are and why they can be useful.

SO WHAT:

Podcasts are neat because I can use them for many things. My biology teacher posts his lectures as podcasts. Now that I actually know what a podcast is I can listen to any lectures that I have missed. Also it can possibly be a great way to research things (assuming that you find it from a creditable source). If I have the option to listen to a research article, rather then read it, I think I would get more out of it. I am the type of person who looks at the words and my eyes move back and forth, but I don't actually read and comprehend the words, so this could be very helpful to me.

Vidcast are great for many of the same reasons as podcasts. With research and learning I definitely would get much more out of it if I could not only hear it, but see it. You could even use vidcasts as a way to do a presentation. You could get together with your group and make a video of some sort and then publish it on line. I have learned that there are endless possibilities.

NOW WHAT:

Now that I have a small understanding of what podcasts and vidcasts are, I need to continue using them to strengthen that understanding. I need to learn the ins and outs and find all the great benefits and tools that it offers.

Vidcasts and podcasts are things that I could use in my classroom as a future teacher. I could use them to explain instructions for students who might have been absent that day, to record field trips or class activities that the kids might want to remember, etc. Like I said before, the sky is the limit!

VIDEO:

I agree with the video that blogging in the classroom can be a great idea. The video mentioned many great reasons why you should blog in the classroom, but my favorite were when it said that it extends the walls of the classroom, gives students a voice, and gives them an audience. Students can develops a better understanding of who they are by writing. It also gives them a safe way to express themselves. Another reason that blogging could be a good idea is that you can give the parents the link to their students blog and that way they can hear in their child's words what they learned today, how they feel about certain things in life, etc. It will give them a chance to learn and hear from their child about things they probably never would have thought to ask them about. In a nut shell, it opens the door for many new possibilities.