Podcasting

Podcasting in schools sounds like a great idea. It's a good way to get students involved with classroom topics in a much more fun manner. As drawn out in the second article, a simple podcast could be a whole year's worth of material that's been worked on (such as in an English class where there could be creative writing, research, interviews, etc.) that at the end of the year could be put together into a podcast. This could later be shown to parents to show progress or what their children have done all year.

However, in higher education, some implications exist. Classrooms become less of student projects, such as the example above, and more listening to a professor or teacher. Podcasts would be great to listen to as last minute cramming on the walk to class or great for learning a foreign language. However, podcasting should not be the only tool that is just used for online classes. It becomes dry and boring and students will deter away from it.

Also, teachers/professors cannot assume that every student has access to a computer or to an Apple iPod that can play these podcasts. Some, like myself, have never had any interest in watching/listening to such tools. This may because I have never had to use podcasts before so I do not know their positive values they can add to education.

I do see where Podcasting could be a great value to a classroom. Although I have never used them, I can see the benefits that could arise from such a tool. It really is a great way to get students and teachers involved in different ways.