Recently, I began a new venture that I have thoroughly enjoyed these past couple of weeks. If you haven't figured it out by now after reading my heading, it's creating a podcast. I thought about creating one, but never figured I'd actually do it. The podcast is called Quick Educational Instruction (hey it was the best I could think of at the time). I decided it would be a great idea for me to use with my students, as well as any other students who have the ability to listen, for various reasons. The podcast allows parents and students to listen to content previously taught anytime they want and receive more information that will be readily available to them. I'm even thinking of having parents share what topics would be helpful for them. I haven't shared it with parents and students yet, because I want to create more content first, but within the next couple of weeks I will.
Before creating my own, I checked out a podcast called Social Media in Education which focused on the benefits of using social media in the classroom and how it encouraged engagement, technology knowledge and global social interaction. I've always wondered what other ways I could use social media in the classroom. My fourth year of teaching, I created a class Twitter account where students would document our daily activities by taking photos and posting online with an explanation of what they learned and how they felt about the content. This was a great way for them to socialize with other students and classes at their level and learn about publishing online. This was also a benefit for parents to see and know exactly what students were learning in class. I have yet to try this again, but when we return to the classroom (since we're virtual), I definitely considering bringing this idea back. So if you have an online classroom Twitter account, let me know.
Recently, I began a new venture that I have thoroughly enjoyed these past couple of weeks. If you haven't figured it out by now after reading my heading, it's creating a podcast. I thought about creating one, but never figured I'd actually do it. The podcast is called Quick Educational Instruction (hey it was the best I could think of at the time). I decided it would be a great idea for me to use with my students, as well as any other students who have the ability to listen, for various reasons. The podcast allows parents and students to listen to content previously taught anytime they want and receive more information that will be readily available to them. I'm even thinking of having parents share what topics would be helpful for them. I haven't shared it with parents and students yet, because I want to create more content first, but within the next couple of weeks I will.
I'm still determining how my students will be able to use a podcast in class since our district has many sites blocked. I believe this will be a great tool for many of my learners for various reasons. This will allow students who are auditory learners to have class information at their hands to listen to whenever they would like. This also assists students who have visual impairments or difficulty. Learners who aren't as vocal in class or in whole group, will also receive the opportunity to listen to the content and ask questions in a smaller setting. Even students who aren't the best of writers could use this platform to share their works or thinking. Think about how this could also be beneficial in small groups where students can listen to content independently before completing an assignment. Using a podcast can definitely assist students and increase engagement in various ways. It has the ability to allow students to communicate, create and possibly collaborate with others on projects and assignments in and out of class.
I really enjoyed creating my podcast and look forward to creating more for my students and any others to use and learn from. Podcasts have their advantages. We just have to realize our purpose for using them and make sure it creates meaningful learning experiences for our students.
My first episode of Quick Educational Instruction is below. Check it out!
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