Podcast attempts

I’m teaching a number of workshops next week in my district, and one is on finding or creating podcasts.  

So, I took the challenge and created a very short podcast about teaching and learning as my first published effort.

technolibrary1trying.mp3

And here’s a link to the same file on my new account on Switchpod, which is a handy site that hosts up to twenty 10 minute podcasts for free, or six 30 minute shows.

I’m integrating the podcast workshop in with a blogging workshop so that the teachers can create a blog that can host their own or their students’ podcasting efforts.

I created this using one of the handy Olympus WS-100 digital recorders, which is very easy to use.  It records the audio as a WMA file, so I had to download a free conversion tool to convert it to an mp3, before uploading it at Switchpod or to my blog.

In the workshop, I’m planning to have teachers interview one another about ideas for using podcasts in the classroom, and then convert and upload their podcasts.

We’re also going to explore using iTunes in the classroom as a way to share published podcasts with students across the curriculum.

As I said in the podcast, teaching something is often the best way to learn it.  For me, it also creates a deadline so that I take the time to learn something that maybe I’ve been dabbling with, but really need to get a better understanding of.

Small workshops are such a valuable way to give teachers the time to play with new ideas–play being an important word here.  During the school year, it seems that the time to play is so limited, and play is an important component of learning for both us and our students.

And yes, I realize I should have probably taken out a few of the “um’s.”  😉

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *