One of the first things that I did when I got an iPod was to search for educational podcasts, specifically those that centered around Web 2.0 applications since that is what I wanted to learn about at the time. I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few great ones, but I’d like to be honest about my experience with podcasts. I found that short audio podcasts, which last five minutes or less, work best for me. Because I’m such a visual person, beyond that time span makes it difficult for me to remain focused. However, video podcasts or vodcasts are an incredible resource for me. First of all, they’re free, and I’m all about that. You don’t have to have an iPod or an MP3 player to take advantage of them, and no matter who you are, there is probably a podcast out there that could teach you something you’d like to learn about.

Personally, some of the best ones that I found recently were about using ActivStudio for Promethean Boards. Our schools are slowly purchasing more and more boards and needing professional learning for the software the accompanies it. Normally, that would fall on me, but I haven’t had the time that it would take to devote myself on becoming an expert on the boards. That and if you don’t use what you’ve learned, you’ll lose it, which could very well happen to me. The podcasts that I found were short vodcasts, and each focused on a particular tool or topic. I was able to point others to these resources, but have also kept them archived for myself as well.

Even though I’m not a huge fan of long (only) audio podcasts, I have found listening to some conference keynote speakers to be valuable and often times uplifting.

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Given that I haven’t taken much time to search out or listen to student-created podcasts, I really enjoyed this particular activity. My experience in the classroom was with high school students only, so I headed straight for the “younger” podcasts and chose to explore the collection from Jamestown Elementary. The first that I listened to was on the topic of Thanksgiving. Even though theirs didn’t have true “video” in the podcasts, they did have images that the children had drawn to accompany their narration. I absolutely LOVE student artwork and to be able to see their interpretation while they spoke was a treat. I then listened to the one titled Outdoor Lab Experience that included pictures from their field trip. This podcast sounded as though they were recording the students during the field trip as they shared what they enjoyed most or what they learned. It wasn’t scripted at all and the spontaneity of their responses really captured their enthusiasm.

After Jamestown, I chose to explore Ms.Edminson’s Weekly Podcast. I specifically chose this one because I was hoping to find a scripted podcast to compare with the prior ones. The first title caught my eye, which was Take a BITE Out of Shark Facts!. I said before that I enjoyed the unscripted podcast, but this one blew me away. It was extremely well written, had music to introduce the podcast as well as during the transitions in the segments of the “broadcast”. The children, to me, sounded as if they had been doing this for quite a while because there was so much inflection and character in their voices. I wasn’t expecting that at all, especially from third graders! It makes me want to find a teacher in one of our schools and start podcasting with them! Given that it doesn’t require a huge investment or expensive equipment to produce a podcast, it’s one of those activities that could be quickly produced for those just beginning.

In searching for podcasts for myself, I went through iTunes and decided to search specifically for vodcasts and found a new one that I had not seen before. It’s from Kevin Honeycutt of ESSDACK out of Kansas. He’s very active on Plurk (one of the social networks I participate in) so when I saw that this was his podcast, of course I subscribed. I think he may also have some on his website, which I’ll have to look into further.

What I like about searching for podcasts/vodcasts in iTunes is that it will tell you what other people also subscribed to in addition to the one I’m currently looking at. I found that to be very useful information and I treat that like a recommendation to at least check the others out. The ones that branched off of Kevin’s podcasts pointed to “Moving at the Speed of Creativity” by Wes Fryer (which I already have subscribed to), EdTechTalk.com, David Warlick, and November Learning just to name a few. I’m familiar with all of these so I felt the recommendations were very valid. For someone just beginning to search for podcasts in iTunes, it’s a great resource to have if they aren’t sure what other podcasts might be out there.

I have looked before in the Educational Podcast Network, but honestly found it easier to use iTunes or directly subscribe to a podcast from someone’s blog if I found one there. Again, I’m a visual person and I guess the iTunes interface really appeals to me. That and I can learn more about the podcasts itself through iTunes as opposed to EPN. Now LearnOutLoud.com’s interface really appealed to me and I was about to get right to a few podcasts within a few clicks, I had some kind of a visual that went with each podcast, along with a short description. From there I did subscribe to Teach42’s podcast (Steve Dembo). I have to admit being a bit biased about choosing his since I was just able to meet him in November and he’s also on Plurk.

Podcasts, whether teacher created for specific tasks or existing podcasts can be a goldmine for the classroom. My first thought, was using them with elementary students in centers. Also, I noticed that there are some podcasts specifically for learning English, which might be very useful for ELL students. Some of the podcasts appeared to be geared for older people, so those might be more appropriate for high school students. Teachers could record their lectures and post them on their website, which would be especially useful for students who were absent or need to review. Additionally, teacher created podcasts can target specific standards which students are having problems mastering. The podcast, especially if it was visual in nature, could help explain difficult concepts and appropriate activities could be tied to the pod/vodcast to ensure that students were able to take what they heard and watched and apply it.

In my school system we are currently running a pilot with ELL students and iPods, using them both in school to tackle areas on the CRCT where they were defiicient. Math is our current target area and the teachers are either finding existing content or creating their own to provide that needed remediation and support. Our pilot group is small and the students do take home the iPod for one night along with a corresponding activity. Thus far, the response from the students has been very positive and I’m looking forward to the end of the school year when we can see if using this technology has made an impact.

Photo Credit: Pmtorrone on Flickr