Podcasts

Podcasts have always been of interest but I have yet to create my own.  Maybe the sound of my own voice is putting me off!  A podcast is digital audio file (although they can be video or text) which is available on the internet for downloading and is often in instalments or a series.  These files can then be listened to on mp3 players or online as many times as required.  They also have the anytime anywhere tag which makes them ideal for students with busy lives (Nesi 2016).   Podcasts have been around since 2004 and were linked into Apple's iTunes a year later.  By 2007 they were being produced by a range of people and organisations.  In this year over 250,000  people downloaded a podcast by Ricky Gervais.  It was around about this time that Audacity was being 'pushed' into primary schools as a free piece of software to create podcasts with or capture children's spoken words as speaking and listening was a huge agenda from the government.  With just a microphone, a laptop and a script audio files such as the following could be produced.

BARNSLEY POEM

The beauty of audio recordings is that they capture the spoken word in the same way that pen and paper capture writing.  Without the recordings the words are gone forever.  Allowing children to hear how they speak has proved to be a powerful tool for developing their spoken language (Halsey 2007).

The reason why podcasts have made it onto the portfolio are firstly because as previously mentioned they have been of interest for a while and secondly the ability for students to revisit them and relisten to them could be extremely beneficial for the selected purpose.  The plan is to create podcasts which describe in detail and expand upon the assessment criteria for assignments.  The thinking behind this is to allow the students to have a source which they can return to again and again which will, hopefully, answer their queries about assignments.  Although obviously there will still be the need for assignment tutorials and students will expect these, it should mean that there will be no confusion over what the assignment expectations are.  As the podcasts can be listened to online it is expected that there will be minimal technical issues with the students accessing them.

Creating podcasts is not difficult but they are 2 key things to remember.  Plan out what you intend to say and find a quiet room to record it in (Sprague & Pixley 2008).  Once created the podcasts can be listened to nearly anywhere as most smart phones will play them.  There are no skills set needed by me to create the podcasts as there are already acquired although some of the editing might be time consuming.  Lynda.com has a 'Producing a Professional Podcast' course which would be beneficial and highlight some other potentials pathways to explore such as screen capture.

The initial plan is to create the first podcast for the Teaching Primary Mathematics module which is taught to the BA (Hons) Teaching and Learning in the Primary Phase Year 1 students.  Last year there was a great deal of uncertainty about the assignment and questions were being repeatedly asked via email or in person which it is possible could have been avoided had the students had a central reference point.  As this module is taught in semester one it will allow for feedback from the students to be taken before another podcast is used for other, as yet undecided modules which are taught in semester two.

References

Halsey, S 2007, 'Embracing Emergent Technologies and Envisioning New Ways of Using Them for Literacy Learning in the Primary Classroom', English Teaching: Practice And Critique, 6, 2, pp. 99-107

Nesi, CJ 2016, 'The power of podcasts', Education Digest, 7, p. 42.

Sprague, D, & Pixley, C 2008, 'Podcasts in Education: Let Their Voices Be Heard', Computers In The Schools, 25, 3/4, pp. 226-234