Podcasting in the Classroom

   

              Podcasting is very important to educators and learners in today's world.  Podcasting is a type of digital media that can be accessed with the use of a computer or any online device.  It is a series of episodes of the radio, a video, and PDF.  For this particular module this week, I have chosen to view the "ESL Pod" Podcast.  In this website, there are many podcasts and transcripts for English as a Second Language learners.  I chose to listen to this particular podcast because I am studying in school to become an English as a Second Language teacher, and this podcast website interests me the most from the others.  I selected the podcast episode, English Cafe 393  from this ESL podcasting website.  During this episode, the speaker discusses about a series on famous American movies.  For a specific example of how he discusses he movie, he would talk about the movie, "The Manchurian Candidate" and described the movie to his listeners as a "thriller".  After saying the word thriller, he would then spell the word slowly for the listener and then describe what the term means.  He did this method of teaching English words and told the story of the movie in great detail.  I thought this method of a lesson would be great for ESL leaners because it is engaging to the listener, new vocabulary learning occurs, and this use of podcasting is a great way to include a digital tool in the classroom. I also think it is interesting and great that this podcast can be accessed through the use of iTunes too.  The use of podcasting is very interesting and important to be as a learner and a future ESL educator.  I will most likely be using podcasting in my future classroom with ESL teaching!

An example of digital storytelling

   
       I have created an example of digital storytelling by calling my digital story: Colorful Seasons by Kayla Douglas For the learning objectives that could be met, by using this tool, students will be able to use digital technology through making a story using technology tools.  With the use of the computer and being creative with making up their own stories, students will be able to independently or collaboratively make a story using their imagination and sharing it with other classmates.  If I were to use this technology tool in my own classroom, the objectives for the students would be: Students will be able to actively participate using digital technology tools to create a story.  Students will be able to use other resources to help them create their digital story by using a book they have read in class or by using their own pictures from home, by using "family" as a topic of choice.  I would most likely leave the topic up to the students, or take a vote on what we would create our digital stories based on and narrow the choices to a common theme or topic.

Let's Explore Digital Storytelling

   Photo from flickr  

       Digital storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories.  A great resource website that describes digital storytelling is called, The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling.  This site has helped me learn more about digital storytelling and why it is useful in education.  I also encountered digital storytelling in my undergraduate classes in an education technology class that I took.  According to the resource website, "other terms used to describe this practice, such as digital documentaries , computer-based narratives, digital essays, electronic memoirs, interactive storytelling, etc." are helpful to new educators who are willing to learn about digital storytelling and using it in the classroom.  From a personal point of view, I really enjoyed working on a digital storytelling project with a partner in my undergraduate classes at SUNY Cortland and it helped us share a story to students in a technological and innovative way.  Digital storytelling is a great interactive tool to use as an educational resource because it connects educators with their students in a new digital way with storytelling and keeping up with technology.
       
        Most of the digital stories last anywhere from two minutes to ten minutes in length of time.  This particular resource, The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling is an excellent source of information for educators because it also includes educational materials such as: lesson plans, evaluation and assessment, copyright and educational fair use, digital storytelling workshop resources, and digital storytelling E-books.  I wanted to explore these resources myself, so I viewed each one and they led to me to some informational links that would help with my teaching.  They were very useful guides to help use digital storytelling in the classroom in different ways!  I really enjoyed using this resource website and I will most likely be using this source in my classroom with my students in the future.  It is important that we keep up with technology in the classrooms everyday and connect with our students in a digital manner.

Engaging Our Students By Teaching With Technology

        Technology is most commonly used by students in today's society and they are the children of the 21st Century.  We as future educators must find every possible way to engage our students and immerse them in technology within the classroom everyday.  There is a wide array of ways that a teacher can utilize technology in the classroom.  It is important for teachers to listen to their students and take the time to implement technology use in the classroom and incorporate content areas with the use of blogs, wikis, web quests, online quizzes, class polls, and homework assignments on the computer.  I have viewed a couple of great videos that discuss great ways in which an educator can teach their students with the use of technology, because these students already use technology in their everyday life with the use of computers, cell phones, iPods, and other digital devices.

       

      One video, Pay Attention has caught my attention because it discusses the various ways that teachers can use technology with their students in the classroom.  It begins its statement by including a list of all the different learners and emphasizes the "digital learners" as a main focus throughout the video.  It includes the percentages of how much technology is used by students today.  I really liked how this video included Bloom's Taxonomy terminology with the examples of: create, evaluate, analyze, and more.  It is also important to understand that the students we teach are ones who were born into a digital world where technology is consumed on a daily basis and that is why we must incorporate it in our teaching.  With the use of technology, students will become better engaged and more interested in what he or she is learning.  Teachers are highly recommended to using the following in their lessons: blogs, wikis, web quests, reflection, and the use of cellphones.  I was thinking to myself, "why cellphones" but then the video answered my question.  Students use cellphones on a daily basis and it is important to incorporate cellphone usage in the classroom but in an educational and safe way.  It is our job as educators to keep our students engaged and listen to them in every possible way.  We must help our students succeed in school and want to succeed in every way.    

      Another video, A Vision of K-12 Students Today also caught my attention based on the use of technology in the classroom.  This video was slightly similar to the previous video I chose to discuss because it also stressed the importance of teaching with the use of technology in the classroom, in order to keep students fully engaged and use tools that they already know how to use outside of school.  The video discusses how students already use technology such as: video games, computers, watching TV, blogs, and iPods for entertainment at home because they are 21st century learners.  We as future educators must emphasize this use of technology and incorporate it into our teaching methods and various lessons.  Not enough teachers use technology in the classroom, and this video helps them realize why we must use it everyday, in order to keep the students engaged and successful in their learning.  This video also includes information from Bloom's Taxonomy, which helps educators realize why it is important to make these terms as goals for successful teaching.  It must be the most important goal as a teacher to fully get students engaged and actively participating electronically and using the technological advances they use on a daily basis outside of school and bringing them into the classroom.  

     Overall, I think technology should be used in the classroom with students today and I will most likely incorporate the use of technology in my classroom and engage my students to the best of my ability!  I hope continue to learn more about technology and how I can use it in my lessons in my own classroom someday.