I've always known the term podcasting, but for some
reason I thought only big companies could do it. When watching TV or listening
to the radio the host will say "check out our new podcast," so I guess
I thought it was something only broadcasting companies did. So needless to say
my eyes were opened up after this lesson. Podcasting seems to be a very
exciting tool that teachers could defiantly use in their class. I know most
teachers could see the down side to this but think of the student that has to
miss a class before a test. In a normal classroom the student would have to
call his or her friends to get the missed work. With the use of podcasting the
teacher could post the class notes on their blog then upload a podcast so that
the students could read the notes and follow along and really get a chance to
learn the material.
I don’t
think that podcasting is not any different than the other web 2.0 technology
that we have discussed before. In fact I think they all work hand in hand. For example,
a teacher is in the middle of a really important chapter and wants to make sure
the students "get it". The teacher could post her notes on her blog,
have a classroom discussion on her wiki and at night the students could listen
to the podcast over the main ideas of the section. When it's time to take a
chapter review the students could use all the blog postings and all the wiki
postings and podcast and really have a lot of ammo for studying. If I must
classify how it is different I must say the fact that a pod cast is done in
your voice or video that you shot. It brings 1-1 back into web 2.0. It almost
gives you the face to face feel.
I
do own an IPod and use it for music only. I haven't really explored the possibilities
of my IPod because my wife loves music and I guess even though we both have one
they are both set up for her. That way if hers goes dead she can just grab
mine. I have noticed where is says podcast on the menu but never investigated
it. I don’t think I could use my IPod I class, unless I found some really good
math podcast. I'm sure there are some but that would be the only way I could
use an IPod in my class. I think there is way more advantages than
disadvantages to online communication tools. With online communication tools,
each topic can be put in a category and recalled upon. For studying or any
other reason the student may look or listen to the material as many times as
the student may need.
