Podcasting: vicarious learning

To be honest, podcasting is not something I've ever really gotten into. To get my head around this new technology, I spent a bit of time trying to locate and use podcasts.

Despite my initial trepidation, podcasts really are very easy to find. In fact, the most difficult thing is probably finding the best ones from the huge number available.

There are some fantastic podcasts out there, some of which are specifically designed to be used for education purposes, including ABC, SBS, National Geographic's Beta website and Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips to name just a few.

Podcasts also present a quick and easy (not to mention free!) avenue for teachers' professional development (e.g. ABC's EdPod and Education podcasts).

Podcasts can be used as a way for students to record 'what they know' or school excursions. Interestingly, the second podcast from a school excursion to the Oklahoma City Zoo, allowed the teacher to identify a student's misconceptions about flamingos - something which otherwise might have gone unnoticed.

As a sound recording tool, I would use podcasts to record and share student speeches, school performances and storytelling. Podcasting could also be used to create an archive of important lessons presented by the teacher. I think one of the key opportunities provided by podcasts is the ability to 'get closer' to a topic vicariously. There are loads of fantastic podcasts prepared by 'experts', museums, artists, art gallery curators, zoo keepers etc. which allow students to vicariously experience what it is they are learning about. This was definitely not an opportunity I had in my school days! Ironically, when I attempted to listen to a podcast from the San Diego Zoo, the website was down due to the huge amount of web traffic following the birth of the zoo's new baby panda.

I had my first two days of Embedded Professional Learning last week. After reading about podcasting and observing my students picking books for independent reading, I had an idea... Instead of taking forever to pick a book they'd enjoy and dropping books straight back on the shelf after reading, wouldn't it be great to have students record a brief book review podcast after reading which could serve as a guide for others selecting texts and encourage reflection after reading?