Hi everyone!
I have to tell you all that I learned so much from last week's readings and student podcasts. I really knew very little about the possibilities of podcasting and found myself taking notes and brainstorming the myriad ways such technology could be used in today's classrooms. I was greatly impressed by Willowdale Elementary's Radio Willoweb and especially loved the 5th graders' podcast on the Revolutionary War. This concept could so easily be adapted for high school students in American literature and history courses. What an amazing way to create a real world audience for students! I can only hope, hearing their own voices on the web would inspire students to take real ownership of their work.
Now to this week's prompt . . . Anytime I am asked by a teacher to assist him/her in a project of which I am not familiar, I will not be afraid to admit that I am not an expert in that particular field. I will, though, do my best to become knowledgeable about the given subject. In this case I would research podcasting and share what I learned with the teacher needing help. He/she might start a school trend and create a really unique learning experience for all of the teachers and students. I believe the role of the media specialist is that of facilitator of information and assistant to those who need help and guidance. We must make ourselves accessible to teachers and students. As an LMS in the 21st century, one must be open to learning about new technologies and then in helping others learn about them as well.
Erin
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5 comments:
You touch on an important aspect of podcasting, Erin: inspiring students to take ownership of their work. In Kristin Fontichiaro's article, Podcasting 101, she states that podcasting can increase students' confidence. So not only are they inspired to produce quality work, they are gaining confidence as public speakers.
We've all read how public speaking is one of life's greatest fears. How wonderful it is to use this podcasting format to help students develop positive experiences with speaking out loud! And we're mastering a Georgia Performance Standard on listening, speaking, and viewing.
Let's keep finding ways to inspire students and empower teachers!
Erin, I'm with you. I was truly amazed at the countless possiblities for using podcasting in instruction. I particularly enjoyed the podcast from the media center. After the media specialist read a book which covered a science standard that was being studied, the students created a podcast wherein they recalled information that was presented. It was a simple project, but it encouraged students to listen more effectively.
I beleive that many of the projects that were mentioned could be adapted to various grade levels.
Erin,
I agree with you about the role of a media specialist being one of a facilitator of information. From experience at my school, it seems like many teachers do not even understand how much their media specialists could (and would) help them with classroom lessons and units. Podcasting is a great example of how a media specialist can be a leader in promoting use of new technology. Today's teachers are so busy. I think they can use all the help and assistance available. If something as exciting as podcasting was shared with them, and they were able to see examples of its successful use with students, they might be encouraged to collaborate with the MS and visit the media center more often!
Erin,
I agree that it is important to inform those asking for assistance that you are not an expert in the matter. As the media specialist we will be in an ideal position to encourage teachers to step outside of their comfort zone. With new technology, it is essential that we stay up to date. Many students, especially in the upper grades, are already using this technology.
A couple of things come to mind as I've read through the blog posts... Seeing/hearing podcasts really made a big impact in how useful we do/don't think the technology is for our classrooms and media centers. As you move into media centers, I think that's an important thing to remember -- seeing really is believing! And if you want to get teachers to adopt a new technology, or a new way of doing things (like collaborating), the more you can actually show them what it's like, and how useful it can be -- the more likely they will be to want to try it.
The second thing that comes to mind is how often we've talked about the training that is required to teach folks how to do this. Some posts have talked about training workshops, or posting the instructions on the media center web page, or collaborating with the teacher to scaffold their development of podcasting skills. But I'm with Jodi -- let's not overlook the potential of the students!!! They are frequently some of the most tech-savvy folk in the school, and I'm all for putting their knowledge to good use! What about training the students (if they need it) and let them provide tech support for podcasting teachers? In the early 90s, I actually had a little crew of savvy students doing basic troubleshooting and tech support with teachers... sure freed me up from the Ms. Dilbert dilemnas I faced daily!
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