This week, I have been learning about and researching podcasts and digital stories. These are two concepts that I have heard of, but never really knew what they were. I was sure missing out! Something that I learned while browsing was that they would both be great resources to take advantage of in my future classroom. I found this great website, k-12Teacher Staff Development, that gave numerous examples of how podcasts and digital stories would be beneficial in the classroom, as well as some disadvantages. Benefits of podcasts were:
- Easy accessible
- Archive of lessons provided
- Updates
- Learning on the go
- Creative Learning
Benefits of digital stories:
- Research
- Resource selection
- Script Writing
- Collaboration
- Creativity expression
- Technical skill development
The disadvantages that I found for both podcasts and digital story telling are very similar. Disadvantages included students attention span, the instructors unable to handle the right technology, schools having access to technology, and the students only focusing on the podcast and no other material. I can see where their can be disadvantages in any technology rich learning. There are such wonderful learning experiences available on the internet, but it definitely should be limited so students do not lose sight of the real world.
What surprised me about podcasts and digital stories, is the amount of students who were so interested in what they were being exposed to at school from them, and how many took it home to further their learning on it. I saw on numerous websites for teachers that they were pleasantly surprised with the participation and enthusiasm they saw in their students with podcasts and creating their own digital stories.
PhotoCC: Sidneywynder
I feel that I would have personally benefited more from digital stories in grade school, but now I feel I am more interested in podcasts. I never would have had the patience to sit and listen to an audio story, but everyone learns different! I feel that in my future classroom I will experiment with both. I think that both of them would be great tools to use for many different areas of academics. I am also a big component of experiential learning as well, so one of my problems I will be learning how to work with will be time management in my classroom! I am excited to experiment more with these.
Here is a video I found on why pod casting can be beneficial in the classroom.
Haley's Learning Life 
I really enjoyed reading your blog. I think it would be hard for elementary students to sit and listen to an hour podcast, but I think they would be successful listening to a ten minute digital story. I think it is going to be fun to see which of these work in our future classrooms!
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Yes! I am excited to see what my students will get the most out of, it will be fun to experiment with them.
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The benefits of using podcasts in the classroom are awesome! I knew podcasts existed, but had no idea there were so many useful tricks and nicks for them in the classroom. Thanks for sharing!
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I still don’t know half of the tricks, but I am excited to experiment with them! 🙂
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I thought the video about podcasts was very helpful! I have been thinking about the ways for students to use podcasts, but he pointed out that they can also be used by teachers for when students miss school! That’s such a cool idea! Podcasts make learning easy from any location! Awesome video and post!
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Thanks! It will be fun to experiment with these in the classroom in the future!
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I completely agree with you that these options can be huge in a classroom, but we still need to watch out that it doesn’t become everything. Though knowing your class, and what works best for them is a biggie! Digital storytelling has taken off, and for good reason. They can be done by anyone who has slight knowledge of technology! Podcasts can be great for a short time as well!
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It is great looking at all of these resources that will be potentially used in our future classroom!
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I agree that the online teaching board website gave great information as to how to utilize podcasting and digital story telling in the classroom. I like the video! He is absolutely correct that this new generation of learners will ever know what it is like to be without technology, so in that case why not utilize the resources we have. I also like the incorporation of Blooms Taxonomy and how to apply HOT skills to assignments and projects. Great research!
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Thank you! It is kind of scary that the next generation won’t know a world without technology, so it’s important us as teachers are prepared.
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I believe what I like most about digital story telling is the fact that students are allowed to show creativity. As we look at how education is changing, we are really looking for students to have creative expression. Digital storytelling is the future of our classrooms.
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For sure. We should educate ourselves as much as we can on it, so we are prepared to teach it in the future!
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Really great article about both the pros and cons of both of these methods of teaching. I think that they are really great points for both sides and so many times when finding a new way/thing for teaching I get so distracted by the pros that I forget that not all students may learn a certain way.
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I agree, it is so important to be aware of the cons as well!
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This is a great blog. You did well addressing both sides of the idea. It is important that we know how the cons can affect our teaching, and how to fix them and use podcasting and digital storytelling for its pros. I also thought that the six pros of podcasting were very helpful because they state the pros without exaggerating.
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Thanks, I feel that if we know the cons, we are apt to figure out how to prevent them!
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I was surprised to see how podcasts could benefit teachers as well as students in the classroom. There are very accessible and another piece of technology is not needed in the classroom. These could easily be pulled up onto a smart board. I think that these help students with creativity and help them to be interactive with it. Nice job!
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I agree, they could help students become more interactive with digital learning!
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I agree that podcasts will help students be more interactive. I just have one question though. How will you be able to keep all the students on task if the certain topic they are watching does not interest them?
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I’m glad that you pointed out that kids are excited about the material that is being presented in a podcast. I think this may, in large, be due to the fact that there is often information within them that you might not hear in a traditional classroom, whether it is fact or opinion. My dad has been using “Crash Course” in his classroom as a warm up to the day’s information and the kids certainly enjoy it. They’re maybe 10-15 minutes long and, while they can throw a lot of information at you at once, are great introductions to complex subjects.
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That’s great! I bet that probably gets the students more engaged in the beginning of class instead of towards the end! Thanks for the comment.
Haley
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