Week 4 Reflection "Podcasts and Digital Audio"

This week I am reflecting on podcasting and digital audio. Podcasting is simply a sound file that is uploaded online. Podcasts are created by a group of people or an individual and the content is displayed by video or audio, in a live or downloaded setting. I have uploaded below, a YouTube clip, to show how podcasting could be integrated into a classroom environment. Also below is a tool called the ‘Voki’.  A voki is also a digital audio tool that could deliver knowledge and content to a class, in an enjoyable environment. You can pick the character of the voki and control what the voki says, which would be fantastic for any classroom for education.

Below is a PMI Chart of the implications of podcasting and digital audio in the classroom.

Plus	Minus	Interesting
·      Classroom engagement. ·      Students learning  with modern technology. ·      Improving communication skills. ·      Creating Aural and Visual Learning ·      Group interaction ·      Gaining new ideas for learning through other podcasts. ·      Could use podcasts as an assessment item.	·      No internet access ·      Anyone on the web can access it. ·      Students using inappropriate language on podcasts	·      You can listen to a podcast anywhere. ·      Anyone can make a podcast for the world to listen too.

I believe podcasting and digital audio would be an asset to learning. This tool is giving students and teachers the chance to create original knowledge. Students for example, could research a topic and create a podcast about the topic, which would be viewed by anyone on the web. Students or teachers could also listen to another podcast to gain knowledge and skills. As I have been researching podcasts and digital audio this week, I have understood that these digital tools would be fantastic for Visual and Aural learning.  

I am studying to become a manual arts teacher. I could use podcasts in my classroom, as an assessment task or have the students listen to the podcasts to grasp the concept of what I am trying to teach them. For example; if I was teaching students about metal arc welding, we could listen to a step-by-step podcast to grasp the concept of welding, before the students undertake a new skill in the workshop. I could also present podcasting as an assessment; in the form that the students would podcast a step by step casting of the job they have just produced for the term.  

As you can see, podcasting is a tool for modern schooling.