Podcasting
has been around for quite a few years and there are thousands of professional
podcasts available from all parts of the globe. Many people enjoy them,
subscribe to them, and listen to them on a regular basis.
The
ease with which podcasts can be recorded and shared with a global audience makes
them appealing. You don't need much equipment—all you need is an idea and a
computer! The ease of production can be appealing to educators, as well, who look
to podcasting for an innovative way to check student understanding, hone
writing and editing skills, and develop oral presentation expertise.
In
the library media center, podcasts have many applications. As demonstrated in
the examples from Nancy Keane, students' booktalks are a great way to share
favorite reads. On the examples I listened to, students definitely followed a
script, which makes sense for elementary-aged podcasters. The script and tight
format let students concentrate on content rather than getting distracted by
music choices.
I
also listened to a few podcasts from Radio Willoweb, which seems—like many
other examples I located—to have ceased production. Nonetheless, these podcasts
have various formats and include students from every grade level. I am not
convinced that podcasts of this sort are all that useful in a media center. The
media specialist could certainly help with the research and writing that go
into the final product, but for the media specialist to play an active role in
guiding production seems slightly misguided. Production of podcasts to
highlight parts of the library collection—like the booktalks—make more sense to
me. Podcasts that are developed as an addition to or segment of existing media
programs might also be useful. For instance, we have a daily closed circuit TV
news program. We could create a podcast of the announcements, or augment the
program with an online component linked to the school website for access by
parents.
I
checked with the other library media specialists in my district to find out if
any of them are currently podcasting. One elementary media specialist has been
working with one class for which she received a grant. After weeks of research
these third graders have just begun practicing the oral component of the
podcast. This media specialist is very enthusiastic, calling pocasting
"the most valuable thing we can do with our kids in school." She is
enthusiastic about the fact that kids get instant feedback, grow truly
knowledgeable about their topics, and have the chance to practice speaking. She
warns that it has taken a long time to get up to speed—she sees this class 90
minutes per week, which is highly unusual for most library media centers. This
sounds like a great, worthwhile project which could certainly be shared on the
media center's website and which does address our responsibility to develop 21st
century learning skills in our students.
The
other media specialist who responded to my query is at a high school, where he
has, in the past, posted the video production class' podcast to the school
website. Sharing the podcast was the extent of his involvement in the project,
which was not part of the library media program at the school.
So,
in conclusion, I guess any podcast could be useful in a media center setting if
the media specialist strives to make it so, and succeeds in getting teachers on
board. A high level of collaboration is necessary as tight schedules make it
difficult for media specialists to achieve much with a weekly 30 minute class
visit, which is the reality for many of us despite our knowledge that this is
not the optimum for any media center. I would also steer away from including
pre-writers in podcast creation. Clear writing and excellent editing are
necessary to produce a listenable and interesting podcast, so I don't think I
would try anything with students below third grade!
I liked what you had to say in reference to the editing component of podcasting in the library. For me, I think that a script is completely necessary for podcasting for students, especially since a portion of them can be quite the perfectionists. I know that when I have tried recorded myself for the assignments for this semester that at first I tried to wing it with little success. It was only when I wrote a script for what I might say that I gained confidence and had a basis for where the area of my content would actually go in the audio recording.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with both of you, Rose and Roger about a script being necessary for podcasting. I had the same experience as Roger for our podcast class assignment. At first I tried to wing it as well and then wound up writing a script, which worked much better. I also like how you reached out to other media specialists to inquire about podcasting. It would definitely take a high level of collaboration between the media specialist and teachers. One example I have is my daughter who teaches a technology special at her school. She collaborates with the media specialist to help students with research and 21st century learning skills. I could see podcasting working well in this type of situation, benefitting the students, teachers, and the SLMS.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed that a media specialist was given a grant to implement podcating at her school. On a side note it makes we wonder, what else can can you get a grant for to enhance your library/school.
ReplyDeleteRegarding scripts, I think they are somewhat crucial to young students. Even a loose script that lists important ideas is better than nothing. As a student with a videography background it is difficult to time yourself when speaking or to even remember all the important points that you need to hit when recording. I do however believe having discussions or debates that aren't scripted is a good idea (especially for older students).
Lastly, I concur that podcast would be useful in the media center but I did wonder with the tasks and repsonsiblities that are priority, how current and updated could a media specialist keep their webpages with podcasts.
Rose,
ReplyDeleteI think you make a really good point about the ability to write well as the backbone of creating podcasts. I don't think that students get enough of a chance to pull the curtain back on media creation. They just interact with the finished (polished) product. I recently shared a youtube video I made with some students and they were shocked to learn that a 5 minute video took hours on top of hours to create. Somehow, many students are baffled by the fact that they can't just turn on the microphone and start talking. But for media specialists who have the time, podcasts would be a great way to collaborate with classroom teachers and specialists, each focusing on a different component of the podcast's creation.
From being a student to an educator within the school system, I had always and currently notice that there is a great deal of auditory equipment and resources missing from the media center. I think that the two main reasons this remains such an apparent vacancy is because its presence is usually initialized by necessity and a clear fixture of its occupation in the media center’s budget. With podcasts, there is a very clear potential to create an audio library section that requires only the nominal cost of equipment and the collective hours it would take to condense certain information into public audio files. You are definitely right that it requires an LMS’s attention and attentiveness to utilize such a powerful and potential tool in bringing podcasts into the media center as a permanent and important fixture for technology integration and literacy. I think that the success of select technologies in the media center begin with the LMS’s willingness and determination to study and experiment with the various aspects of it that could prove useful to the overall operations of the media center, ending with the student body’s reception of the technology which is usually a reflection of how pertinent and accessible the LMS has made it for general use within the media center.
ReplyDelete