Thing #17

Podcast

I am not a big fan of Audio Podcast. I have a hard time just listening to someone speak on a recording. Video is much better for me. If I don't have a visual to look at then I would rather read a book.

I listened to a podcast of Aesop's Fables on the web site Learn Out Loud. They had a large quantity of fables, however I felt that the narrator was speaking so fast that a child listening to this would miss hearing them state the moral of the story. What I do like about this site is that you can download the podcast as a mp3 file to your computer and listen to it later.

I also watched a Sesame Street Video Podcast. This podcast expands upon the television show's literacy segment, "What's the Word on the Street?" in which celebrities and characters on the show explain the meaning of words like "pretend" and "tricycle." This would be a good podcast to use in the kindergarten classroom.

Just One More Book is another podcast site that I explored. This is a site that reviews books. I listened to the podcast Talent, Teamwork & Triumph: The Dunderheads. I guess this is good if you want to hear a review before you read the book, but I was bored listening to them talk about the book.

I tried to listen to a podcast entitled The Future of Music. "The Future of Music podcast will show you cool new ways to find music and connect with your favorite artists. Discover the top-10 truths about the music business of the future and how you can benefit from the explosion in digital music, today and tomorrow." This is a direct quote from the website. I tried to listen to it for two days and never could get it to work. Oh well, that's too bad. It sounds like it might be something I am interested in.

Since I already have an account with iTunes, I decided to look at the podcast. When I clicked on podcast I realized that I have already been using it. There are two music sites that I have been subscribing to for over a year. These are both sites that I use for listening to new choral music for my school choir.

I can see how Podcast would be a good way to help learners that might have difficulty reading because of limited language or physical handicaps. I also like eBooks that I can put on my ipod and listen to while I'm driving or exercising and can't hold a book . (exercising, yeah right, LOL) However, I am a visual learner, not an auditory learner and listening to Audio Podcast just doesn't hold my interest. While I am by no means saying that podcast are bad, because I realize that they are work very well for some people, what I am saying is that we as teachers must keep in mind the many different learning styles of students when we are planning lessons. Just because it's a great new way to use technology, doesn't mean that it's the best way. And this is coming from someone that loves using technology!