Blog Post #4

Listening-Comprehension-Podcast

In the podcast Listen-Comprehension-Podcast, a second grade class learns the story of Purim and with help from their Jewish studies teacher they create a script and present it to their parents in the form of a podcast. What made this particular podcast so special is that this class of 2nd graders presented this story in Hebrew! It was astonishing to hear 7 and 8 year old kids speak this foreign language with such ease. The students used different editing tools for their Podcast but the main purpose of this project was to see how quickly these young students could grasp and comprehend this difficult language and then apply the skills they learned in order to write a script.


The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

I found The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom to be very informative. I don't know too much about podcast and I've never used them in the classroom so this video was very helpful. The video showed that this form of technology in the classroom is a very effective way of keeping in touch with students outside of the classroom and also allowing for parents to be able to hear and understand what is going on in class. Most students today are constantly using laptops, iPods, iPads, and cell phones so making the learning material available through these devices is very convenient for students and also offers a since of familiarity. After watching this video it is obvious to see that podcasting is a very effective way of not only teaching but learning as well.

Podcasting with 1st Grade

Podcasting with 1st Grade is a podcast telling the story Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary Pope Osborne. This is presented solely by a 1st grade class and in my opinion they did a great job. As I was listening I could tell that the students were very excited and enthusiastic about this project. Instead of just having the students read the book aloud during class the teacher integrated new technology into the classroom with this podcast and made it more entertaining for the students, teacher, and audience. Another important factor about this project is the script that the students and teacher came up with. I think writing out a script gave the students a better understanding of the story and made it easier to present.