Blog Post Assignment #5

Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog

The Eagle Nest Radio podcasts were obviously very cute and creative. I really enjoyed listening to the kids sharing facts with me about various things. I noticed several things in their podcast that my group could use in ours. First, I noticed the way that the children used their voices. The voices of the children were never monotone or boring, they were constantly keeping your attention with an inviting excitement about the subject they were discussing. Secondly, there were sound effects to go with whatever they were talking about. For example, when they were discussing Rome, there was ancient Roman music playing behind the voice of the person speaking. Another example is the shark podcast. When listening to the 3rd graders podcast on sharks you could hear the sound effect of water in the background. If my group did voice only podcast, we would take some tips from these 3rd graders for sure!

Langwitches (Producing a Podcast)

In this blog, I read the many different ways that you can do a podcast. The following is a list of what was discussed:

• Individual recordings
• Small groups recordings
• Entire class recordings
• Portable MP3 recorder
• USB microphone attached to computer
• Use cell phone and specific number to record audio
• Scripted recordings
• Unscripted recordings

The writer of this blog also talks about how you should use enthusiasm in your voice. In doing so you will keep the listeners attention. Then, I learned several different topics that you can choose to produce a podcast. some of which were interviews, doing research on a topic and discussing it and documenting a trip or event that you attended. I also listened to some of the audio podcasts available at the bottom of the page. My favorite, was of the kindergartners talking about their favorite part of the rain forest due to the special effects on the voices of the children. My group will be doing an interview with a professor!

The benefits of podcasting in the classroom

This video was very helpful in identifying what the true benefits and purpose are for podcasting. One of the many benefits is that it lets students in the classroom express their creativity when they create one themselves. They use music, sound effects and integrate their own enthusiasm. Podcasts can be downloaded onto your ipod. If your teacher records their lecture and it is available for download you can put it on your ipod and listen to it for extra help. If you are a visual learner your teacher can do the same for you and you can see the lecture through video.These two types of podcasts, as shown in the video, are very helpful for a student who is sick and can't come to school. The part of the video that introduced Harry Dale was very interesting. The was he did stories with the podcasts made it much more interesting for the kids in his classroom. Not only is a podcast helpful for students but the parents of these students can get involved too by listening with their children or even hearing work that the children have done in the classroom. There are many benefits to podcasting, it's just a matter of using them!