In which our writer navigates the perils of pod-casting and considers its consequences in the classroom.
For being the radio junkie that I am, I have yet to really embrace the world of pod-casting. Even those radio shows to which I listen have pod-casts and I do not listen to them that way. I sit and listen to the radio in the car on the way to work and on the way back (and in Atlanta traffic, that usually implies two cycles through All Things Considered), and when I'm at home on the weekend. It shocks my students to know that I do not own a television and that I can live a happy, fulfilled lifestyle without it. Then I explain that I have to rush home for my "favorite" shows, or I will sit in the car until a good story is over, the same way they whine about staying on the couch until the end of Glee before they start their homework. But I have to be able to sit and listen to the radio-- it's not something on in the periphery of my household or car, and so seeking out a pod-cast seems like the worst idea for someone who still has a lot of grading to do before the night is over.
This was all true, until I met Dan Carlin.
Okay, so I didn't actually MEET Dan Carlin, but I did come in contact with his podcast. For over an hour at a time, I am glued to Hardcore History, nodding emphatically or shaking my head with gusto as my brain itches over the implications of his recent webisode. There is no doubt that this man is highly political in his history, but the points he brings up are salient and thoughtful. One recent webisode actually inspired a recent class activity I conducted on the Age of Exploration that was engaging and successful in its goal; I wanted students to understand that it's easy to villainize the explorers and conquistadors of that era, but that those same people had the same motivations we have today. Carlin makes the effort to humanize history in a very Howard Zinn-esque way. However, I would never let my students listen to his podcast for fear of parents accusing me of imposing politics upon their students (mind you, I have yet to figure out what Carlin's political leanings are beyond "disenchanted curmudgeon" but I suppose I am a member of that self same party, so maybe they'd be right in the end). Another thing to consider is that Carlin is not a "professional" historian, so I can't count on him as an "unbiased" source. Never mind that James Loewen IS a historian and clearly biased, but perhaps you doth protest too much?
What role can pod-casts play in our classrooms? How can we use existing ones as resources for our students? How can we effectively create them as assessment tools for students? And what can we expect they will add/bring as a lasting impact upon the classroom.
I will spend the next couple of weeks examining these questions and getting back to you all. "Why not do it now," you may ask. "You tend to be pretty long-winded anyway."
It's true, I am, but upon an initial search, I'm finding that this is a hairier subject than some others and I think it's worth it to explore it in further depth. If you have any insight or resources that would help me direct these questions, please do share them-- this is, after all, an interactive medium.
I only became aware of this resource recently... I appreciate how the teachers utilizing this resource have actually let it change the way they view in-classroom time. While pod-casts could be useful in-classroom, also consider how they might be used to change the way that time is used.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html
Podcasts are awesome, and even a decade ago they were way overdue as a technological innovation -- radio on demand. I don't think the use of podcasts is in the classroom, though. I think they're most useful outside it. Have you ever considered recording your lectures and posting them online for students who missed class?
ReplyDeleteI have thought about using them to record my lectures, but I don't really lecture all that much, and students who miss my class are missing the manipulatives, visuals, and activities that bring it all together.
ReplyDeleteI think about how to use podcasts as an assessment tool, maybe as a method to keep parents in the loop, or maybe a way to get commentary from a speaker to prepare students for that person appearing in the classroom. I'd still fiddling with the idea. However, as a lecture format, me thinks the children will protest too much-- asking them to sit still to listen to someone speak for ten minutes is awfully hard.