Podcasting

I'll admit that, of all the new skills we've learned for this class, podcasting is the one I'll probably have the most trouble incorporating into my classes. That being said, I can see several places it would be useful, but it's also quite daunting.

Possible ideas:

1. In my CIS Composition class, students write a "This I Believe" essay as their first assignment. It's a good introduction to the class as it's fairly short, personal, but a different type of writing than students have typically done before. I've encouraged students to submit their essays to NPR, but having them recorded in their own voices for sharing with each other would be such an effective tool. I require all the students to read their essays aloud to their writing groups as an easy way to find errors and structural problems in their writing. I think that knowing their spoken essays would be shared with the whole class would help the essays to become even more well-constructed. An authentic audience (rather than the perceived black void that is merely turning something in to a teacher) is the best way to heighten a student's level of concern.
2. My Beginning Acting students spend quite a bit of time talking about inflection and how the way that lines are said is crucial to conveying meaning. In the past, I've had groups of students write radio plays that they perform behind a screen--trying to keep an audience's attention merely through their voices. Having the opportunity to record their plays and edit them with music in GarageBand would be a fabulous addition to this project, and would really help to drive these ideas home.
3. My CIS Literature students enjoy sharing their favorite poetry with their classmates (as I've mentioned previously, we read Billy Collins and Mary Oliver as a full class). Creating a compilation of poetry read by the students would be a fun enrichment activity for the students--these a usually over-achievers who would really enjoy the discipline of recording and adding music, etc.
   

Now that I've written out all of these ideas, I'm more excited about the different possibilities offered by these projects. The technology is still daunting, but I'm sure we can overcome those obstacles. Some students will be overwhelmed, but others will be captivated by the freedom and choices offered here. On a practical level, I'm always looking for ways to take home fewer paper-based projects to grade. Audio projects would certainly be easier to transport (and would prevent students from the ever-present excuse "I turned that in--you must have lost it.").