Week 8: The Sound of... Podcasting

This week we learned about tools that can be used to create and use sound for multiple purposes, including Audacity and Apple's Garage band. We also received information about Podcasts and how they can be used in the teaching arena. I created a sound file using Garage Band, which was much easier than I expected. I was able to choose a genre of music and then change the various instruments, as well as the bass, treble, and volume. Apple has found a way to make editing sound and recording simple, and I was pleasantly surprised. In order to share the mp3 file, I created an account on the Box.net which allows people to share files by uploading to folders on the site. To listen to my file click here.

Using sounds and audio tools can be useful in teaching, especially, in my opinion, in the elementary setting. Students greatly enjoy hearing music and being able to dance and participate in music. Being able to create my own audio files would allow me to create music for dancing, plays, and almost anything I wanted to teach on. It could be something as simple as learning the alphabet... how did we learn it? Through a song. Another tool I could use is Podcasting. A podcast is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are available to download from iTunes and other sources. From my experience, many teachers choose not to use this tool, but from my research it seems like a new technique that could be quite beneficial. One way you could use Podcasting is by finding free podcasts from other teachers and using it in your own personal classroom. For example, many language teachers can give students access to podcasts that help them practice a particular language.

This video demonstrates ways in which to integrate podcasting into the classroom. In my opinion, this tool would be most useful in the middle and high schools. But perhaps when I have my own elementary classroom I will be using podcasting and other sound and audio tools that I am learning about now.