Teacher Wade Michael and his Grade 8 students launched their podcasting site last fall. Students say the site is fun, simple to use and helps them to learn course material.—Photo by Koni Macdonald
Xanthe Couture
Teachers and students have found a new way to create a positive educational experience.
With the growing popularity of iPods and MP3 players, podcasting is a relatively new term to the technology and education world. According to Wikipedia, "A podcast is a media file that is distributed by subscription (paid or unpaid) over the Internet using syndication feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers" (www.wikipedia.org).
The term denotes the same action of downloading information directly from websites. Here’s how it works: teachers record the audio component of their classroom instruction and download it onto their school’s website; in turn, students access the information by listening to it through a computer or downloading it onto their MP3 player for later use.
Dean McKinney, with the Technology Division of St. Albert Catholic Schools, helps teachers adapt to and master new technologies. McKinney explains that the use of podcasts shifts with the age group and needs of individual classrooms.
Grade 1 and 2 teachers find podcasting useful for creating daily homework. Elementary school teachers also use podcasts to capture video and audio footage of classroom celebrations, such as a Halloween or Christmas parties, that parents may want to watch.
At the junior high level, podcasting is used by teachers wishing to complement their in-class PowerPoint presentations. McKinney notes that "some teachers are more reluctant at the high school level, as they feel that students may miss important material when presented in a new format."
McKinney, who has worked with a dozen teachers in the St. Albert Catholic District to implement technology, describes the process as "hit and miss" until teachers become accustomed to podcasting.
As the conversation with McKinney highlights, there are advantages and disadvantages to implementing podcasts in an educational setting. Brock Read, writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com/), agrees with McKinney. Read explains that podcasts have their upsides and their downsides. They can serve as a tool for teachers to critique themselves and can serve as a review mechanism for students falling behind in class or students who have English as a second language. Student–teacher relationships could become more interactive, as the majority of class time would not be centred solely around teachers reciting lessons. On the downside, podcasts could cause a loss of student motivation because lecture time has been eliminated from classroom time.
Wade Michael, a Grade 8 social studies teacher and technology technician for G.H. Primeau Junior High School in Morinville, introduced podcasting in his school. He decided to use podcasting as a review tool for students. Each day a different student from the class recites lesson notes. The success of his program is reflected in the students’ excitement about the new gadget. Michael has observed that students "like to hear themselves talking" and can review classes "in their own language."
Michael’s goal for podcasting at G.H. Primeau includes installing a computer equipped with podcasting technology, including built-in microphones, in every classroom, creating an up-to-date daily e-mail program on which every teacher has a homework page that students can access from any web browser.
The most important concern for any new technological advance is the question of access. The Young Canadians in a Wired World (Media Awareness Network, MNet, www.media-awareness.ca) student survey reported that in 2005, 41 per cent of students in Grades 4–11 had an MP3 player. By Grade 11, 51 per cent of students had their own personal computers with Internet access; this figure does not include students who share computers with family members.
Michael estimates that in the small town of Morinville, 30 per cent of his students already have MP3 player devices that facilitate long-term storage of material. Both McKinney and Michael are confident in the accessibility of podcasts, since they can be listened to through any web browser without being stored on a MP3 player. Effectively, any student can access audio and visual educational material by computers in their school, library or home.
For more information about technology developments in Alberta’s schools, contact the ATA’s Educational Technology Council (www.etcata.ca).
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