Reflecting Pools

I am a confirmed visual learner. I need to listen carefully to audiovisual presentations, and audio only presentations are a struggle for me. Thus, I am a bit reserved about podcasting.

In exploring the directories, I felt the greatest success with the NPR Podcast Directory, where I found The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, and the Educational Podcast Network, which led me to the Colonial Williamsburg site, both complete with a series of podcasts. The Jim Crow selections were especially interesting because they were descriptions of life during the Jim Crow Era given by real people who lived through the time and circumstances. Their value, in my opinion, lay in the authenticity of their speakers.

I cannot see myself having extensive time to write and create podcasts for my students on a regular basis. I can see offering my students the opportunity to showcase their learning and writing in a new format. There are a number of 7th graders who are somewhat intimidated by the mechanics of writing who might warm to the idea of sharing through their voices.

Filed under: Learning K12 2.0 and tagged Educational Podcast Network, NPR Podcast Directory, podcast