Blogging and podcasting, whether done individually or collaboratively encourage our students to break out of piece meal thinking and start a long term academic journey. Even more importantly, podcasting can help our students see the connections between disparate parts of concepts.

Recently, I watched some example videos created in a high school social studies class. The videos each explored an “ism” within the political landscape (liberalism, progressivism, conservatism, fascism, communism…etc.). I found that as students focused on their one idea, they could easily lose sight of the function and relevancy of their “ism” within the context of all the others. To understand each, they needed to be experienced together, compared, commented on and debated. Beyond the political debates, the students can see how the construction of the media actually impacts the message.

This reminded me once again of the shortcomings of traditional “go find out about” topical research. Students delve into the surface and scrape off a bit of truth and present it back to the teacher with little regard for how their work compares or contributes to understanding the work of others. So, a couple pieces of advice:

• Make sure the academic rigor doesn’t stop once the shows are posted. Set an expectation that students will listen and respond to their work. Be sure to move them away from mere production critiques and steer them toward discussing how well the show answered questions and moved the conversation forward. Use the feedback to kickstart classroom discussions, online commenting, and follow up episodes to tie up the episodes.

• Use a feedback loop (commenting on your show’s blog, email back to the teacher, polling, etc.) to gauge the impact your shows have on the audience and benefit from their expertise and perspective.

• Try to visualize the arguments. Charting out the landscape of ideas in a visual form may help see connections and divisions among the ideas. For example, the “isms” project might have yielded an interesting concept map showing the relationships between schools of political and economic thought. It might also show names of people and events that relate to each of them. Another visualization tool is a word cloud. Using wordle.net or a similar tool the scripted text of the shows could be combined to create a word cloud representing the most prominent ideas.

. As you create podcast episodes, use the visualization as podcast episode or chapter artwork.

Don’t be afraid of complexity! Complexity is often misunderstood as an unfocused topic or disorganization. The truth is that most concepts carry with them complexity when you look beyond the basic facts. Finding comfort in sorting the details is a sign that your students are developing as academics. Podcasting gives your students a great scaffold for sorting these details because it is designed to break ideas up into episodes.

Today’s featured KidCast winner is the Elementary Spanish Podcasts from DVE sponsored by Leslie Davison in from Dillon Valley Elementary in Dillon, Colorado.  Their podcast is both a documentary of their growth in literacy and an outreach activity to help other kids expand their language skills.  One of my favorite things about this podcast is the way that both the teacher and students are involved in the conversation.  It is a valuable insight into the methodology in Leslie’s classroom and the amazing rapport she has with her students.  Their is a fun and authentic tone to the learning and I found myself picking up some new vocabulary and listening with great interest on every episode.  

Congratulations on a job well done!

You can subscribe to the Elementary Spanish Podcasts from DVE here and visit their website here.

It’s time once again to celebrate all the great work that is happening in student and teacher created podcasts with the 2008 KidCast Podcasting Awards. This year we are shaking up the process a little bit. The truth is that the awards have been evolving each year as this technology grows and becomes more integrated into the learning process. Check out the episode for all the details and when you are ready, submit your entry via the submission form here.

Episode 54 – The 2008 Kidcast Podcasting Awards

Recently I had the opportunity to meet Richard Dryfus. Yes…that Richard Dryfus. He was at the MacWorld conference working as a part of the John Lennon Educational Bus. Richard was there working with a group of students and recording content focused on bringing Civics curriculum back to the forefront in American schools.

In many districts Civics has been reduced to a single course. In a crowded curriculum continually being driven by testing, what is the case for allocating more time and energy to this subject area. Dryfus argues that there is actually a lot at stake. I have to admit that as I look around at the current political discourse and the superficial, overgeneralized “us v them” thinking that seems to dominate discussions of government, there is a lot of room for improvement.

As I listened to him share his thoughts, in the passionate and convincing way that IS Richard Dryfus, i couldn’t help but tie podcasting back into the conversation.

http://www.intelligenic.com/kidcast/shows/kidcast047.m4a

With over 150 entries from countries all over the world, this year’s KidCast awards were brought together some really impressive student and teacher achievements in podcasting. I’m very proud of the work that each entry brought to their shows. Not only do this years entries represent academic and technical excellence, but they also will serve as examples for thousands of other students and teachers who are just beginning to explore podcasting.

The judging for this year’s contest was conducted by six judges who are educators and experienced podcasters. Listening
critically to this many shows was a big big job and I’m very thankful to everyone who assisted. I also want to give a special thank you to Humble Daisy – maker of Profcast and Atomic Learning for their generous support of this year’s contest.

Here are the results:

• Professional Development
  Cheryl Davis, Miramonte High School – Orinda, CA
  Gone Google
• Instructional Podcast
  Frank Falotico Hartman Podcasters of Hartman Elementary – Elwood City, PA
  Concept Library
• Documentary
  Victoria Monacelli – Harding Middle School – Philadelphia, PA
  The Holocaust
• Sound Seeing Tour
  Mary Lehman – Stony Brook Elementary School – York, PA
• Talk Show
  (Video) Matt Rasgorshek – Studio66 – Westside High School, District 66 – Omaha, NE
  (Audio) James Pippen – Wuerzburg Elementary School – Wuerzburg, Germany
• Drama
  Frank Fitzpatrick – Ward Elementary School – Richmond, VA
  “Give Me Liberty, or Let Me Sleep!”
• Where in the World
  Kelly Bauer – Manzano Day School – Albuquerque, NM
• Best in Show
  Linda Huryta and Sarah Haver Radio Willow Web – Willowdale Elementary School – Millard, NE
  Honorable Mention – Steve Katz CDS News – Country Day School – Escazu, Costa Rica
  Honorable Mention – Paul Fuller Podkids Australia – Orange Grove Primary School – Perth, Australia

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Administrators are in a unique position to catalyze new technologies like podcasting within the district. This week’s show will focus on some tips for talking to your adminstrator about podcasting.

First up – What is the wishlist that teachers might give to an administrator regarding podcasting. In other words, if you are an adminstrator who wants to build capacity for podcasting in your school…here are some places to start:

• Identify the “Great Communicators” in your building
• Give them a mission
• Invest in a mobile podcast station
• Secure some server space
• Make your acceptable use policy – “podcast ready”
• Assign the content tasks to content people and the technical tasks to technical people
• Use your position to promote and encourage the development of your school’s content network

Next up, if you are heading to your administrator to ask for assistance in getting podcasting moving in your school, here are some key points to think about:

• Understand the things that are important to administrators
• Focus on student outcomes
• Describe technology needs – stay focused on low threshold applications and supports
• Begin thinking of your school as a network of content experts
• Begin thinking of your school community as a potential audience
• Describe a plan for sustainability

The big picture is what is important in your initial conversations. Offer to help your adminstrator produce a podcast discussing news and achievements within your school. That will help them see, first hand, the equipment you will need and how it might be used.

I just spend a great day exploring podcasting in education in Dallas, well Carrollton Farmers Branch – to be exact. I did the keynote at “Beyond 4 Walls” Podcasting in Education conference. A special thanks to Apple and Maria Henderson for the invitation! They recorded my presentation and we’re making it available to all of you as a part of the RSS feed. So subscribe to Kidcast and you can check it out as soon as it is available. There are some new ideas and some that you have already heard.

Another highlight was getting to meet, Anna Adam and Helen Mowers form Killeen, TX. They have lots of great ideas and shared some new tools that I can’t wait to podcast about soon. Check out their Tech Tip Chicks website and podcast to see what they have to say. Many of you know that Anna manages the “Where in the World” podcast. If you haven’t check it out yet, be sure to subscribe AND submit an episode that describes where you live. You can email Anna at where@digihear.net, if you have any questions.

I’m not sure whether to applaud or start building a robot-proof bunker! This is really pretty cool stuff.

I had the honor today of speaking as a part of the Global Learn Day. The event was a 24 hour long conference that took place completely on the Internet with speakers who called in to a “phone room” and listeners from all over the world who tuned in on the Internet or on a network of local radio stations.

The event was really unique in that it brought together global educators, technologists, thinkers, and leaders from (literally) all around the world.

My segment was about (of course) podcasting in education. I shared information about how podcasting was creating natural global connections between producers and listeners.

The audio was the main stage for the event, but there was also an almost synchronous text chat with many people from all over the world posting questions and comments in real time.

I popped into the room and began listening to speakers this morning and continued right through my presentation at about 2:45pm central standard time. It was a really cool experience to share ideas with such a distinguished and thought provoking group of people.

I left the experience feeling a little more like a global citizen – and that the world was a little smaller, and flatter than ever before.

Hello…and welcome back to another week of discussion, examples, ideas and commentary about podcasting in education. This week we will feature a BRAND NEW QUIZ SHOW that YOU CAN JOIN! It was based on an idea that was shared by John Stritt and Jason Everett from ESU 10 in Kearney, Nebraska…then pushed forward by Anna Adams of Killeen, Texas. This week we’re launching this new idea right here on the show.

Download detailed instructions to participate in the Where in the World Quiz Show!

You can subscribe to WHERE IN THE WORLD right here!

Here is a link to the Wikipedia. It is an open source encyclopedia where you can post detailed information about your own community and/or school.

We’ll also have some great music for heading to the summer home stretch! It’s podsafe music from Valley Lodge, “Hangin On” from the Podsafe Music Network (music.podshow.com)

In addition, we’ll have several example of podcasts from a science education perspective. We’ll have student generated shows, teacher generated review-casts, and some professional stuff from the BBC.

Finally, we’ll take a look at some new proposed (and troubling) legislation from the US Congress called DOPA. Listen in to find out why I think this is a bad idea. I also invite you to share your comments on our forum at www.intelligenic.com/forum

This week’s show highlights the winners of our podcast drama in the classroom contest. There were tons of entries, but we were able to identify a group of podcasts that we feel were exceptional – each in their own unique way.

And the winners are….

(BEST HISTORICAL PODCAST DRAMA!) Dean Mattson
SchoolName: Edgemere Elementary
City: El Paso, TX

(BEST SCIENCE PODCAST DRAMA) Sean Porter
School Name: Hartley Elementary School
City: Lincoln, NE

(BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DRAMA) Chris Shearer
School Name: Williford Elementary School
City: Rocky Mount, NC

(BEST COURT ROOM DRAMA) Katie Morrow
School Name: O’Neill Elementary
City: O’Neill, NE

(BEST LANGUAGE ARTS DRAMA) Jeanne Halderson
School Name: Longfellow Middle School
City: La Crosse, WI

(BEST USE OF SOUND EFFECTS and MUSIC) Kelly Bauer
School Name: Mazano Day School
City: Albuquerque, NM

(BEST MATHEMATICS PODCAST DRAMA) Angela Mosier
School Name: Westside Middle School
City: Omaha, NE

Look on the website (www.intelligenic.com/kidcast) for links to these great podcasts so you can listen to their dramas in their entirety.

Episode 22 – April 14, 2006

Welcome back everyone! This week’s show took a couple extra days to get on the net, but I tried to pack in some useful stuff to make it worth the wait.

On this week’s KidCast we’ve got some great food for thought about sustainability in podcasting. What will it take to make podcasting more than a passing technical fad? How can you position it in your classroom so that you aren’t a victim of the “podfade” or “podrot”?

We have some podsafe music from The Parlour Dames from the Podsafe Music Network. We are featuring this California based band’s single, “Do You Feel Me?” on this week’s show. Check it out!

I will also go over a couple of new tools that really knocked my socks off! Tune in to find out how to create a podcast from an ordinary text blog without even recording a word yourself! Also, I’ll show you how to record a podcast with a very common piece of software. You may be surprised by this one.

Don’t forget, if you have a question, you can get it on the show by calling the listener line at (831 303 2994). You can also network with other educational podcasters in our forum.

Also, I’ll update you on the status of the podcasting in the classroom podcast drama contest.

Be sure to keep tuning in. During the coming weeks we’ve got some great interviews that will help move your thinking

Episode 20 – March 23, 2006

- Visit the Kidcast Forums at www.intelligenic.com/forum
- Podsafe music from Adrina Thorpe – Fly Fly Fly- Thank you to the Podsafe Music Network!

Welcome to Kidcast FETC Attendees! – Check out my notes and a couple sample scripts here…

I’ve escaped the foot of snow that was dumped on my city this week and made it south to sunny Orlando, Florida for the Florida Educational Technology Conference. I spoke to an amazing and ethusiastic crowd at the conference. The energy in that room was amazing! I’m looking forward to hearing podcasts from people in that room. If you are a new listener, be sure to check out the Kidcast Forum page where you can post questions, get answers, and promote your podcast.

This week’s show will include tips for doing INTERESTING interviews. Lots of student podcasts feature interviews with people within their school, community or even people outside of their community. I’ll offer you some ideas to organize these interviews and tips that will move your interview beyond the ordinary.

We’ll also talk about student contracts for podcasters as a strategy for focusing students on their responsibilities.

Don’t forget the Podcasting in the Classroom – Podcast Skit contest for this month.

This month we are focusing in on podcast dramas. Think back to the golden age of radio and the theatre of sound that was used to transport listeners into stories. We would like you and your students to create your own podcast dramas or skits and share them with us.