Podcasting is an effective way to personally distribute communications medium to a large scope of recipients. A great podcast application was that of a media specialist friend of mine, filming her Principal (with a flip camera), and creating a podcast on how the school was handling an expansion project. The podcast was downloaded onto the school's home web-page. It was a personal, effective, and informative way of communicating relevant information to the school community. The great benefit with this form of communication was that parents could watch and digest all of this information "at their own pace."
I envision using Podcasting in my media center and posting the content to my school's home page in order to introduce GA award books, post book fair information, give a guided tour of the media center, and to discuss the Accelerated Reader program. Actually, podcast applications for a media center are never-ending. A media specialist could not only be the advocate and post for the media center, but be the podcast rep. for the entire school, organizing grade level and teacher specific podcasts for the school's web-site. Teachers at my school view the media specialist as the technology specialist and would expect her help and support in creating podcasts. The school's administration expects and values this service as well.
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Hi Teresa,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the idea of your principal being visible to the school community. It is very personal, and parents like to be informed. I cannot stress enough how important open communication is to the success of a school (or on a smaller scale, to a classroom), nor can I really explain the "feel-good" emotions I experience when a teacher or principal "keeps me in the loop." It makes me feel included and like my child and I are important enough to make the effort. Not to mention I hate being in the dark until the last minute or missing something because no one told me about it. I can see podcasting being used as a communication tool to keep everyone informed. But I am curious what the parents response to the podcast was. Did they realize the value of it or know how to download the file? I know, I know, easy-peasy, but sometimes what seems obvious isn't as easy as I'd like to think.
As for the media center, I see myself using it as a communication tool, mostly in the same ways you listed above. We also have a Book of the Month, and it would be great if we could record the principal reading it the first Friday of the month like he always does and then posting that to the media homepage for those who missed it. I can totally see the value of using podcasting as "news" to keep parents in the loop and give them "warm fuzzies" as I mentioned earlier.
I'm not well expereinced with podcasting; however, as I proceed with this class and the many articles available about using technology in the schools, I find podcasting a great way for administrators and faculty members to model responsible use of technology and public information posted on the internet. As a media specialist, I believe it should be used to contact other media specialists all over the world; it seems to be a great way to share views and how new technology is being intergrated into other schools all over the world. It seems to me that as technology grows, schools and teaching will have to change and adapt to a world that in the future will focus on using technology for means of educating. Many students already express the frustration with high school classrooms; the students are ready for the transformation to online classes, which would allow them more freedoms to focus on jobs, extra curricular activites, family, and gaining responsibility. This of course would have to be structureed so that there were consequences for innappropriate use or absentees. It is the educators responsibility to model appropriate use of blogging, podcasting, etc.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to great modeling, I recently read an article about elementary age students using a pod cast to communicate with real scientists studying seals on location. It was a great communication tool for science class and the students were able to ask questions, see pictures, and better understand what research scientists do. Overall, with guidance and pre-planning adults and students could and should effectively use pod-casting to benefit learning.
Teresa,
ReplyDeleteI have had very little experience with creating podcasts myself. I've watch several but, again, my experience is limited. However, I do understand the technology and think it's easy to use. My point is that I think your ideas of using podcasting to relay information to parents is wonderful. It's easy to create and easy to view. The parents would become familiar with the media specialist or whoever create the podcast. It puts a face with the media center before anyone ever walks in the door. Media specialists are always looking for ways to promote their media centers and this is an excellent way to offer new information. As a parent, I look for ways to volunteer at my daughter's school. Actually, I'm helping out at the book fair today for a few hours. Podcasting would be a great way to introduce new media or technology to teachers, parents, and students. It's a wonderful way to offer a tour of the media center or even the school. There are so many ways that we could enhance the educational experience by using podcasting.
Teresa, I liked the example of your friend doing the podcast of the principal. This is actually something that my principal wants me to do and put it on our website. I am still trying to learn how to put it on the website, but I am at least getting more familiar with podcasting. It really is simple, once you get the basics down, and I think that it is a wonderful use of the technology.
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