Podcasting

ITunes, was originally created for Apple products such as iPhone’s, iPod’s and Macintosh computers (Wikipedia, 2009, p.1), but with today’s technology I can use this amazing program with my Microsoft Windows software. To download iTunes for free, follow the hyperlink. ITunes is a program that I am very familiar with, as I use it to keep my music, iPhone applications and podcasts continually up to date, and organised. Through this program, I can also enter the iTunes store where I can download a number of different resources for both my personal and professional life. Podcasting is one of these resources that I am continually in sync with. I use this tool to download awesome Christian motivational preaching from pastors of my home church at Kings Christian Church and from others around the world like, The Potters House in Dallas Texas. Podcasting is a universal tool that enables me as a Learning Manager to gather a wide range of resources for my profession.

The other day I subscribed to a few audio and visual podcasts through the Educational section in the iTunes store. They are great resource that can be used in my professional life as a lifelong learner and as a Learning Manager in the classroom. Resources are such a major part of Oliver’s, Learning Design Construct (Oliver, 1999), as they work together with the required task and the Learning Managers support. When designing tasks for the learners’ to complete, my job as the Learning Management is not to put ‘busy’ worksheets in front of them, but to engage them in meaningful experiences that will inspire them to also be lifelong learners. Just from watching a few episodes of my downloaded podcasts called, “Hooked on Phonics” (Smarterville, 2009) I believe this will inspire the younger learners to be engaged with phonics. The tunes are catchy, the visuals are appealing, and the songs rhyme and are repetitive. I even found myself wanting to listen to them over and over again. These resources can be used to facilitate a classroom unit, task or transition activity in the younger years. It is just amazing how many different ways I as a Learning Manager can utilize these resources within my daily teaching experience to brighten the classroom with engagement and meaningful experiences.

For the older grades I found a series of podcasts called, “World News for Children” (BBC, 2009). This is an audio subscription that ranges between one to four minutes in length. These short segments are hosted by enthusiastic and expressive voices that highlight the top stories around the world. They cover topics of interest based upon their targeted audience and included interesting facts and statements along the way. At the end they pose questions to their audience, this enables the learners to get actively involved before the answers are given in the next day’s podcast. This resource can be implemented into a classroom in many different ways. They can be used as a listening tool, where the learners are required to listen carefully and through written or spoken tasks, express their comprehension. These segments can open up doors to group research tasks, be used as a transition tool, and support their current unit. These short and sharp segments can be implemented into any classroom. As the learners are being engaged with what is happening in the real world around them and are encouraged to seek out new information. This technology tool is so quick and easy to assess, is up to date and does not require the latest gadgets to play, all that is needed is a computer and speakers that are loud enough for all learners in the class to hear, or for another approach burn them onto a CD to play in a CD player.

Itunes podcasts’ not only cater for the learners but for me as a Learning Manager in my professional development. I subscribed to a current podcast called, “The Teachers’ Podcast: The New Generation of Ed Tech Professional development” (King & Gura, 2009) where there are numerous episodes of how 21^st century technology is being used in the classroom. Kearley and Shneiderman (1999) believe that, “Technology provides an electronic learning mileux that fosters the kind of creativity and communication needed to nourish engagement” (Kearley & Shneiderman, 1999, p.6). As a lifelong learner following Kearley and Shneiderman’s (1999) understanding and theory, keeping advanced in this modern world of technology is a necessity in providing my learners’ with the best opportunity of success in every learning experiences.

I look forward in using this pedagogy tool in my future classroom.

Until my next learning experience,

Kind Regards

Lizzy

Reference List

BBC. (2009). World News for Children (WNC). Podcast Retrieved August 3, 2009, from iTunes Store based upon the website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldclass/bulletin/

Kearsley, G., & Shneiderman, B. (1999). Engagement Theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Retrieved July 21, 2009, from: http://home.sprynet.com/~gkearsley/engage.htm

King, K., & Gura, M. (2009). The Teachers’ Podcast: The New Generation of Ed Tech Professional development. Episode 43. Retrieved August 3, 2009, from iTunes Store based upon the website: http://www.teacherspodcast.org/

Oliver, R. (1999). Exploring strategies for online teaching and learning. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from: http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm

Smarterville. (2009). Hooked on phonics: Learn to Read. Podcast Retrieved August 3, 2009, from iTunes Store based upon the website: http://learntoread.hookedonphonics.com/

Wikipedia. (2009). ITunes. Accessed August 6, 2009, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itunes