Podcasts: Listening to Learn!

Podcasts are a great tool for professional development. In fact I have recently learned that it is one of the better ones in my opinion, because of its efficiency. All you need to do is listen to learn! Listen to it at home on the couch, while you're doing dishes, while you're doing laundry, while you're gaming (Scott), and so on. But honestly, had it not been for this course as well as getting an iPad, I likely would never have explored podcasts. Now that I have explored I see the benefits and the potential they offer.

How can you use podcasts in the classroom? The way I see podcasts being used is as part of a learning venter, or as an assessment tool. Podcasts are a great option when differentiating instruction, to accommodate the auditory Learners. I see it being used during reading time; students can listen to stories rather than reading them silently to themselves. By doing this the students are being exposed to stories in a different way, they are able to hear fluent and expressive reading, and are able to create their own images of the story in their minds. Podcasts would also be a good way to assess a students listening comprehension as well. I think podcasts could also be used as a different and fun way to assess students learning. Have the students create their own podcast. By doing this the students can share what they have learned about a certain topic. This could also be done for students reading. Many different options!

The problem I am having is with finding a podcast channel which consists of reading story books. I think this would be useful for my upcoming placement in a kindergarten room; using it in the way I described above (listening center). Does this exist?! Does anybody know of one? Maybe I am just not an efficient 'searcher' because I just can't find one. I would love to hear about any that you know of readers! Thanks!

A podcast that I subscribe to is entitled: K=12 Greatest Hits: The Best Ideas in Education. It discusses a lot of great topics in education. One podcast I recently listened to was called Keeping up with the Pace of Education Technology. I happened to stumble across this one when checking my updates and thought, hey I might as well see what they have to say since I am trying to learn more about technology! Turned out to be an interesting talk! The discussion was about the increased rate at which new technology is being introduced into education. Concerns were voiced about the older population and how it takes them longer to acquire new information; opposing forces at work. They spoke about the 2 factors in technology adoption: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The part that I found most relevant to me was when they offered advice, in terms of how to ease yourself into technology usage. Twitter was suggested, as a means of finding good online resources (by following other educators). It was also suggested to find a partner; someone you can trust, to explore with and work with, who can both help you and learn with you.
Check it out!