Reflection on Podcasting: Learning on the Go

Reflection on Podcasting: Learning on the Go

Questions for Discussion

1. As a teacher, what must you do to prepare your class for podcasting?

First, I would want to give my class a better understanding of how to utilize a podcast correctly. By showing my students how to use the program, I could ensure that there will be less hardship for students. I would also want to address the key factors of the down side of using podcasting, such as potential copyright infringement, unsuitable information for all audiences, lack of technical support, training and lack of student interaction with me.

2. What are the potential detrimental effects on education for podcasting use? What are the potential benefits?

As previously mentioned I would be concerned about students using a podcast correctly. I want my students to understand that there can be some issues with copyright infringement and lack of interaction with me, which may cause some issues with fully understanding the lesson and content. On the other hand, the upside would be the convenience of being able to listen to the file at their discretion. I feel that there would need to be some expectations for the students to follow as well as guide lines.

3. If a teacher uses podcasts, what are the students’ obligations for the class?

I would make it mandatory for some sort of response to be submitted to me. This would ensure that the content was being listened to and that the students had an understanding of what the objectives of the unit entail. This will also give me the opportunity to make sure that if any students were struggling, I would be able to help them in a timely manner.

4. Should there be options for class attendance?

I would say that there needs to be some set of expectations set for the students to go off of. I would require them to come to a lecture class and share information or feedback they may have on the topic. I think that convenience is huge, but also interacting with other students is important as well. I would recommend that the students come to 50% of lectures and days they don’t attend they have to post a summary of the content they learned. This would be a great time to utilize a discussion board. That way the students are still interacting with other students even when they are not in the classroom.