Podcasting

During the past week in class we learned about podcasting and discussed what podcasting is and how it could be used within a classroom. Podcasting is an online audio tool that allows people to record themselves to discuss a certain topic or a variety of different information. Podcasting is a unique tool that anyone can create to personalize information they want to relay to the millions of web users throughout the world.
One way I think I would use podcasting as an educational tool in my classroom would be to provide directions of assignments for my students. For example, I would create a podcast that contains step by step instructions of an assignment that I have previously given in class. Next I would instruct my students to access my podcast through the internet and listen to the assignment. This example would relate to the second NETS-T standards because it would help to "provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting datat to inform learning and teaching." By providing a podcast with instructions of assignments for my students it would help the more audio oriented learners succeed better within the classroom.
Another way I could use a podcast in a classroom would be to allow my students to create their own podcasts in groups. I would create a project geared toward a specific subject and assign my students to create their own audio podcast report in order to complete the assignment. This would connect to the first NETS-T standard because it would "promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventivness" by allowing the students to exercise their learning abilities in a unique format. Rather than assigning one written report after another, allowing my students to complete a report as an audio podcast would help them to express their creative side.
A final way I could use podcasting within a classroom would be to personally record specific lessons on a podcast and post it on a classroom website so students would have an extra tool to refer back to for assistance. Often times students are distracted within a classroom and if they had access to a repeat version of my lesson in their own homes it may help to further their success in the classroom. This example would connect to the fifth NETS-T standard because it would "participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning." By providing a second form of a lesson for my students it will act as an aide to guide them through lessons and help to improve their knowledge and skills.
Overall I think that podcasting is an extremely useful tool both inside and outside the classroom. It allows people to engage creatively by expressing themselves in an original way.