Meaningful applications of Web 2.0 Tools in the classroom

TEACHING
THROUGH
TECHNOLOGY
Meaningful applications
of Web 2.0 Tools
in the classroom
By Matthew Franklin
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS WEB 2.0?
.............................................................................................................................................. p.2
......................................................................................................................................... p.3
BLOGS ............................................................................... ................................................................... p.3
WIKIS ............................................................................................................. ........................................ p.4
PODCASTS ........................................................................................................................................... p.4
WHY USE WEB 2.0 TOOLS IN THE CLASSROOM? ........................................................................................ p.5
ONLINE SAFTEY ..................................................................................................... ........................................... p.7
BLOGS ................................................................................................................................................................. p.9
WHERE TO START? ............................................................................................................................. p.9
SETTING UP A BLOG ........................................................................................................................... p.9
HOW TO USE BLOGS IN THE CLASSROOM ..................................................................................... p.13
BLOGS AS A RESEARCH TOOL ....................................................................................................... p.14
MORE IDEAS FOR BLOGS IN THE CLASSROOM ........................................................................... p.16
WIKIS ................................................................................................................................................................. p.18
HOW TO USE WIKIS IN THE CLASSROOM ..................................................................................... p.18
CLASS WIKIS ..................................................................................................................................... p.18
WIKI DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................................. p.19
WIKI FOR GROUP PROJECTS ......................................................................................................... p.20
OTHER EXAMPLES OF WIKIS IN THE CLASSROOM .................................................................... p.21
PODCASTS ...................................................................................................................................................... p.22
HOW TO CREATE A PODCAST ....................................................................................................... p.22
IT’S RECORDING ... WHAT DO I TALK ABOUT? ........................................................................... p.22
PUBLISHING YOUR PODCAST ........................................................................................................ p.23
BENEFITS OF PODCASTS ............................................................................................................... p.23
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................. p.25
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INTRODUCTION
Teaching Through Technology is a resource designed for upper years
Primary teachers to help them incorporate Web 2.0 tools in their
teaching. It aims to assist with finding ways to fit these tools within the
already crowded curriculum in meaningful ways which enhance the
learning experience for both the students and the teachers.
The first section of the resource looks at the value of Web 2.0 tools
and why we should be using them in our teaching. Once we have
established why we should use Web 2.0 tools, we then explore how to
use them through examples of lessons and units of work that can be
integrated into the existing curriculum.
The resource draws from a variety of sources, all of which are credited
and cited.
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WHAT IS WEB 2.0?
Despite the ‘2.0’ in its name, Web 2.0 is not a new version of the
internet. It is still the same technology (so don’t worry, you don’t need
to buy new equipment!), just different in the way that we use it.
Traditionally, internet use consisted of a user going online to retrieve or
access information; a one-way exchange. Web 2.0 is a two way
communication, where the user can not only read and access
information but also add to and make their own contributions to the
existing material. This is also commonly referred to as the ‘read-write
web’ where the participant adds to the global conversation (Warlick,
2005).
The cultural impact of this new use of technology is seemingly growing
by the day, and it appears that the read-write web will play a large part
in defining this generation as we now enter a new decade. According
to a Nielson Company study, social networking and blog sites now
account for one in every four and a half minutes online (2010), which
demonstrates the reach this technology possesses, even in its relative
infancy. It is hard to imagine the global reach the technology will have
in five or ten years time, and while some people may debate whether
the influence it has on today’s society is positive or negative, it appears
clear that for the foreseeable future it is here to stay.
Common ways in which people engage with Web 2.0 include blogs,
wikis and podcasts. While there are many other ways in which people
engage with the technology, the most common example being social
networking sites, most schools have network restrictions in place that
affect their use, therefore they will not be examined in detail within this
resource. The tools mentioned above are the most prevalent and easy
to access in the school, therefore they will be the focus of Teaching
Through Technology.
BLOGS
Blogs (an abbreviation of weblogs) are a way for a user to quickly and
easily publish to the internet (Richardson, 2009). The content of blogs
can vary greatly; some are deeply personal recounts of the author’s life,
while others may be focused on reviewing products or services. The
possibilities for the content of a blog are limitless, as the author has
creative control over what they publish.
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As fast as it is for the author to publish a blog, it is equally fast for the
audience to reply by leaving comments. This freedom of content and
exchange of dialogue breaks down the previous notions of what it
means to be an author, as we all now possess the power to be authors
and have our voices heard.
It is important to remember that the use of blogs to communicate is not
only employed by previously unpublished individuals.
Major
companies and organizations run regularly updated blogs, as they
have the potential to reach a far greater audience than any print
advertising campaign or business release. A recent example is that of
both major political parties in Australia having regular blog updates in
the lead-up to the 2010 Federal Election, which likely was an avenue
where many voters who did not keep up to date with political news
could familiarise themselves with the policies and promises of each
leader and their respective party.
WIKIS
Commonly used as an online encyclopedia known as Wikipedia, wikis
are an online resource where information can be posted and edited by
anyone. Wikipedia has become synonymous in today’s culture with
research, as it would be hard to dispute that it is the world’s largest
information source.
According to the Wikipedia site, on average the site receives 9,979,962
hits to the English language Wikipedia per hour (2010). That’s right,
Wikipedia is accessed almost ten million times per hour. If we add wiki
pages in other languages, the number grows well beyond ten million.
While the open nature of the resource may concern people who fear
others, known as ‘Wiki vandals’ (Richardson, 2009), can purposely edit
information incorrectly, ultimately it appears that the users who wish for
the resource to be accurate far outweigh those who wish to
erroneously edit pages, as vandalised pages are often corrected within
minutes. This demonstrates how the global community can contribute
to a resource in a positive, constructive manner. This also serves as
an educational point we can teach that applies for all matters in life;
while there may be others that do the wrong thing, it is up to you to set
a positive example and be a productive member of the community.
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Despite the open nature of Wikipedia, wikis do not have to be open for
the whole world to see. It is possible to create your own private wiki,
where you can select who is allowed to access the page. This is a
practice I have seen work very well in classrooms, as it allows the
classroom to exist beyond the walls of the school. It is a place where
the teacher as moderator can communicate with students regarding
their studies, as well provide a safe, monitored space where students
can communicate with each other.
PODCASTS
Podcasts are, in simple terms, a name for an audio file created by the
user and uploaded to the read-write web. With the rise of the mp3
player in the last 10 years, specifically Apple’s iPod, it has become
increasingly easy for us to take content with us on-the-go. Podcasts
allow the author to essentially record a blog via audio or video and
distribute it through online links.
Podcasts share the same creative freedom as blogs in terms of content,
as you can likely find a podcast for any subject matter you wish. In the
iTunes online store alone, there are over 150,000 podcasts (Apple Inc,
2010). Anyone with access to a computer and a microphone can
upload a podcast to the web, and it is this ease of use which once
again allows everyone to be a part of the global discussion.
WHY USE WEB 2.0 IN THE CLASSROOM?
The meteoric rise in use of these tools over the last few years has
allowed the youth of the world to have their voices heard like never
before.
In today’s read-write web environment, children can be engaged in
conversations with peers from the other side of the world through the
use of IM (instant messaging) accounts and social networking. They
can share their thoughts, feelings and opinions with their closest
friends and complete strangers alike through the use of blogs and
podcasts.
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ICT and new media plays a large role in today’s society in terms of
shaping youth identities (Hattam & Prosser, 2006). Web 2.0 is
something that our students will have grown up with; to them, it is not
something that has emerged, but rather something that always was. It
is important as forward thinking educators that we acknowledge these
how society has been changed by the read-write web and use tools
that are relevant in students home lives as a scaffold to learning in the
classroom.
Davies and Merchant (2009) suggest that these tools are supplying us
with 'new notions of what it might mean to be literate in the twenty-first
century' (p. i), which means that the way we teach our students to be
literate must change as well. We must teach students how to be
responsible, critical members of this global discussion, as well as
ensuring that they have the knowledge of how to effectively use these
tools.
We talk about new ways to be literate, and while this may be true it is
still grounded in the traditional concepts of literacy that we teach. The
same basic reading and writing skills obviously apply as they are
reading and producing texts using the form and functions of the English
language that they have been taught. They are using critical thinking
skills to analyse the text and to form opinions based on the information
provided as well as contextual cues, such as the credibility of the
source and the socio-cultural contexts from which they are produced.
Essentially the content remains untouched; it is the mode in which we
deliver the content that has evolved.
It is important that when we are using ICT technology that we are
applying it in ways that are purposeful and meaningful. While the use
of computers to publish already-written works using word processing
applications has a place, it should not be the primary use of students’
time on computers like I have seen at many schools. Students should
have time to engage with the technology in a way that takes advantage
of its potential. To do this, it is important that we have strategies that
we can implement to ensure that students are engaged with the
technology while achieving set learning objectives.
In the next section of the resource, we will discuss how to access and
use these tools, as well as explore ideas for lessons and units of work
that you can use to teach Web 2.0 skills in meaningful ways.
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ONLINE SAFETY
While most schools have firewalls and proxy settings that will disallow
unsuitable content from being accessed through their network, it is
important before we begin to explore these tools that we ensure that
we are doing so in a safe, controlled manner. Refer to your schools
policy document regarding online use, as well as communicate with
your on-site ICT consultant in regards to your use to ensure that you
are working within the expected frameworks set out by the school. For
any student work published in a public forum, ensure that it is
anonymous and that you have parental consent to release the work to
the web.
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BLOGS
WHERE TO START?
There are many online resources which allow you to create your own
blog in a few quick, easy steps. Popular blog aplications include
‘Blogger’ and ‘WordPress’, both of which being free. There are other
blog editing programs that require fees to be paid to access their full
feature set, and while these may offer features such as higher web
storage space that the free accounts do not, for classroom purposes I
believe that the aforementioned free sites offer ample services.
SETTING UP A BLOG
To create an account, which is needed to post your blogs, you must
first register with your chosen blog site. Usually there will be clear
links to follow during this process, which involve creating a username,
password and selecting the format of the blog. I will give a quick
overview of how to create a blog using the Blogger program in five
steps below.
Step 1: Find the blog program you wish to use - Visit the web address
https://www.blogger.com/start and click on the link stating ‘Create a
Blog’
Step 2: Create an account - If you do not already have an existing
google account, create one on the following page
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Step 3: Name your blog and create a URL address - When choosing
the name of your blog, think about the content the blog will contain and
name the blog appropriately. Once you have done this, click ‘Continue’
at the bottom of the page.
Step 4: Edit your blog - Once the blog has been created, Blogger
should bring you to your dashboard, which is where you can edit your
blog. We will explore how to edit the design of your blog.
First, click on the ‘Design’ tab in your dashboard
Then, click on the ‘Template Designer’ link in your toolbar
Once inside the temlate designer, you can choose for your blog to use
an existing template (recommended for beginners) or you can
customize its features using the ‘background’, ‘layout’ and ‘advanced’
tabs. As you make changes, a preview of your blog appears at the
bottom of the page. Once you have finished editing your masterpiece,
click ‘apply to blog’ for the changes to be saved, then click ‘back to
blogger’ to continue.
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Step 5: Start posting – Now that your blog looks beautiful, you now
need to post some information on it! To do this, you need to first click
on the ‘Posting’ header on the page.
From here, you can create a post that will appear on your blog. Select
a title for your post, then type the information in the text box below.
Once you have finished, click ‘Publish post’ to upload it to your blog.
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You have now made your first post on your new blog! Your page will
now look something like this:
Note the ‘Post a Comment’ section underneath the post. This is where
readers can comment on your post. To do so, click inside the text box,
type your response and click ‘Post comment’ to share.
Now your blog is out for all to see, anyone can post their opinions.
While this may be good in some instances, there may be times where
you will create a blog for your classroom that is designed to be viewed
only by members of your class. There are ways to adjust the privacy
settings for your blog. This is a feature most blog programs will
possess, for continuity sake we will once again use Blogger to
demonstrate.
Go to your Blogger dashboard and click on the ‘Settings’ option.
Once selected, it will automatically go to the basic settings page. This
page can be used to do such things as remove it from search engine
results. To select who specifically is allowed to view the blog, click on
the ‘Permissions’ option.
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When in permissions, you have the ability to set who can post in your
blog, as well as change who can view the blog. If you want the blog to
be for classroom-use only, only add students as authors with yourself
as administrator, as well as adding students to the ‘Only people I
choose’ option underneath ‘Blog Readers’.
There are many other personalization settings that you can apply to
your blog, explore for yourself the different options that are available
and change them to your needs.
HOW TO USE BLOGS IN THE CLASSROOM
Now that we know the basics of setting up a blog for your classroom,
what are you going to do with it?
There is a huge range of potential activities that can be explored via
the use of blogs, here are some ideas that can be implemented into a
classroom to enhance student learning through the technology. While
this is not a comprehensive list of every possible task, it will hopefully
give ideas which can be applied in a myriad of different ways.
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BLOGS AS A RESEARCH TOOL
We have predominantly discussed the creation and contribution to
blogs in this resource, though it is very important that we also use this
technology to develop students’ critical thinking skills. Through reading
different blogs, students use their critical literacy skills to determine the
worth of the content based on various factors.
The following activity contains elements of Davies & Merchant’s
‘Blogging River Pollution’ activity (2009, p.32)
Before students begin this project, introduce them to blog aggregators
such as Google Blog Search (http://blogsearch.google.com/) or
Australian Blog Search (http://blogs.com.au/). What sites like this do is
collect information from blogs and retrieve specific posts about your
desired topic. This will come in handy for students and teachers alike
when looking for information on a specific subject.
The following would likely take place over 2-3 sessions, the length of
time would be determined by the subject matter and level of
participation expected.
To begin, you would set the class a subject to research and create a
class blog for it. We will use water conservation in this example. In
small groups, students research information about this topic using
blogs as their primary source. On the blog, students post a link to a
blog they feel addresses the issue well. They also comment about the
content of the blog and review the author’s presentation and delivery.
Once a group has posted a link to a blog, another group cannot use
the same link, however they can comment on the original groups post
to add their opinions of the site. Each group is expected to post at
least one link and one response to at least two other group’s post.
Discuss and demonstrate how pictures can be added to posts, giving
students a way of supplementing their written responses with images.
Once all groups have contributed their sites, add a poll to your blog
where groups vote for the link they found the most informative (you
could also add additional polls for most visually appealing, most
entertaining, best comment). A great aspect about these polls is that
the votes are anonymous to everyone except the administrator, which
increases the likelihood of students voting legitimately.
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How to set up a poll in your blog
Go to your dashboard and select ‘Design’. Click on one of the areas marked ‘Add
Gadget’. Select ‘Poll’ from the options and then post your question with possible
answers.
This is how it will look in your blog
Discuss with the class how they chose the blogs they posted links to
(Title? Author? How recent it was? Was it the first one that came up on
the search?). Look at the blog that received the most votes and
discuss what makes it a strong resource. Discuss with the class if the
strengths of this blog will change the way they search next time?
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This activity serves many purposes. Firstly, it is a way to build student
knowledge on a unit of work (great for Integrated Studies) and having
them reflect on the process. It is the process that is important in this
activity and is the main area of student learning, with the content
knowledge being an added bonus. In reality, students can find
information about water pollution from any number of offline resources.
It is the critical research skills they develop - through looking at various
pieces of information and selecting the one they feel is most valuable,
as well as the critical response that they provide in articulating why the
article is relevant - that makes the activity relevant.
The activity addresses many Level 4 VELS standards, including the
following:
English





interpretations of and responses to a range of literary and everyday
texts
understanding of how authors construct print and electronic texts for
different intended audiences and purposes; for example, a letter to a
friend or report for the school newsletter
use of evidence drawn from the text to support interpretations
interpretations of and responses to a wide range of print and
multimodal texts
analysis and discussion of a range of perspectives presented in
different texts on the same topic
ICT



identification in published information products of formatting
features such as font styles and sizes that suit particular purposes
and/or audience needs
inclusion of new keywords and the deletion of some original ones in
a search string, to narrow the listing of websites relevant to a
particular inquiry
use of nominated communications methods to acquire information
from, or share information with, peers and known experts
MORE IDEAS FOR BLOGS IN THE CLASSROOM
The above research activity is just one that is possible to use in
enhancing student learning. Here are some more ideas to get you
thinking about how you can use blogs in an effective way within your
teaching.
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CLASS NOVEL BLOG
If you are currently reading a class novel, create a blog where students
can discuss it with each other. Set up a new post for each chapter
summarising the key plot developments, where the students can post
comments discussing and responding to the events that have taken
place.
This can also be of use if a student is away when you read a particular
chapter, so they can participate next chapter knowing what has
previously happened. You could also set up a separate post for
predictions at key points of the story. It would be important to set clear
rules in regards to spoilers, as some students may have previously
read the book or know what happens and reveal crucial plot points to
others.
CHARACTER BLOG
An extension of the previous activity, students can create a blog under
the name of a character in the text and can update the blog incharacter in response to the events of the story. Students could take
turns writing for different characters each week.
This is an exciting way for students to work on their creative writing
skills, as they must think about the voice of the character rather than
their own when writing. Also, encourage students to get creative with
the design and appearance of the blog. To use The Wizard of Oz as
an example, would the blogs of Dorothy and the Wicked Witch look the
same?
COMMUNICATION BLOG
Contains elements mentioned in ‘Classroom Use of Weblogs’ by
Richardson (2009, p.38)
One of the most exciting potentials of the read-write web discussed
earlier is how it can extend learning beyond your classroom. Wouldn’t
it be exciting if you could share a blog with a school in another state?
What about another country? You may have contacts that you have
developed who work in other schools that you could participate with, or
you may even email a random overseas school and ask if they would
be interested in participating in a blog. The topic and content is not
overly important, as it is the communication that is the learning focus.
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WIKIS
HOW TO USE WIKIS IN THE CLASSROOM?
I have noticed in my University studies that ‘Wikipedia’ is considered a
dirty word by many educators. While I can understand the hesitance to
use it for academic referencing due to the open nature of the source, I
feel that if we use the resource in conjunction with critical thinking skills
that it can become a very valuable asset in terms of how information is
communicated.
Am I saying that we should encourage our students to use Wikipedia
as their sole referencing tool? Of course not. What I am saying is that
if we use the collaborative nature of the resource to our advantage,
then we can engage students in some unique learning experiences.
CLASS WIKIS
Similar in some aspects to a class blog, you can set up a class wiki that
only your class has access to. Like with blogs, you may choose to
invite others to join your wiki at a later time, though to begin with I
would start at the classroom. To create a wiki you can use different
programs, I have chosen to use ‘Wikispaces’ as my example, as it is in
my opinion the most user-friendly and easy to maintain. There is a
cost to make the page completely private, otherwise you can make it
public, but only allow members of the space to contribute posts. Below
are instructions on how to set up your classroom wiki.
Step 1: Sign up to the wiki – First, go to the Wikispaces site at
http://www.wikispaces.com/ and use the link on the front page to
create an account.
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Step 2: Create a new wiki – Once you are logged in, at the top right
hand corner click on the ‘Create new wiki’ option
Now you name your wiki (a combination of school/class name is
common), select the type of wiki (if you are a teacher using the site for
educational
purposes,
go
to
the
link
http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers to get a free private
account, otherwise select ‘Protected’) and click ‘Create’
Now you can add any content you like to the front page, usually this
will be an introductory page that explains what the wiki is about. You
can add separate pages of information that relate to your chosen topic,
which are accessed through the side bar.
A cool feature of your wiki is that you can highlight text that you
produce and link it to a separate page. For instance, I could highlight
the word egg and if clicked, it would take me to a separate page about
eggs.
WIKI DISCUSSION
Another feature of the wikis that you can take advantage of is the
discussion board. To access the discussion board, click on the link
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marked ‘Discussion’ at the top of the page.
From here, you can create message board posts, which can be seen
and responded to by any member of the Wiki. Likewise, any other
member can make new posts to be responded to by their peers.
These are a great way for students to ask questions regarding tasks
and (hopefully) get a wide range of responses. As administrator, the
teacher can monitor and delete inappropriate posts, which is another
aspect of students online participation that should be discussed before
they log on to the computers.
(Editor’s note: This section on wikis was originally going to be in
greater detail but due to time constraints had to be shortened. I
apologize for any disappointment this may cause, I am available to
discuss any ideas further upon request. )
EXAMPLES OF USING WIKI IN THE CLASSROOM
Wikis are highly collaborative in the way anyone can edit content
posted, which we can use to our advantage during certain activities.
WIKI FOR GROUP PROJECTS
This is essentially an extension on the blog research project listed
earlier. Once research has been completed, students can collaborate
in groups to create a project that demonstrates their understanding.
Using a Wikispace page allows students to collaborate even when not
together as a group, as members can edit the project as it progresses.
This is the basic version of such a task, once students are comfortable
with the format of the wiki you could invite another class, from within or
outside of the school, to join your wiki and set the assignment with
groups mixed between the classes. In doing this, the students will be
even more reliant on the features that the wiki offers than if they are in
the same room as their group members.
As moderator, it give the teacher an exciting opportunity to give
students real-time feedback on their progress, which is an assessment
opportunity that is often missed during assignments of this nature.
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OTHER EXAMPLES OF WIKIS IN THE CLASSROOM
HOMEWORK SUPPORT SITE
Students can post questions and concerns for peers regarding
homework and assessments, students can help by offering study tips
and posting links to helpful resources
LITERATURE STUDY
Similar to the ‘class novel blog’ mentioned earlier, you can use the
‘linking’ feature of the wiki to create pages that go into detail about
content discussed e.g. if in the novel one of the characters is from
Alaska, you could link to a page that has facts about Alaska, giving a
greater context for the reader. You can also link to other topics such
as interviews with the author, reviews of the novel (both professional
and student-written), even alternate cover art that is student created.
WIKI WRITING PROJECT (Sourced from Davies & Merchant, 2009,
p.101)
A collaborative writing project, one student creates a chapter of
creative writing, which is then continued on by another student etc.
There are possibilities with the linking feature of wikis to create links to
alternate endings, much like a ‘choose your own adventure’ novel. An
exciting idea for a project like this would be to involve students from
another school to collaborate back and forth with.
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PODCASTS
(Editor’s note: This section on podcasts was originally going to be in
much greater detail but due to time constraints had to be significantly
shortened. I apologize for any disappointment this may cause, I am
available to discuss any ideas further upon request. )
HOW TO CREATE A PODCAST
The act of creating a podcast is a relatively simple one; all you need is
a compute with audio editing software (I recommend the free program
Audacity, available for download at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) .
To begin recording, plug in your mic, open Audacity, press record and
start talking!
IT’S RECORDING ... WHAT DO I TALK ABOUT?
The easy part is the recording process, it gets harder when you realize
that you have to say something worthwhile! The key when teaching
using podcasts is ensuring that students are prepared before they
record. If they are not, they will likely spend half of their time editing
the ‘ummm’-s and ‘ahhh’-s from their recording!
Some students may need word-for word scripts; others may be
comfortable with dot points or a rough outline of what they will discuss.
No matter how high the students confidence level may be, do not allow
them to record without showing you a draft of what they are going to do.
A large part of the learning process involved with podcasts is the
planning stages, so make sure this is discussed with students in detail
before starting a unit using the technology.
To prepare, students must need a topic to prepare for. Below are
some idea starters to base a podcast on:
(The following ideas are sourced from Fontichiaro’s text Podcasting at
School (2008), unless otherwise noted)
Assessment interviews - Conduct informal interviews with students
to assess understanding of a topic
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Advertisements (Franklin, 2010) - Students create short ‘radio ads’
that promote something that is happening in their school, a project they
have completed or a piece of writing/art they have finished
Characters in Literature – Students perform a podcast from the
perspective of a character in a text. Students voice the podcast incharacter.
Journaling - Students create a learning journal, reflecting on the
learning that has taken place during the day/week/term.
Radio Play – Taking the idea of ‘Characters in Literature’ a step further,
students write their own creative piece with a script and record. Sound
effects and music can be added for effect.
Time Capsule – Get each student to record a short monologue about
an aspect of modern society, then record it to CD and place it
somewhere, where it is to be listened to in 20 years time
PUBLISHING YOUR PODCAST
Once you have recorded your podcast, go through the sound file and
edit any unneeded parts out,. To do this, simply highlight the
unwanted area of audio and press ‘delete’. Add intro music or sound
effects if you wish, depending on the type of podcast you might even
want to add effects to the voices. (To perform all of these functions,
check the help section of Audacity.)
Now everything sounds great, you need to save the file as an mp3
format (the most commonly used format among portable audio players).
You can now upload the file to your blog or wiki by creating a new post
and inserting the link for the file. If you want the podcast to be heard
by a wider audience, or if the file size is too large, upload to a podcast
site such as Podbean (http://www.podbean.com/) or Podcast Alley
(http://www.podcastalley.com/)
BENEFITS OF USING PODCASTS
Podcasts are a fun and easy way to deliver information. With the rise
of mp3 players, students can download each other’s podcasts and
listen to them at leisure. There is a certain engagement that the audio
possesses that doesn’t always happen with text, and it a great,
practical example of creating texts in different forms.
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It can also work towards building self esteem in your students.
Seemingly every class has at least one students who is very capable
but does not speak out often in class out of nervousness or fear when
talking in public. Giving these students the opportunity to have their
voices heard without the anxiety of facing their peers will hopefully aid
in increasing their confidence in speaking.
Podcasts are also a good tool to use for students to work on their
fluency and clarity of speech. It is also a good tool to use for stretching
student vocabularies, as to make their podcasts engaging they will
have to avoid using the same words over and over, forcing them to
explore alternatives.
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REFERENCES
BOOKS
Davies, J. & Merchant, G. (2009). Web 2.0 For Schools: Learning and Social Participation.
New York : Peter Lang Publishing.
Fontichiaro, K. (2008). Podcasting at School. United States of America : Libraries Unlimited.
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for
Classrooms. California : Corwin Press.
Warlick, D. (2005). Classroom Blogging: A Teacher’s Guide to the Blogosphere. Raleigh :
The Landmark Project.
INTERNET
Apple Inc. (2010). Music, Movies, TV Shows and More. Retrieved August 3, 2010, from
http://www.apple.com/itunes/whats-on/
Hattam, R. & Prosser, B. (2006). Connecting curriculum to students life worlds. Retrieved
August
7,
2010,
from
https://my.unisa.edu.au/unisanet/staffpages/brentonprosser/Connecting.pdf
Nielson Company. (2010). Social Networks/Blogs Now Account for One in Every Four and a
Half
Minutes
Online.
Retrieved
August
4,
2010,
from
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/social-media-accounts-for-22-percent-oftime-online/
Victorian Essential Learning Standards. (2009). Retrieved August 3, 2010, from
http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/progression/
Wikipedia. (2010). Wikipedia Statistics.
http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/Sitemap.htm
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Retrieved
August
5,
2010,
from