Podcasts - From Simple to WOW!
I was amazed by some of the podcast sites we visited in class on Thursday. As an example, Eric Langhorst, with his “steady-casts,” made history and geography jump with life! His dedication to making projects, museums and other locations “real” for his students, along with the ability to Influence his administrators by mentoring them into producing their own podcasts was impressive. Differentiated Instruction was so evident in the description of his instructional practices in the classroom. He was able to make the podcasts available to the students in three forms – MP3 format, Internet connections, and CD – often used as guided practice or review for tests.
Madeline Hunter’s Elements of Direct Instruction were apparent in a very creative classroom, using innovative technology. Podcasts were an excellent vehicle for sharing objectives (standards-based), communicating the anticipatory set, teaching (input, modeling, and checking for understanding), guided practice and monitoring, closure, and independent practice.
Then I ask myself – “Why aren’t we doing more of this in the classroom?” I am reminded of Everett Rogers explanation of the ‘rate of adoption.’ In his book Diffusion of Innovations, he discusses the rate of adoption that is affected by four very pertinent variables: (2003, p. 221)
1. The type of innovation-decision
2. The nature of communication channels
3. The nature of the social system
4. The extent of the change agents’ promotion efforts
These four variables all apply directly to the diffusing of the innovation. Often, stakeholders in an organization do not hold the same vision for the future of technology in education, and strong leadership may be lacking.
What stands out for me is...one dedicated person can make a difference and help get the ball rolling for others to follow...all for the benefit of our students! Today we finished planning and produced a podcast about the importance of vocabulary. It was great to have a product, even though we all agreed that it could always be improved upon through additional planning and technological fine-tuning!
1 comment:
I certainly agree that all 1 school needs is a catalyst. Once other teachers in that school see how that catalyst is using technology in their classroom, they will challenge themselves to attempt to do neat and creative things.
Currently at my school, I have been put in charge of the high school implementation of a software program that can be used for many different resources. The program can be used for remediation, enrichment, credit recovery, etc. The big challenge will be selecting the right teachers that I know will use the software program in a way that inspires their students, and encourages other teachers to get on board. When enough teachers begin using this technology, it becomes common place. I am hopeful that within a few months, teachers will begin to hear and see how great this software program is!
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