Everything is Podcastic!

Until my current graduate class I had no exposure to podcasts before because I didn’t think they would be beneficial to my teaching.  However, the little time I have worked with them they are extremely effective.  Since my professor demoed a podcast and I viewed some educational podcasts that other teachers had done this medium sparked my interest.

So I have decided to venture into this world and see if my students would be able to handle this type of project.  My students are writing “October Stories,” okay I know its November but these projects take time.  I have basically had my class writing a short story that has a Fall theme, some are scary and some are not.  I didn’t put a parameter on what the story had to be about, but we are focusing on Ideas and Word Choice as part of the 6+1 Traits of Writing.  The story also had to have a problem, a solution, and at least three events. 

Now, I am having the students take their finished stories and create a podcast.  They are getting experience with Audacity, an open source software for recording and editing sounds.  They are learning the true art of storytelling by adding sounds, reading, and showing expression.  They are using the experiences of stories being read to them to now go and put their own spin on how a story should be told.  It has been very interesting to watch them and see the motivation and excitement that has gone into their work.  I hope to blog again in a few weeks and upload some finished products so you can hear for yourself.