Student Created Podcasts

I came across an interesting read about students creating podcasts. The benefits stated were that students will listen to podcasts longer than they will read or watch a powerpoint. It was also stated a benefit of podcasts is that students can listen to these while doing other activities. These benefits listed seem more geared towards university students but it got me thinking.

Can student created podcasts work in middle school and high school?

I think having students create podcasts for a unit or even throughout the year is a great way for students to work on communication and writing skills. Units can be divided up and students can each be responsible for creating a podcast for their selected unit. They will learn how to summarize the content, ensuring the most relevant information is plucked out of the text. They will then be able to work on their speaking skills as they will want a clear voice when being recorded.

The end product here is something that they will be able to use as a study tool for exams and test. They can also post these on a class blog and students can follow up with questions to each other. I think this would be a great way to differentiate a classroom.


Dave

References

Wankel, L. A. (2013). Increasing Student Engagement and Retention Using Mobile Applications: Smartphones, Skype and Texting Technologies. Emerald Group Publishing.