Blog Post Four

Why Podcast? How Do We Do a Podcast?

After reading Judy Scharf’s Podcast Collection , I was able to think about the questions, “why a podcast?” and “how do we podcast.” Judy Scharf is a 7th grade computer applications teacher in New York, and she explains the meaning of a podcast and lets us know how to start podcasting in her podcast collection. Podcasting is just a great and easy way to communicate our ideas and messages. It requires little equipment and is super easy to start. After listening to the two Langwitches posts, I realized that podcasting can be used to deliver a series of content.

My favorite post of Langwitches that I chose to read was Langwitches-Podcasting with 1st Grade . In this post, a first grade class reads the chapter book called Vacation under the Volcano, by Mary Pope Osborne from the Magic Tree House Series. The students were to pretend they were the characters in the story, and they had to discuss their last trip. I really loved the post, not only because I got to listen to actual podcast, but also because I was in love with reading the Magic Tree House Series. Remembering all the stories made me really connect to this post. One thing I found interesting was how well six year olds responded to using technology. I would have never thought in 1st grade, I would be seeing children creating and editing a podcast. I am astonished by their interaction with the podcast and skills learned by it. They seemed to be really into it! This post makes me think about Sugata Mitra’s "hole in the wall" by thinking about how much children can learn on their own. It honestly blows my mind how by using technology, children can advance so quickly in simple skills like listening, speaking, and comprehension. These children did so well, and I would encourage everyone to listen to them.

My Podcast: This post taught me some ways to prepare for my podcast. One main thing I learned is to practice what I say before I say it! In addition, the whole idea that they used of putting themselves in the character’s shoes would be a great way to twist my podcast into something unique.

The next post I chose to read was Langwitches-Flat Stanley Podcast. In this post, the students pretended to be flat Stanley, a character who is flattened then travels around the world. The students picked a location after reading the book and created a script for themselves with questions such as how did they get there? What did they do while they were there? How did they get home? The way the children were speaking with such expression made this podcast more than interesting. They used such great details to describe how it feels to be in the envelope that I was imagining it in my head as they were saying it! I would have never thought about how it would have felt to be in the envelope, and I think that was a great, interesting twist.

My Podcast: This post really helped me think about the descriptive skill set needed to make a quality podcast. A podcast is not something I could just “wing” or “throw together.” It requires time, effort, and a lot of thought!

My last reading was Judy Scharf’s Podcast Collection. This, overall, was the most informative post I have read. Her post helped me answer the questions, “why podcast” and “how do we podcast?” The other two posts were useful to help me think about ways to make my podcast more interesting and creative, and made me think about how far in the world my podcast could go. At first, I had little knowledge of a podcast, and what goes into making one. After reading her collection, I know so much more about podcasting. I really enjoyed her “tips to succeed.” I think that specific post will really help me in my podcast. I could use it as a checklist to go by while creating my podcast. Overall, Judy Deharf gives almost every tip and idea for a podcast, and her posts are an excellent read for anyone interested in podcasting!