Thing 19

Which podcasts did you find interesting? Identify one or two podcasts and describe how you would use them in your teaching.

One podcast I found interesting was "Booktalks quick and simple" by Nancy Keane (http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/podcast_list.htm)

This podcast features short booktalks on elementary and middle school titles. The production is simple with a music selection (the same one for each podcast) at the beginning of the booktalk. Nancy Keane always gives the title, author, and year of publication for the title at the end of the podcast. There are additional resources at her website (http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/) dealing with the creation of booktalks as well as a number of written booktalks by librarians, teachers, and students. Overall this is a gold mine of a site and the booktalks are thoughtful, entertaining, and brief introductions to many, many books.

I am really excited about the possibility of having students create podcasts. As a library media specialist the obvious use that comes to mind is to do booktalks but there are many other applications that students could produce. Having podcast announcements that parents could subscribe to would be very useful. Numerous classes could record in-class presentations and events for later listening and/or viewing. The possibilities are really endless. I am hopeful that my district will see the value in allowing students (and teachers!) to use this technology that is so relatively inexpensive and easy to integrate.