Giving Compass' Take:

• Educators are starting to use podcasting to help even the youngest learners understand the value of storytelling, strengthen writing skills, and develop self-confidence. 

• What are the other benefits of podcasts? As more education technology comes into the classroom, will podcasts start to be commonplace? 

• Read about the use of podcasts in higher education. 

Baltimore City Schools’ Kimberly Calhoun works with her kindergarten students to produce podcasts about farm animals, writing and recording a sentence they craft themselves. Originally skeptical of her students’ ability to create this work, Calhoun found them capable of meeting the expectations and using the podcast technology, wrote Education Week.

Some educators suggest that students listen to podcasts first before doing one themselves, studying what they do and don’t like about this form of storytelling.

Podcasting is a way of telling a story through audio — using pieces of sound files, voice overs, recorded conversations and effects woven into a narrative. Educators are finding podcasts useful in delivering content to students in all subject areas, including English-as-a-second-language classrooms, where educators “can use this tool to increase student exposure to English at home and in school,” Hani Morgan, now a professor of education at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.

But students are also being encouraged to create their own podcasts as well. There are numerous online apps and tools to help record podcasts, with Common Sense Education recommending several for classrooms including Apple’s GarageBand and Audacity, which can be used for free. In the process of making a podcast, students develop their own voices and self-confidence.

Because podcasts are meant to be heard by others, students know they have a wider reach than a written assignment handed into a teacher.

Read the full article about podcasting by Lauren Barack at Education Dive