Podcasting In The Classroom By: Ross Fassbinder, Drew Paukert, Nicole Swanson, and Laura Tomlin Introduction A podcast is an audio broadcast stored as a digital file that is offered for listeners to download from the internet. Vodcasting is along the same lines of podcasting except a vodcast is a video from of podcasting that someone can download to a device such as an IPod. All you can simply need is a computer, an internet connection and, if you choose to make your own podcast, microphone. Easy, simple and anyone can try it, which is now why many teachers have started using podcasts in their classrooms. Method For our method of research, we created a ten- question survey and sent it out to 23 college aged students pursuing a degree in education. The survey was created in Survey Monkey. We sent out the survey to collect information to answer the research question, “How would podcasting/vodcasting be beneficial to elementary/midlevel classrooms? Our survey questions were: 1. Podcasting is hard for young children to use. a)True b)False 2.Can all grade benefit from using a podcast? a)Yes b)No 3.Podcasting can be a beneficial teaching tool for educators in elementary classrooms. a)Yes b)No 4.Why do you think students would like doing a group podcast instead of an individual worksheet? Conclusion What we learned from our research is that most individuals believe that podcasting can be very beneficial in the classroom for various reasons. Some of these reasons include teachers being able to show a taped lesson to absent students, helpful to various kinds of learners, helps students to build on their computer skills, and many more. Podcasting is anew way of teaching, and could help to hold students’ attention longer during a lesson since it is something fresh and new. Since teachers, students, and parents can all benefit from podcasting, why not try it out in your classroom and see if it works for you. We could do further research by talking to or sending this survey out to teachers. Through this, we could find out how many teachers actually use podcasting in their classrooms and if they find it beneficial or not. We would be able to find out how they incorporate podcasting into their classrooms and how their students have reacted to podcasting in the classroom. References Dionne, Mike. “Teach and Learning.” Podcasting 101-How educators can use this new technology. 1 July Jan Merle. “Podcasting tools.” Podcasting 101: Everything you need to know to get started. Notepage, Inc tools.com/podcasting=101.htm 27 Jan tools.com/podcasting=101.htm 5.Why would podcasting be beneficial in the classroom? 6. If you were a teacher, how would you incorporate podcasting into your classroom? 7.Skills learned through podcasting include (check all that apply): a)Strengthening research skills b)How to speak clearly and effectively c)How to act well d)Better relationship skills e)Enhancing creativity 8.Podcasting benefits (Check all that apply): a)Teachers b)Students c)Parents d)No one benefits from podcasting 9.Students can get involved with podcasting by (check all that apply): a)Download a podcast receiver application b)Become a user of ITunes c)Publishing a website or a blog d)Subscribing RSS News Reading 10.Subjects that could benefit the most from podcasting include (check all that apply): a)Business education b)English and literature c)Music and Art d)Sporting activities e)Mathematics Findings This graph shows that 65.2% of the students believe that all grades can benefit form using a podcast and only 34.8% of the students don’t think that all grades benefit from using a podcast. This question is number two in our survey. This graph shows that 78.3% of the students believe that podcasting is a beneficial teaching tool for educators in the classroom. Only 21.7% don’t believe it’s a beneficial teaching tool. This question is number three in our survey. This graph shows that the majority of the students that took the survey do believe that podcasting does benefit either teachers, students, or patents. Only 4.2% of the students believe that no one benefits from podcasting. This graph is question eight in our survey.