Blog Post #4

Langwitches
Joe Dale
      
           The video on Joe Dale's website talks about the importance of Podcasts and Vodcasts. It gives the example of a child staying home from school with a high fever. The child is afraid of missing an important study guide review that is happening in class. She is at ease when she realizes that the teacher  makes a Podcast of all of his study guide reviews. She listens to it while she is recovering from her illness. To me this proves that podcasting and video podcasts are an extremely convenient way to educate our students. It also makes me think of the flipped classrooms. In flipped classes, students learn the lesson online either through podcast of vlogs, this way they can spend precious class time applying their knowledge to reality.
             I think that using podcasts in class is an excellent way to keep kids interested in learning. And I actually really like the idea of a flipped classroom. I could have my students at least listen to their lesson at home. With that system in place, It would take 1/4 the time to review quickly and put their knowledge to the test with the assignment. 

Flat Stanley!

             I chose this option because I love Flat Stanley! i had never heard his story until last year, but it is an awesome concept! I really want Flat Stanley to visit me! Anyway in  Ms. Tolisano gave her first grade class from Jacksonville, Florida a really creative assignment. She had them read Flat Stanley by Jim Brown. And then she asked them imagine that they had been flattened like Stanley and they had to choose their own travel destination. Each student conducted research on their location so they could describe what they did on their adventure. They also told how they got to and from their chosen place.
             The finished product was a really cute podcast that encouraged all kinds of creativity.They also got the experience of a podcast; they got to hear themselves saying the words, as well as hear the different emotions in their speaking parts. This is also a great way to support their creative writing skills, which will be used a lot, later in school. They are learning to describe things such as a plane, a trip to a different country, themselves if they were flat. 
This would be an awesome assignment for any age.

Listening-Comprehension Podcasting
                In Ms. Tolisano's blog post, "Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting", she writes about a second grade class that uses podcasting to learn and understand Hebrew. They are learning the story of Purim. The class used tools such as a Smartboard, Garage Band and a microphone to record their segment of the podcast script. This is where the good part comes in. Then the class listens to the script clips out of order and is asked to put them in the correct order. Ms. Tolisano expresses the importance of hearing their vocabulary while they are discovering and learning a new language. She also says that by letting the students hear the clips over and over again they deepen their understanding for the meaning of the clips. 
               Once again, Ms. Tolisano has introduced me to a method of learning that is amazing, but had never dawned on me. This is actually a great way to learn a different language, or better your understanding of your own language. In my opinion, nothing helps me to learn Spanish better than using it in context. This way of teaching languages with podcasts is like a modernized version of virtual flashcards, where the clips read to you, and you decipher what you hear. Ms. Tolisano is an inspiration! Great assignment. 

             Podcasting is a very effective tool for almost all learning. With vodcasting available as well, all you need is a hands-on assignment in class and you can appeal to the 3 main types of learning. (Auditory, Visual and Hands-on.) I will definitely be using podcasts in my future classroom.