Podcasts, Blogs and RSS

Communication Tools You Can Use

Well, you might wonder what's out there to use with students to harness learning in this digital world? The Internet and new communication tools available over the web have opened up a global community for educators to tap into for any content using real world issues in real time with real questions students might ask if given a voice. Blogs, RSS and podcasts are a few of the tools that can change what's happening in classrooms and schools. Think about using a blog in your classroom where students work together in solving problems and answering questions. Students use the tools found on the Internet. Educators need to use those tools too.

What is a blog? A blog is a website which is used to generate text, images and more. Posting information to a blog is called blogging. Think how motivated students would be to find their assignments posted in the form of a blog. Think how that could change instruction, include families in student learning and improve reading and writing. Powerful ideas, wouldn't you think? Why aren't more teachers taking advantage of this idea? What would it take to get started? Create a blog at Blogger.com or at Novemberlearning.com Post assignments and student work with code names. Allow students to comment to one another after discussing how to comment on someone's work. Watch them become internally motivated and eager to work. Harness the technology and use it to help students learn the way they live. Visit The Clem to see what can happen.

Have you heard about Podcasts? Think there is no place in the classroom for this kind of tool?? Think again! Kindergarten students can read their picture stories as a podcast, post it with the teacher's help and tell parents and grandparents how to go listen to them. Middle school students can practice fluency in foreign language classes or develop their own school related weekly podcast of news and events. It's so easy. What do you need? A computer, Podcaster software (Mac only), iTunes and content. A podcast can be made in as little as 4 minutes, submitted on iTunes and available for the world in a day. Think about global learning. Go to the iTunes Music Store and look under k12 podcasts, subscribe to a few and get more ideas. Ask students how they think this kind of tool can be used. Check out Maybry Middle School.

Really Simple Syndication- RSS: Bring the content to your desktop instead of going out to look for content on specific topics. Safari has a RSS button built right in which makes it easy to subscribe to sites. RSS provides web content or summaries of web content together with links to the full versions of the content. Choose what you want to continuously receive by way of an aggregator and subscribe. Get news, movie reviews, classroom blogs and much more.