Storynory & AudibleKids

Storynory and AudibleKids are two sites that offer audio stories for download. They are built around a common premise but do have some notable differences.

Storynory features only free downloads so their collection is focused on classic stories, fairytales and even some original works that haven't been published elsewhere. You can subscribe to the site through iTunes in order to download their stories more expeditiously or just pick and choose the files you want. They have organized their stories into different categories and you can subscribe to the feed from individual categories as well.

AudibleKids has a few free titles but most of their content is for purchase only. They have a much broader selection of titles ranging from well-known picture books for younger kids on up to chapter books for middle schoolers. You are more likely to find up-to-date titles on this site and can expect to spend anywhere from a few dollars up to, and over, twenty dollars per audiobook.

Both of these sites could be used to bolster your school or classroom's listening library. Of course, another option would be to have your students record their own audio books by using something like GarageBand or Audacity and build your listening library organically from within your own school.

Podcasts in Practice Part 5

The final podcast that I will share this week is the Coulee Kids' Podcast from Longfellow Middle School in Wisconsin. These podcasts are created by seventh grade students in their writing class but the topics span across a variety of content areas. They define their podcasts as "enhanced" podcasts largely because they include images so they are more like mini videos. You have to subscribe through iTunes in order to view the podcasts but they are worth the look and listen. This is another great example of how podcasts can be used to allow students to demonstrate their comprehension of a topic area while also allowing them to use their creativity.

Podcasts in Practice Part 4

Chris Shamburg teaches a high school English course called Podcasting and Creative Audio, which sounds like a great class and I wish it was available when I was in high school. Check out the different podcasts and assignments at his blog, which uses the same theme from Blogger as I use in my blog so you may feel like you never left the Ed Tech in Teacher Ed blog. I think this blog has some great ideas for podcasts but also some very creative assignment ideas that could be adapted to other English classes even if you weren't going to use podcasts.

Podcasts in Practice Part 3

The Downs FM is an example of how a school in the UK is using podcasting to create their own radio show. Many of the students contribute to the radio show with different segments, news items, jokes and more. They don't appear to have any new segments for the current school year but you can listen to shows from last year to see what they did. I hope there will be some new segments coming online very soon. One thing that seems apparent to me as I listen to the podcasts from The Downs FM and other sites like it is the excitement and enthusiasm from the students. I think that is a great benefit of using a technology like this. There is no law that says kids can't have fun when they are learning.

Podcasts in Practice Part 2

Mr. Langhorst's 8th Grade American History website is the featured example of podcasting for this post. In addition to student podcasts, there are a series of Study Casts on this site as well. Study Casts are podcast reviews of units of study created by Mr. Langhorst for the students to use when they are preparing for upcoming tests. This seems like a great way to help students focus on the salient content of a unit and communicate to them the important information they need to be aware of before a test. It also provides students with another mode of learning and will certainly benefit those in his class who are aural learners. The study casts are found primarily on the homepage at the link above. You can also find many more examples of how he is using podcasts at his Speaking History blog, which has a very clever idea for teaching the Declaration of Independence as a break-up letter. Check it out!

Week 3: Podcasting (Respond by Friday, July 6th)

My good friend the Ninja introduced us to podcasting (if you were absent that day check out the video on the Wiki) and we got a chance to play with Audacity a bit to learn how you could record your own podcast but the question of how we actually use podcasts as teachers might still be lingering for some of you. The research on podcasting in k-12 education is pretty thin due to the fact that it is still a fairly new idea and technology. More and more universities are using podcasting as a way to archive lectures and make them available to students but this isn't really the way I think of using podcasts with k-12 students. I have looked around for articles to share on podcasting but really haven't found anything I want to use just yet. It's easy enough to get a basic definition of what a podcast is and it seems like it makes more sense to me that we spend some time listening to actual podcasts and exploring how teachers and students are making use of this technology. Here is a "vodcast" (a podcast with video, which is a lot like a regular video but you can subscribe to it) on how one group of elementary students creates podcasts in their school. I think the teacher got a little ambitious with the purchase of an audio mixer, special microphones and other optional equipment but I really enjoyed learning about the writing process students go through when they plan their individual podcasts or corners as they call them. You might think these kids seem overly excited about writing and the video only shows them hard at work and on task, but I do wonder if the fact that they get to create a podcast with their writing isn't somehow a motivational factor for them. How might you be able to harness this enthusiasm and use it to teach different types of writing styles and skills through podcasting? If you want to see how the teacher from this class uses podcasts you can check out his blog at http://www.bobsprankle.com/blog/C1697218367/index.html and have a listen. To get a better sense of the ways podcasts are being used please look around online for a podcast either created for or by students in your respective grade and/or content area. Share the link to the podcast you find and tell us what you like about it. I would love it if you took the time to add it to our Wiki as well.