Blog Assignment #4

   I found Langwitches to be an extremely informative blog! After reading the assigned material, I cruised over the blog and found a plothora of useful information. It is blogs like these that I foresee myself taking away valuable information from when I am looking for inspiration in creating my own lesson plans

First Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Book

   While I was somewhat familiar with podcasts before this assignment, I have never even fathomed the idea of incorporating this technology into the classroom for learning purposes. It was amazing to me as to how much the children in Ms. Tolisano's class got out of creating the podcast for Dinosaurs Before Dark. I can definitely see how as a teacher one could really get creative with podcasts to help their students with reading, writing, and speech lessons as well as in other curriculums. I loved the fact that the children were so engaged in the recording process of the book. According to the post, the children were actively experimenting with their voices such as inflection and tone to reap the best possible recording. They also enjoyed working with garageband in setting up the audio. While I do not see to many combinations of how this could be used to enhance a students reading and writing abilities, it says to me that any activity that grasps the attention of students and not only engages them in learning, but motivates them to do the best they can is an activity worth pursuing. Also, while playing the recording, the students actively followed the audio while following along the text with a finger. I can see where reading time would be more engaging and exciting if they were to follow along a recording in which they had pride in making opposed to traditional methods of reading.

    I was most impressed with the benefit of podcasts in their nature of sharing. It is so encouraging to think as more and more educators turn to podcasts and technologies like them for instruction, there will be more and more great ideas for teachers to share with one another good ideas for instruction through podcasts.

Podcasting with the First Grade

   In this post, students were asked to record the roles of the character Jack and Annie in the book Vacation Under the Volcano, by Mary Pope Osborne. Similiar to my previous thoughts, it is amazing at how enthusiastic and motivated these students are to participate in this podcasting activity. They seem genuinely excited about taking part in the recording. When you find an activity that encourages your students to use their imagination and to expand their creative abilities, you have yourself a good lesson. When you do all this as well as fully engage your students in participating in an enjoyable and team building exercise, you have yourself gold for an instructional tool.

Flat Stanley

   Similiar to the previous posts, I found the podcasts dedicated to Flat Stanley by Jim Brown to be a great idea for motivating children. This activity required the children to pick a geographical location and to check out a book on that location. After researching their location of choice, they were to create a podcast informing it's listeners of that specific destination. I cannot think of a better way to deliver a geography lesson. Not only are the students building confidence in developing their own technological creation in a podcast, but they are learning about different places all over the world.