IPods in the Classroom

Alex: It works because you have to really think about the topic as a whole, not only goof-around, but actually plan and consider all your key points. Because we talked about how to structure the podcast and about, like, pitfalls, we knew that we had to make it ‘visual’ and tell a story so people remembered our show.

Harriet – When we had learnt the technical bits then it was great. I thought it was difficult to speak into a mic though, because I felt a bit silly. I was concerned about what other people would think.  The best thing about recording was that we created the content and we had to think about our message as well as where out topic fitted in with the rest of the course. That was challenging.

- Sixth Form students discussing a podcast project in March 2009.

Gimmicky? Perhaps, but at the same time this is also an opportunity to encourage students to use their MP3 players for more than simply listening to music – they could be learning at the same time! Podcasting is useful and hopefully this example will show you how simple they are to set up with the help of online tools and how effective they can be to stimulate learning with exam classes.

You have probably gathered that podcasting is more than simply creating an MP3 file and uploading it online; that it enables you to set a channel using RSS[1] to share your creations to anyone that subscribes and that they will receive all the updates automatically when they connect. Gcast.com is a free service where you focus solely on creating the content e.g. a discussion, monologue, interviews, jokes, poems and music, then Gcast.com will finalise all the technical issues for you. Another great thing about this site is that it also has a music website Garageband.com which seamlessly integrates with Gcast.com which means that you can import fantastic music into your podcast at the click of a button. The music you store on ‘MyPlaylist’ can be accessed on both sites – simple!

In a nutshell:

This example was used with an AS class (16-17 years old) of 18 students. It is a mixed ability ranging from target grades A-D. They are used to different approaches to teaching e.g. creating movies, presentations, teaching mini-lessons and using peculiar ‘games’ for improving communication skills[2]. They had just completed the first half of a History course and the intention behind creating a podcast, in fact a radio show, was to encourage students to consider what they had been taught over the past couple of months. They were divided into seven groups; the same number of key questions from the syllabus.

The initial lesson focused on the outcome of the podcast, namely that they were to create a radio show of max. 6 minutes long. They had to include music taken from Garageband.com as tracks can be transferred seamlessly to Gcast.com[3] and, this is the best bit, they are royalty free and can be downloaded. The class then had to consider what the challenges could be when presenting potentially ‘heavy’ material on the radio and a discussion ensued about the challenges of audio versus visual material and the need to provide listeners with a mental image of what is talked about somehow and that the message had to be clear.

We agreed on a number of criteria that they had to achieve to ensure a successful and purposeful podcast. Also, the students were a assigned to a ‘Mentor Group’ which would listen to the podcast and evaluate it based on the agreed criteria:

Whilst students commenced their initial research we created the podcast channel so that it would be quicker to finalise the work in later lessons. Gcast.com provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up a channel. Homework was also set in this lesson which was to actively listen to a range of different radio shows on various frequencies to gain a fuller understanding of some of the ‘features’ that presenters have on their shows like quizzes, call ins, interviews and so on.

The class spend this hour finalising their research and structuring their radio shows. Students shared ideas for ‘features’ and it was agreed that three mini-featurettes were needed to create a good flow in the show.

The groups made use of a number of microphones/headsets and two voice recorders[4] to record their interviews, fake call-ins and other ‘featurettes’. After a bit of tweaking all groups were practising their lines whilst others were planning which part of a song they should use. It is important to give students a limit as to how long a piece of music can be so that the radio program does not become to long. We agreed that 45 seconds was just enough to capture the moment or set the scene.

There are different ways to piece together a podcast but most groups choose to either import all different components e.g. music, interviews, call-ins and main presenting, into Audacity[5] and save as a main MP3 file, but many simply uploaded their different sections into the Playlist on Gcast.com and organised the final podcast online. Either way is simple and does not require much technical understanding. Honest. It is very straight forward. After all the files had been uploaded we transferred them to the podcast channel which had been set up in lesson 1.

When everything had been completed and files uploaded we listened and evaluated the programs. The class found it very exciting and (embarrassing) rewarding. Some commented that it would be easier to remember different parts of the syllabus as they could relate much of the content to examples in the radio show. Once group who had focused on Nazi Racial Policy used the story of a fictional young girl to explain life in Nazi Germany between 1920 – 1942. We followed her traumatic experiences from early segregation to the Warsaw ghetto and finally to the concentration camp.

§ Case-studies in Geography: students create radio-shows about one case study each.

§ Last minute revision: the teacher uploads mini-ideas (2-3 minutes max) which emphasises a key point or idea

§ Revise [your topic]: Fact based radio documentary with interviews and debates, similar to an ordinary radio programme

§ Tomorrow’s World: the class creates an entire show together about how issues in e.g. History, Geography etc will impact on the future (terrorism, global warming, fair trade and globalisation)

§ The Movie Vault: students analyse the relationship between book and film

§ How to…write the perfect essay: students share their ideas and examples of e.g. introductions, argument etc.

§ How to…work independently: students explain what they do to work well in groups as well as how to use write realistic targets

§ How to…get an A*: groups provide concrete ideas for exam and revision techniques

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