Post #4

I really enjoyed watching and learning about the benefits of podcasting. I have made one podcast before, but I have never considered the benefits of making a podcast in a classroom. I especially liked the benefits that is.gd/2cd2l listed. The majority of my mom's family are teachers and have grown up hearing all about teaching and classrooms. From talking to my family and other teachers that I have learned that one of a teachers' biggest dilemma is make up work for students who are absent. Having a podcast of a lecture that is available to the students is perfect for a student who missed a lecture. It is also ideal for students who need to hear a lecture more than once or for a student who needs to hear a concept one more time. Podcasts allow students to have more responsibility in the work that they missed.
Students are more likely to understand and retain information and concepts that they take a part in in the classroom. For instance, most of things that I remember from elementary, middle and high school I remember because I had to do research, a paper or a project on the information. I believe that having students involved in making a podcast will help them to understand and remember the concept they are discussing in their podcast. I thought that the podcast "Roamin' with the Ancient Romans" done by Eagles Nest Radio was fantastic. The involvement of the students and the way that the music kept you engaged. It was evident in the podcast that the students put in a lot of hard work into the podcast and that they were proud of their work.
Practicalprincipals.net was very inspiring and encouraging for me. I was very impressed with how principals from different states have gotten together to make podcasts to help each other and other teachers. A lot of times schools and teachers know about technologies or strategies that other areas do not yet know about. By teachers or principals podcasting or blogging new information that they have learned will allow other teachers and principals to access this new information that they have yet to hear about. Podcasts allow for teachers gain new ideas for the classroom.
I like the different subjects and options that epnweb.org/index.php?openpod=16 gives on their site. There are podcasts for every different subject and each subject has different categories in which you can choose. There are podcasts that are beneficial for teachers and parents as well as for students. There are a lot of podcasts that teachers could assign students to listen to that relate to a specific subject or concept being taught in class.