Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Blog Post #5

Eagles' Nest Radio & Class Blog


I decided to listen to The Eagles' Nest Class Blog on Ancient Rome. I learned more from this kids than I think I would have ever learned from a book. I never knew that Cleopatra was the 7th queen with the name! And every word spoken was understandable!


This is a very impressive blog page for 3rd graders! It is hard to believe that 3rd graders are doing such amazing podcasts that are high quality. Listening to this podcast, I got a few ideas from the kids! Mrs. Edmison is doing a great job by teachings these children how to create podcasts!



Upon first click of the video, I found that this podcast might have the most annoying intro music that I have ever heard! But once I got over the idea of this absurd music, I started to learn some great benefits to having podcasts in classrooms! (I also learned a new term: "Millenial"!) I really like the idea of using podcasting for a sick child. While I might not be the type of teacher that will utilize podcasts daily, this is one great way to use a podcast! If I don't even upload every lecture or lesson, I can get lectures to students when I know they need them!

Another use of podcasts that interests me is the fact of parents being able to see or hear that their children are learning at school. Parents always want to make sure that their children are making the best of their education, and podcasts give them a new way to "check-in" on their children. It also helps by bringing the information home to the parents, that way they can turn around and help translate the information to their kids! Parents can listen to the podcasts on the way to school to pick up their children, thus giving them a topic of conversation for the drive home!




This blog discusses the most important ideas behind blogging and teaching students how to use tools such as podcasts and wikis. Not only are we teaching children how to use the technology that they will more than likely be required to use in their future jobs, but we are also teaching them amazing skills that they need to know!

Today's workforce is extremely competitive, and in my mind, education is a preparation to the workforce "audition"... the interview that lands you your job! Children learn things such as speaking and presentation skills and fluency in technology and communication. These are essential things that students should learn in addition to the traditional "reading, writing and arithmetic." Why can we not teach students in new ways such as blogging and podcasts while helping them create real-world skills too?


4 comments:

  1. Hey Brandon!

    I loved your post, very well written and to the point! I also thought the intro music was a little lame, but I bet as a music major you really have an ear for things like that to nitpick! :-) Both you and I pretty much had the same opinion on the podcasting in the classroom post. I love the idea of using it for sick children and also for parents to keep up with what the child is doing in school. I would like to think I would somehow apply it in my classroom, but I guess it depends on what grade I end up teaching. Good Luck this semester, especially in your double major!

    Rebecca

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  2. Hey Rebecca!

    Thanks for all of the great comments!

    Good luck to you as well!

    -Brandon

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  3. Those Kids are awesome aren't they? I remember when I took EDM 310 and listening to these kids and thinking about how much fun their classroom must be. I would think that any class that had activities such as podcasting would really make the class fun.

    I see where you found it interesting that podcasting can be used for parents to "check-in" to their child's class and see what is going on. I really think this could be a great way for the parents to get involved in their child's education.

    Good post Brandon,

    Your blog looks great,

    Stephen Akins

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  4. I to thought the Eagles’ Nest on Ancient Rome was very well constructed. The kids did a great job creating an awesome podcast. Like you I also learned a whole lot about ancient Rome, even some new things I didn’t know. I found the Eagles’ Nest Radio the most interesting out of the podcast and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed reading your post and think it is very accurate.

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