Podcasting for Educational Purposes

Many of you have emailed recently asking how the students record themselves reading. You've also asked how we turn those recording into podcasts. We use podcasting to give the students a real audience for their reading - I've found that students improve and work harder when they realize someone is listening to them. The first year that I started using this method, I saw the students' fluency rate jump alomst 20 words per minute in a month! We also use the podcasting so students can hear what they really sound like and to help them hear first hand areas that need improvement. I learned this method through our instructional media specialist, Sharon Thornton. You can learn more about the technical side of podcasting through one of my previous blog posts: http://bishopsblackboard.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-podcasting.html. This post links to Mrs. Thornton's website with more detailed information. Mrs. Thornton's page has so many great resources to check out!