BLOG 4: Podcasts and Skype

This week in class we learnt how to use Podcasts. I had never seen or even heard of Podcasts before and found them pretty entertaining. I could see kids really enjoying them since you are able to make something that is pretty intricate and could sound professional, but it would have their own voices in it. I imagine kids in an Elementary class making a newscast with it; report on the weather, the news, game scores etc. Kids could study what would go into making a newscast and then make one for themselves. The kids' news might even be what has been going on in their classroom. Maybe even every month a different group of kids is designated to report on the exciting things that class has been up to that month, and then if possible, make it accessible to the rest of the school and the parents. This could be an interesting and fun way to keep parents informed about what is happening in the classroom. The fact that you can add your own voice, and put in sounds and music makes it very fun to experiment with this technology.

We also had a guest speak to us on Skype. I have used Skype many times before, talking to my relatives in California and Australia. The delay time is much longer speaking with them and can often cause confusion since you don't realize that the other person has started talking until a second or two later, so it can be difficult to keep a steady conversation going. However, it would be very cool to bring Skype into the Early Years classroom by inviting people from different parts of the world to talk to the students. I don't know how easy it would be to find these people, but say the kids are learning about Japan. If the teacher or a student had a connection there, maybe this person would be willing to talk to the kids about their country, and maybe even take their laptop around their house to show us some of the unique cultural pieces in their home. Skype allows people all over the world to be connected in such a personable way, and this evidently could have a meaningful place in a classroom.