International Podcast Day: Podcasts to Improve Learning

If you aren’t aware, International Podcast Day is September 30, 2019. In this post, I will share some links to other posts I have made regarding podcasting in the classroom. The goal of this post is to raise awareness of the power of podcasts in the learning environment and to hopefully give you all some ideas about how to incorporate this fantastic tool into your own classroom.

Before I get into the main content of this post I wanted to share a little more about International Podcast Day. According to the folks at internationalpodcastday.com, “International Podcast Day™ is September 30th and is an international celebration of the power of podcasts! The celebration is a great opportunity to connect with fellow podcasters, podcast listeners, podcast enthusiasts, and leaders in the podcasting industry.”

If you aren’t certain what a podcast is you can learn more about podcasts here are some great links.

• What is a podcast?
• Podcasting Historical Timeline and Milestones
• Podcasting Quiz

I would like to clarify my thoughts about podcasts and why I think they are a great addition to the classroom. It is important to know that historically podcasts have been a great way to consume content. This is still true today and there are many podcasts available on a plethora of content areas. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg in a learning environment. An old Chinese proverb goes something like this.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

This is wrongly attributed to Confucius

This quote which is wrongly attributed to Confucius touches on why I think listening to podcasts is just the beginning. There is another Chinese quote which has been attributed to Xunzi which in my mind clarifies my position a little better.

不闻不若闻之，闻之不若见之，见之不若知之，知之不若行之；学至于行之而止矣。

This is roughly translated “Not hearing is not as good as hearing, hearing is not as good as seeing, seeing is not as good as knowing, knowing is not as good as acting; true learning continues until it is put into action.” https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/226886/origin-of-i-hear-and-i-forget-i-see-and-i-remember-i-do-and-i-understand

This is where the real power of podcasting in the classroom is most evident. When students are creating their own podcasts we have greater learning. In a previous post, I discuss the importance of creating an authentic audience for students and the power it has to improve learning. Podcasting in the classroom has the same effect on student learning as well as the other positive aspects the connection to the authentic audience creates.

The authentic audience helps students build ownership of their learning process.  Parents are more connected to the learning happening in the school and a better relationship around learning can be formed at home.  The teacher can see more clearly what students know and this can help the teacher reach more students. Overall, a better learning environment and culture is formed.

Dr. Doak

With this mind, I share the links below.
Chrome Can: Podcasting in the Classroom

Making Thinking Visible Using Technology

Extending Class Discussions With Technology

Using Technology to Extend Speaking Practice in a Language Classroom.

I hope that something shared here has inspired you to try podcasting in your classroom. One of the best tools for podcasting in the classroom is Synth. More information about this awesome podcasting platform and how it can be used in the classroom can be found here.

Thanks for reading

Dr. Shannon H. Doak