INTEL - Day 4

Today was especially useful because I learned about podcasting in education and heard examples on the Amphi website. I had a little practice with Audacity and will load it onto my pc. I think that the more you vary instruction, the more students will become motivated to learn. If we look at society in general, everything has progressed/modernized, except the method of instruction. I heard a person say one time that if a person from the 1800s were transported to our time, he would not recognize anything nor how to use any of the tools we take for granted today; but if he were shown a classroom, he would immediately recognize it as such. Desks, teacher, students, lecture, take notes, take tests. We have to incorporate the world around us into our classroom and utilize all the available tools to educate. Otherwise students see too much of a disconnect between school and the 'real world.'

By using the technology myself in the creation of a student sample, I go through what the students will go through. Perhaps even more so, because I did not grow up with this technology, but they did. This personal experience will help me understand their difficulties and better prepare me to answer their questions.

Then there is the question of what is expected of the student in light of the standards and objectives. By preparing a student sample, I can gauge how closely my objectives fit with the actual lesson. It is a kind of reality check on my planning and expectations.

Student learning is ensured with the preparation of a clear rubric for each project. The rubric tells the students how to model their presentation to achieve the greatest effect while meeting the objective(s) of the lesson. It keeps me on track also as a teacher, and constantly reminds me of what I expect. Teachers can be forgetful also.

The knowledge gained today included podcasting and the exploration of websites to support podcasting. My students are always listening to something when they can. Everyone seems to have an Ipod or similar. By incorporating the technology they like into the lesson plan, I make it more attractive to them. They also see that the classroom is not so divorced from 'real life' as they might have thought. Most children and youth love to perform, and incorporating this desire to perform with classroom learning can awaken otherwise dormant interest. Also, the more ways we present a lesson to the students, the better chance they will have of retaining it.
Finally it adds another tool to our assessment portfolio.