Podcasts

I've been a fan of podcasts since I began commuting a long distance two and a half years ago. I download a lot of books read on podcasts. It's so helpful because books on CD are incredibly expensive and free book podcasts are plentiful on iTunes. Although sometimes I do sacrifice the quality for the quantity. There is definitely a wide array of readers out there. I've had to delete many podcasts because I can't stand to listen to some of the readers' voices. Since I am not an auditory listener myself, I need to listen to someone with some expression in his or her voice.

I read Seabiscuit with some of my ninth grade classes. Often this book is a hit or miss with students. They don't always relate to the horse racing. I think podcasting would work well with this unit. The radio was such a big part of Seabiscuit's success in the 1930s and 1940s. His races were broadcast all over the nation and his popularity sky-rocketed because of it. I don't think students quite grasp how popular Seabiscuit was at the time. It's hard for them to believe that he drew bigger crowds than the Super Bowl does today. Anyway, I think if students created their own "radio" shows to mirror the popularity of radio in the 1930s-1940s, it may increase their engagement with Seabiscuit. I'm not sure the type of format I would have them use. I could go a couple different ways with it, I suppose. I could have them emulate radio shows that were popular in the 1930s or have them create their own shows that would be popular today and have them incorporate Seabiscuit in them somehow.

I do really like the idea of writing and editing that goes along with creating a podcast. I think this is a great way for students to reflect on their writing and how it actually sounds when it's read aloud. Also, I think emphasizing editing with the podcast scripts is very important. I find that students often don't like to edit their writing but since these scripts will be broadcast, this might encourage students to be a bit more polished with their writing.

Digital Writing Teaching Ideas and My Final Project

There are many ways I would use digital technology in my classroom. Taking this class has really helped me see all the different technology options that are out there. Unfortunately I feel like the technology at my school is severely lacking. (I suppose I should probably start writing those grants...).

So at the moment with the current technology I have available at my school, there are a couple options as to how I can use digital writing in my classroom. I like the idea of individual blogs for each student. Instead of reflecting in daily journals as I have my students do now, I would have them reflect online. I like this idea because students can read their peers' work. But then again I'm not really sure if they would read their peers' work unless it was assigned.

I also like the idea of having a class wiki, or a wiki relating to a novel we're reading. I like the idea of collaboration. I think for my final project I will probably do a wiki for a novel. I'm leaning towards doing one for Lord of the Flies. I usually have students journal as one of the characters, but instead I may have them write wiki pages in groups as the characters. It would great to have them create vlogs as the characters as well. With the current technology at my school I don't think this is an option but maybe in the future.

I like the idea of place-based writing as well. Red Wing is an interesting town rich in history and although I'm not a history teacher, I think it would be interesting for students to gather photos of their town, stories, history, etc. and post it on a wiki. This may work well in American Literature and we could tie it in with authors who have lived or visited Red Wing, like Thoreau for example.

Vegetarian in a Box

Here is my box logic on vegetarianism.