Blog Post #4

The first podcast I checked out was Practical Principles by Melinda Miller and Scott Elias. I listened to the first podcast listed, and it was actually quite long! At first, they discussed whether or not teachers should be put on "improvement plans", which are basically guidelines for a teacher to improve his/her performance in the classroom. Then they elaborated on this subject by saying that some teachers just do not cut it in certain environments. Some of them may just not have what it takes to be a teacher, but some may just need to try and teach different grades to find their stride.

Overall, I thought the podcast was not so interesting. They sort of dragged each subject out so long that it really just got sort of boring. It was hard for me to stay very focused on what they were saying, and I felt like their tones were sort of monotonous and unenthusiastic. I think that in my podcasts, I will try to sound more energized and passionate about what I'm talking about.

The next podcast that I listened to was The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale. In this Vodcast, he and his colleagues discussed the advantages to using podcasts to supplement the classroom. Podcasts make it easy for absent students to keep up, they promote creativity, and it also allows for parents to see what their children are doing at school.

The main point that I agreed on is that it makes it extremely easy for absent students to stay on the same page as the rest of the classroom. If a student has to be absent for an extended period of time, he/she has no reason to panic because all of the material is on the web. Overall, I thought this vodcast was interesting. Maybe it was just because this segment actually had video instead of just audio, but the authors made some excellent points, and they were well worded. In my podcasts, I definitely need to make some strong points that I know a good bit about.

The last podcast that I viewed was Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog by Anthony Baggett and his third grade classroom. In the podcast that I selected, the students went back in time to ancient Rome, and they interviewed many famous people from the era such as Julius Caesar and Cleopatra.

For the most part, I think the children did an excellent job. However, it was very easy to tell that they were just reading off of a script, so it made it sort of drag along in an unnatural way. I know they are just third graders, so it is hard for them, but as a college student, I know that I need to know my information well enough that I do not have to read it.