I also had the opportunity to interview Dr. Benham with my iPod not about the content of the article, but rather her rationale for writing through a critical lens and how this type of work can help current practitioners. Hallinger (Eds.), Second International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Administration (pp. An alternative perspective of educational leadership for change: Reflections on Native/Indigenous ways of knowing. For example, students read Ahnee-Benham, M. This has provided students with context and a voice as they read. However, I have been conducting interviews with authors of many of the articles we are reading for class. Most often they involve administrative reminders- e.g.
Students subscribe to the Podcast through their music program. Matt Militello from the School of Education writes: “I use Podcasts between each class. You can listen to some of the results here: scroll down to October 10.
Grading is based on the quality of the writing, and the tone, i.e., does the delivery, music and sound effects add up to a cohesive feeling about the piece? Have students record their pieces ahead of time so they have “tape” to work with in class. My recent favorite: Penn Jillette’s This I Believe This I Believe is a good format, because they are short, wide-ranging in subject and emotion. Keep the assignment short–no more than 3-4 minutes, which is about 400-500 words. Keep the focus on the writing! Make sure the writing has been revised, revised, revised, so it’s the best it can be. By the end of a two-hour session, we had finished products. Students recorded their essays on their own digital recorders, then brought them to class for our Garageband workshop. My first podcasting assignment was to write and produce a segment of “This I Believe,” the popular essay segment on National Public Radio, ( Students had to read several esssays on the website, then come up with their own “belief” and write about it.
We used Garageband to record, but you can also use easier, simpler programs, like Audacity, which is available as a free download, and is an excellent way to get started. The technology now makes it easier than ever. This is increasingly important in the digital age.Ī podcasting assignment requires the development of several skills: the research and writing of a topic the choice of tone and musical accompaniment the delivery, which includes thinking about breathing, diction and cadence and the technical aspects of editing and revising the voice track. Podcasting requires them to think about how they sound, and it requires them to write for the ear as well as the eye. Most students are terrible speakers, they mumble and use “like” a lot. In journalism, as in many other areas, it’s becoming increasingly important for students to understand that their presentation matters as much as the content. Professor BJ Roche from the Journalism Department shares her thoughts on the benefits of having students podcast and shares tips for other instructors considering having students podcast: