Today in class, I proved to myself that, "you cannot judge a book by its cover." The looks and sounds of making a podcast always seemed too hard and complicated for me to understand, and I always just assumed that I could not do it. I admit, it took me a lot of questioning and a while to get the hang of it, but once I did, I was able to create a podcast no problem. I learned so may different audio effects that could be used to edit my podcast and make it more audible and interesting. When I tried to "rename" my file, I somehow did something so that it would not open anymore. At first I was discouraged, thinking I was never going to be able to do this on my own. After getting over my fear of technology, I attempted to make another podcast and was able to do so very easily. I had no problems and this made me realize how fast I will be able to catch on to the current and future technology that will be used in the classrooms.
Throughout the class while we were discussing the ways to use podcasting in the classroom, I was trying to come up with ways to use it in a math setting. For a while, I could not come up with any, discouraging me from using it in my classroom. BUT....when I am doing math problems, I find it easier to work through a problem by talking about it out loud. For some students, this may be the perfect learning method for them. While a student is doing a problem, they can make a podcast of what they are doing, explaining every step they take and the methods they used. After posting it on the internet, this student as well as other students can listen to this podcast while doing their homework, using it as a reference to aid them through problems they need help with. I believe learning how to make and use podcasts will greatly benefit myself and my students in the classroom and in the school as a whole.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Using it as a review for another student is a great idea. Often students watch a math problem being done in class and they get it until they need to do it at home by themselves and then they get stuck. Having an audio or visual of it may help them a great deal. It can also be very helpful to a parent. Often the child will say to the parent, "That isn't the way the teacher told us to do it." and the parent is at a disadvantage if they don't know what the teacher said.
ReplyDeleteThanks for keeping an open mind.
Sorry if this is a duplicate - I thought I posted this but it didn't show up the first time!
ReplyDeleteI think you have a great idea about having students make podcasts of their methods for solving problems. Not only could it be helpful for them when they are solving problems on their own, but students could share their podcasts to help other students who may be having trouble understanding certain concepts. Sometimes it is easier for kids to understand the explanation of another student better than they can understand the way a teacher has explained something. If they are too shy to ask for more help from the teacher, they can listen to a fellow student explain it!
I'm with you on the solving problems out loud. I frequently speak out loud when I'm solving some chemistry problems myself. The problem with this form of podcast however is that there's nothing visual. Mathematics (and science for this matter) is a very visual subject. I need to see each step and hear it out loud in order to see what I'm doing. I need to see graphs, not just hear numbers. I think you might be feeling the same way.
ReplyDeleteI'm absolutely horrible at math and I think your idea would have been something for me to try. I would have been great to have the teacher or a student be able to go over the problem out loud while I'm doing it and to be able to play problems on demand.
ReplyDelete