Podcasting: Enhancing an Art Classroom!

I have watched podcasts put out by the Boy Scouts of America for Cub Scout leaders and commissioners for years.They have been very helpful in to me in many aspect of my volunteer activities so podcasting sounds like it could easily become a major technological tool to help keep kids involved in classes. A podcast is a video of some sort, whether for education or for entertainment. Anyone can create a podcast using a video camera and a microphone (“Podcasting in plain English”). People who want to watch/listen to podcasts then subscribe and add software or applications to allow a feed to automatically download new episodes (“Podcasting in plain English”). There is also an issue of how long a podcast will remain on a device. Some websites, like NPR , automatically delete a previous podcast when downloading a new episode  ("Npr: help – using podcasts," ). The Apple IPod allows the user to set defaults to allow automatic deletion or to choose item by item deletion (Dietrich, 2009). Some of the capacity to hold older podcasts depends on the software used, with Podcaster 3.0, the number of episodes saved can be set from 0-10 and as more than the set amount are downloaded, earlier episodes are deleted  ("Podcaster 3 manual," ). With Podtrapper, the maximum number of podcasts saved is four ("Podtrapper edit podcast," 2010). There are so may applications of podcasting in a classroom. In an art classroom, a teacher might demonstrate a new technique for students but often it takes more than one view to really internalize the technique. If a podcast of the technique was also created, a student could go back and watch it over and over again as well as try to follow the technique, see and do. It would also come in handy of a student was absent when a new technique was introduced. While I did not subscribe to a podcast, something similar that I have used is YouTube videos of throwing clay on a potter’s wheel. Watching the videos over and over has gotten me closer to having the motions down to throw a quality cylinder so watching a podcast multiple times could easily help cement knowledge in a student's mind and help with technique mastery. While teacher use of podcasts would be helpful, students could certainly grow by developing and using  podcasts in the classroom (Jonassen, Howland, Marra, & Crismond, page 161). By assigning creation of a podcast to students, a teacher can see if students grasp material as well as see what material students find important and how they use their knowledge (Jonassen, Howland, Marra, & Crismond, page161). Creating a podcast could be an interesting addition to a film and photography class or even a general art class if the materials and tools were available for use, even just recording the verbal information could be an interesting project in an art class.

Podcasting is similar to other Web2.0 applications in that it is an alternate method of communication. Podcasts can be used to enhance learning situations. Since different students have different learning styles, podcasts, containing visual and auditory aspects can help learners who do need more than the written word or pictures. I see it as another weapon in the modern learning environment of today. 

I have a Creative Zen Vision-M Mp3 player. I use it in my studio art classes because I find that when I listen to music while I create I work more efficiently and creativity is enhanced. I would have no issue with my students using an Mp3 player in class while working on art as long as the volume was not interrupting the rest of the class. Listening to a podcast downloaded to an Mp3 player for study purposes would be acceptable, especially if the student was using it for the class they were attending at the time. If the student’s Mp3 player accepted video, I would have no problem with them going back and looking at an art related podcast during class, I would have no trouble with a student on a personal laptop looking at/listening to podcasts that way either. I think online communications is just another way for students to learn. In this class we are using many of the communication tools we are learning about so we have first hand experience when we get to a classroom full of students. Discussion boards and blogs are additional ways for students to communicate with a teacher and fellow students, and online discussion boards could help a student who is shy to gather and organize thoughts before entering a post so they can make a contribution to the class knowledge base. I know, in some classes when critique time comes around that there is often no way for more timid students to get a word in edgewise. Discussion boards could facilitate the process for these students. A teacher would need to know their students fairly well to make sure that posts are the work of an individual student. Another possible drawback of discussion boards is the implication is that it is for out of class use, so students could easily forget to make posts in a timely manner and it is another layer of work for a teacher to go into the discussion and read the posts.

References:

Dietrich, D. (2009, March 19). How to set podcasts to auto delete from your ipod [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.daleisphere.com/how-to-set-podcasts-to-auto-delete-from-your-ipod/     (Dietrich, 2009)

Jonassen, D, Howland, J, Marra, R, & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful learning with technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pesrson Merrill Prentice Hall.  (Jonassen, Howland, Marra, & Crismond, page 220)

Npr: help - using podcasts. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/help/podcasts.html#older_content  ("Npr: help – using podcasts," )

Podcaster 3 manual. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://podcaster.fm/help/    ("Podcaster 3 manual," )

"Podcasts in Plain English." (2007) YouTube. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDLqu0d-z8o

Podtrapper edit podcast screen. (2010, September 18). Retrieved from http://versatilemonkey.com/wiki/PodTrapper_Edit_Podcast_Screen   ("Podtrapper edit podcast," 2010)

Using podcasts-oit help desk. (2007, March 16). Retrieved from http://www.helpdesk.umd.edu/documents/4/4654/   ("Using podcasts-oit help," 2007)