EDM 310 Fall 2008 Podcasts

I listened to three podcasts from the EDM 310 Fall Class. It was interesting to hear students that are similar to myself talking about topics in Education. I think that this will be very helpful when it is time to produce our podcasts. I think some of them were interesting, but some of them seemed to be forced and like they should have planned and researched a little more.

The first podcast that I listened to was "Facebook as an Educational Tool?". I thought it would be interesting to listen to this one because I use Facebook personally. I was curious to see what others thought about it and how it could possibly be used as an educational tool. The two students speaking were Theola Hines and Larrica Smith. They didn't seem very prepared for the discussion. They had a few interesting topics, but didn't act like they were very certain about some of their answers. One student had used facebook and the other one had not. I felt like much of the time was used just telling us about what facebook could do and not how it could or could not be used in Education. They were not even sure if they have a minimum age to use Facebook.



The second podcast that I listened to was "Pick of the Day: Useful Internet Sites for Elementary Teachers". The students speaking in this podcast were Brennan Gibson, Hanna Callais, Ashley Wheeler, and Kimberly Dees. They discussed many websites that they recommend for teachers and classrooms and how they would be helpful. I think that they did a great job and it sounded like they were prepared and had done some research on their topic.



Another podcast that I listened to was "You Tube as an Educational Tool?". I thought this would be an interesting podcast because I often watch videos from You Tube. The students in this podcast were Chris Borchardt, Delana Bemis, and Heather Rogers. I think that they did a great job discussing what You Tube is useful for and how they did not think that it would be appropriate to use it in the classroom. I like the way that they spoke honestly about how they felt and had information to back it up.

I think that listening to these podcasts was a great way to prepare me for making my own podcast. I realize now that I need to be very prepared and do lots of research for my topic. I will try to create questions and statements that I will want to make during my podcast. I will also try to pick a topic that I'm interested in and know about before I even begin. I think that this is a great way to communicate how you feel about something that is important to you.