Monday, September 24, 2012

Blog Post 4

Ms. Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano has a series of blog post on her blog Langwitches. She has enlightened readers on the importance of podcasts and how they can influence our lives.

Langwitches: 1st Graders Create Their Own Read Along Audiobook:

Ms. Tolisano made a post on how her first graders created their own audiobook. She pulled students aside, chapter by chapter and had them summarize the chapters into a script. Each chapter was recorded and printed into a script. When the last chapter was finished, Ms. Tolisano presented the script and audio to the class.

She said that it was amazing to see her students follow along with the typed scripts as they heard the podcast. The students really got into the assignment. They kept wanting to re-record their voice if they didn't "sound right." The whole point of this assignment was to teach the children the techniques of making a podcast. The fact that they learned about the book from the podcast was only a plus to the assignment.


Language Listening-Comprehension Podcasting

In this blog post Ms. Tolisano talked about second graders who used a podcast through Garage Band and the Smart Board to learn another language. This caught my attention because I am currently studying Spanish. She told readers that the students used the podcast in order to listen, record, and re-emphasize the correct pronunciation of the vocabulary they are learning.

I wish that we had had the technology that we have today when I was in elementary school. I spent a few years in magnet school learning Spanish. I believe that if we had had the opportunity to use Garage Band or a Smart Board in the classroom while learning Spanish I would have carried what I learned with me through the years. In high school I took Spanish 1 and had to re-learn many of the words I had "memorized" as a child.

Flat Stanley Podcast

Ms. Tolisano made an assignment with her first graders on the book "Flat Stanley." During their assignment, the students had to create their own "Flat Stanley" and send it to their relatives in the mail. This was relevant to the story "Flat Stanley" because the character Stanley was shipped in the mail.

To take the assignment to the next level, Ms. Tolisano assigned them homework to pick a location around the world that they would rather send their "Stanley." They were required to read about that location and then record in the podcast about that culture. They then sent their recording "around the world" by posting it into Ms. Tolisano's blog.

To all you wonderful bloggers reading this post, let me ask you two questions:
How will you use podcasts in your classroom one day?

Do you think podcasts can make a difference in the classroom?

2 comments:

  1. "I believe that if we had the opportunity to Garage Band of a Smart Board.. " Maybe you mean use Garage band and/or a Smart Board..." I agree with your sentiment.

    "...I would have carried what I learned with me through the years." Without practice, no. But you can relearn at a more rapid rate than others.

    "How will you use podcast in your classroom one day?

    Do you think podcast can make a difference in the classroom?" Who are these questions for? Why are they in your post (at the end) like this? Not clear. If they are for the reader of your blog you need to make that clear.

    Maybe just before them put: Now, dear reader of my blog, let me ask you two questions:

    You need to make podcast plural (podcasts) in the first question. And I would not leave so much space between them.

    Or, these may be questions you intended to answer but did not. I don't know.

    Thoughtful. Imaginative.

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  2. Amy,

    I really enjoyed reading your blog post. You stayed on topic, and your blog post as a whole really glowed together well. There were a few mistakes that I did see while reading.

    1. "The students got really into the assignment."
    That should be re-written as "The students really got into the assignment."

    2. In your picture, make sure that you use the ALT and TITLE modifications properly. Your source for the picture is supposed to be seen only when you hover your mouse across the picture.

    3. The assignment was late. Even though it was only a minute after the due date, it was still late. Dr. Strange stresses how important it is to be on time with assignments. Just be sure to watch your time with assignments to ensure that they are posted on time.

    Other than that, everything else seemed to be written well. Keep up the good work!!

    Ashley Zaworski

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