Task #20 - Podcasts

Sir Ken Robinson

Most of you have probably heard about the TED series of talks, after all they have been around for quite a while now, well a few years ago, while on school camp, our then Head of Technology Innovation downloaded some TED series talks on to one of our School iPods, along with all the students medical detail etc, for us to take away with us.  At about 2am on the first night, unable to sleep, I checked out Sir Ken Robinson's speech on Creativity and Education.  His message really spoke to me and since that time have been quite the fan.  In tackling this week's activity on Podcast I was keen to see if I could access and more recent interviews or speeches given by Sir Ken Robinson.  I was surprised to find just how much is actually out there.  I have attached a link to the picture of Ken above which will take you to a website that contain two such podcast and would recommend that you check them out.  I would also be keen to hear your views on the topic.

PODCASTS:

What a brilliant way to hear from the best of the best without having to go to all the trouble of filling in countless forms for inservicing and then waiting to find out if the budget allows for you to go!  Granted it is not particularly interactive but I did find myself getting some marking done and a couple of other tasks while I was listening - a definite multi-taskers dream!

I also checked out The Education Podcast Network and found myself subscribing to some podcast RSS feeds (look at me using all this Web 2.0 language!!).  In particular I found the Technology Teacher podcasts informative as he is a Middle Years teacher using this medium with his students.  His very first podcast actually explains what a podcast is which was also very helpful!  He also has a lot of very cool links within his blurbs including this one Tony Vincent's website Learning in Hand  which is also definitely worth a look and is an invaluable reference if, like me, you are a bit of a novice.  The site stepping you through the whole process and it is extremely user friendly!

I also came across a UK Podcast directory for educators that looks quite good, including some global sharing projects.  Have added the link to my blog so that I can back-track the site when I have a little more time to explore. Grammar Girl and Podcast.com [Education] look interesting as well.

I think I could definitely see myself using podcasts, not simply as another teaching tool (though I think the novelty could be most beneficial) but I can also see my students using it with their wiki pages and as part of some assessment tasks...it may even be an option during our public speaking unit in the coming term.  Hum, a few things to consider but the brain is most certainly ticking over.

Truthfully I am finding so much great stuff that is out there, I wonder how I can make it all work inside the classroom but I guess that is the challenge isn't it!  Though if we are to truly educate children for the future that awaits them then we need to find ways to make this 'stuff' happen!!