Journal 2: “Using Podcasts to Create a Global Perspective” (Nets 5)

Maguth, B. M., & Elliot, J. (2010). Using podcasts to develop a global perspective. Learning and leading with technology, 37(5). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=February_No_5_4&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4495&ContentID=25244&DirectListComboInd=D

            In “Using Podcasts to Create a Global Perspective,” Brad M. Maguth and Jeff Elliot document an assignment used in a technology, math and sciences highschool setting. In the assignment the authors wrote about, students are challenged to research a global issue and then present their research in the form of a “Meet the Press” style debate that is recorded and later turned into a podcast that can be shared online. According to the authors, using podcasts allows for “authentic learning” because students feel that the public nature of podcasts requires that their work be quality but also allows their work to reach an audience and be relevant to both the students and others. The technical aspects discussed in the article include the fact that the editing software Garage Band was used in the example project, but that Audacity is a free program that could be used, and that the audio files, once edited, need to be converted to the mp3 format before being posted to a website as a podcast.

Question 1: Are there privacy concerns about posting student work, in the form of audio content, on the internet?

If the students are identified by name and the website is publicly accessible, there may be privacy concerns. Teachers and administrators can get permission slips to post the student work. If the students are not visually identified in the file itself, and are not identified by name in the description on the website or in the file itself, there may not be privacy concerns to contend with. Another option would be to put the files on a password protected website. Unfortunately, doing so would negate the “global aspect” of sharing podcasts.

Question 2: Will student’s actually believe that their podcasts can reach wide audiences from a school website?

The idea that students will take their work more seriously and see it as relevant if there is a chance that people all over the world might see their work is contingent on students actually believing that people might see their podcast. By high school, students are smart enough to know that simply existing online does not guarantee being seen. All it would take is one cynical student to point this out to the entire class and change the dynamic of the assignment. To counteract this, teachers could have colleagues from other places comment on the finished podcasts from previous years to show to future students.