Thing #17 Podcasting

I am familiar with podcasting and have made podcasts of my own with my kindergarten students.

Today I listened to ESL Pod.com. I heard an almost 16 minute podcast on temper tantrums hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan. From an ESL aspect, the creator used slow speech and explained the conversation afterwards. The narrator's monotone voice and lack of visuals would make it difficult to use this particular podcast in a teaching situation. It would be better suited for individual practice with English. I understand English, have taught second language learners for 15 years, and still had trouble following the podcast. This podcast came from Educational Podcast Network. I subscribed to eslpod.com for future reference.

I also investigated Learn Out Loud. I found the same podcast about temper tantrums hosted by Dr. McQuillan from the Center for Educational Development. He also does a series called ESL Cafe, in which he discusses US states. I can see that his work would work for adult English Language Learners.

Also on Learn Out Loud, I found a search for audio books. That will be something interesting to investigate later.

I also subscribed to Grammar Girl's Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing. I listened to a podcast called "What Is Subject-Complement Agreement?" I liked her approach and presentation of instruction better than Dr. McQuillan. She also had the transcript of the podcast on the website. This is good for those of us who are visual learners.

Perhaps I hesitate with podcasts because I am a visual learner instead of an auditory learner.

Podcasts do have a place in the classroom. I plan to research some to use this next year that will fit my K-2 curriculum.