Podcasting is one of the most popular ways to learn new things, especially younger generations who are used to watching videos on YouTube about practically everything. Teaching with podcasts lets teachers share information with students to help them understand important content and build skills at the same time.
Podcasts are an engaging teaching tool that can provide instruction in the classroom. Podcasting is a great way for teachers to break up lectures and teach students about complex topics, or it can be used as part of teaching grammar skills. Podcasting also provides an opportunity for students to learn how to create media content to use their voice and build self-confidence. This blog post will explore how podcasting can help improve teaching strategies in the classroom.
Teaching Difficult Concepts
Let’s be honest, it can be difficult to keep students’ attention in an age of smartphones and social media. When teaching complex topics or dry content, it is important to find a way to engage students in the learning process. Podcasting can be an excellent tool for accomplishing this goal.
Podcasting allows instructors to present information more dynamically and interestingly. By using visuals and sound effects along with their voice, teachers can help students better understand the content. This teaching method can be especially useful when teaching science or math concepts, which can often be difficult for students to grasp.
Some of the best subjects to present and teach using podcasts include :
- Math
- Science
- History
- Language Arts/English
There are many different ways for teachers to integrate podcasting into the classroom:
- Have students listen to existing podcasts as homework and then discuss them in class the next day. This is simple and effective because students are likely to listen to podcasts on their own time, and now you can give them something specific and educational to listen to while planning your classes for the coming days while helping them work on listening skills.
- Record podcasts teaching difficult concepts: These can be played during class, or used as part of teaching students how to create podcasts.
- Use podcasting in place of a lecture: Have the teacher record their lectures and play them back for students while they work on other things. This freedom encourages student engagement and improves listening comprehension with the material presented by giving them more control over what they listen to and when. They can also rewind or go over parts they have trouble understanding the first time around.
- Have students create their own podcast teaching or explaining a concept to the class: This teaching method can be especially useful when teaching students about the writing process. Students are often required to write essays or reports, but this teaching strategy gives them a different way of presenting information and lets them use their creativity to show what they know.
Using Podcasting for Education in the Classroom
In addition to using podcasting as a teaching tool for difficult concepts, it can also be used as part of teaching grammar skills or writing exercises. For example, by having students create their own podcasts on a specific topic, teachers can assess how well students can understand and use English grammar rules, and by writing scripts for their podcasts, students develop their writing skills.
Creating a podcast is a great way for students to show off what they have learned and lets them use their own voice creatively. Plus, creating a podcast isn’t entirely difficult and requires students to use multiple skillsets for their podcast. You can also encourage the rest of the class to listen to the recording and reinforce listening comprehension by asking listeners what they learned.
Podcasting for Education: Teaching Writing Skills
Writing a podcast is an excellent way for higher ed or distance learning students to practice writing because they need to include specific details and make their podcast episode interesting. For example, an English teacher can ask students to come up with their own idea and write a script for their podcast to practice writing skills. In addition, they should consider including an introduction and conclusion with visuals or sound effects along the way.
When practicing writing, they can also include teaching moments throughout their podcast, where they can explain certain grammar rules or other concepts. Students should consider how to break up the teaching points within dialogue so that it is not all in one place and sounds unnatural.
Podcasting for Education: Podcasting and Grammar Skills
Writing a script for a podcast provides excellent practice with English grammar because students need to know how to use correct punctuation as well as words correctly when writing dialogue. By having students create podcasts about various topics using both written scripts and spoken words, teachers will be able to explore any topic that they like, introducing new ideas and lessons to students in a fun and engaging way.
Podcasting for Education: Oral Communication
In a world when texting and typing are more common than anything else, learning to communicate through speech is often becoming a lost art. Practicing a mock podcast or interview is a great way for students to develop their oral communication skills because they will need to think about how they speak and what words they use.
The ability to communicate clearly is an important skill that students should continue practicing, even after leaving the classroom. Using podcasting as a teaching tool can be a fun way for teachers to help them practice this valuable skill set.
By teaching students how to create their own podcasts using audio or visuals, teachers provide opportunities for them to develop communication skills that are relevant outside of the classroom as well as inside it. Maybe those students will go on to work in media or broadcasting, and those communication skills will be more important than ever.
Podcasting for Education: Teaching by Listening to Podcasts
After weeks of listening to teachers, sometimes students want to hear from someone else. This isn’t an indictment of teaching style or anything else. It’s a common issue when trying to engage students and keep them listening after a long lesson. In the past, the most common form of multimedia teaching was video. If you have a video or a movie, you can create an educational lesson and exercises around it.
Now, though, you have more options. Podcasts are a great way to introduce multimedia to the classroom and bring a change to your lessons. You can use podcasts for a lesson by having students listen to a podcast before or after the class to introduce the topic. Alternatively, use a podcast as part of a homework assignment where students need to listen and then answer questions about it.
There are many different ways that you can use podcasts in your classroom, and they are all beneficial for teaching and learning. By using podcasts as an educational tool, you are opening up new opportunities for your students to learn while also having fun. Who knows? They may even want to start their own podcast one day, because of your inspiration.
So what if your students want to learn how to podcast? Here are the steps you can take to teach them how to research, write, produce, and edit a podcast in class:
First, you need to research podcasts and how to teach podcasting.
Next, you can ask students what they would like to learn about in their own podcast.
Then, divide the class into small groups of three or four people with each group assigned a different skill that they need for their podcast: writing, interviewing others, music creation/editing, or video editing:
- Start by instructing them to research the topic and write the podcast.
- The next step is to have them write a script for the podcast with their group.
- After that, they can interview each other about it and record those interviews.
Finally, students will need to edit the recording of all content into one final product! By teaching your class how to create podcasts with these steps, you are giving them important skills as well as providing an engaging way for them to learn new concepts in your classroom.
Podcasts offer many benefits when learning new information or creating multimedia projects because audio files work alongside written words while allowing visual elements like photos or video clips which keep students more engaged than just listening alone would do. Teachers can transform any lesson plan into something enjoyable by teaching through podcasts via this method.
Finally, have your students create and upload their first-draft podcasts so you can listen before giving feedback on how to improve them further. This is an essential part of teaching as it will give you insight into how well your students understand what they are learning and whether any additional explanation is needed during the lesson. It may also lead to a future where those skills may be used again, in a professional setting, long after they have left your classroom.
The Future of Teaching
Podcasts could be the future of teaching. They are an effective tool to reach students where they are already paying attention, in a format that they understand intuitively from their personal experience outside of school. Podcasting for education can be used to convey information or engage students and are another creative way you can make your lessons more memorable.
