Weekly Post - Podcast & Vidcasts

What?
This week we learned about Podcasts and Vidcasts. Our assignment is to use either of these two forms of media to teach a concept in our teams. For our team we are making a Vidcast of animal signs to be used when singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm.

So What?
I think Podcasts and Vidcasts are great, especially Vidcasts. Right now in my life I could use Vidcasts to make videos of cooking new meals to share with family or how to make crafts/visuals to share with my fellow student teachers. I could also use Vidcasts if I had a presentation that included some type of demonstration - I could make a Vidcast of the demonstration at home and just show it during class.

If everyone had access to equipment to make a Podcast, I think it would be a good tool to collaborate anecdotal notes in the practicum class in the Early Childhood Education Program. Right now in class we use sticky notes - 1 sticky note per child, per observation, handwritten - which is very time consuming. If everyone could record themselves and speak their notes and share them through a podcast that would save us all carpal tunnel syndrome in a few years.

Now What?
In my future, I think making Vidcasts would be an excellent way of doing demonstrations for projects. Children love guests and new faces to teach them something new - I think it would be fun to make Vidcasts of "guests" doing demonstrations for the class. This way they could do it on their own time and their own home or maybe even at a special location.

This might also be a great tool to use for a sub. If you had to stay home sick one day, you could make a Vidcast of an explanation of why you are gone for the sub to show the kids or even demonstrate activities that the kids would be doing that day. This would be very helpful for the sub because most students don't treat subs as well as they treat teachers because the sub doesn't really know how things are run. This would be fun for the kids to see their teacher on the computer even though they weren't going to be in class.


Video
I thought the video addressed many good points. The world is ever becoming a digital place and we need to keep up with the times. I'm not saying we should eliminate basic skills like writing (with hands) and penmanship, but there is definitely more to add when it comes to expressing yourself with written words. Blogging provides many great benefits such as literacy, engagement, sharing, etc. which are important for all ages.