Article 3 ReviewPodcasting in the Classroom

Podcasting in the Classroom by Brain Flanagan and Brendan Calandra is an article from 2005 that takes a look at what was then a pretty new technology, podcasting. Podcasting is the ability to listen to and record audio shows (Flanagan & Calandra 2005). One of the easiest ways to do this is through an Ipod or other mp3 player. However, you can also use a computer. This technology can be used to present lectures to students. This way they can listen to it at their own convienance and they can listen to it more than once so that they gain a deeper understanding of the topic and can review any part that they found tricky or hard to understand. Podcasting has lead the way to vodcasting (video podcasting). Video podcasting falls under our current definition of multimedia because it is using both images and text (in this case sound) to convey information.While podcasting and vodcasting have great potential to change the field of education there are some important factors that need to be looked at. As with most things on the interent, there is no regulation so you must be responsible and preview content to make sure it is appropriate. There is also legal concerns. Copyright infringement and defimation need to be taken serioulsy. You cannot use other people's work without premission and you can not defame people or their business. This could lead to serious legal trouble. There is also a hardware concern. In order for podcasting to be successful students must have access to it. They need a good deal of storage to hold the mp3 files and a fast internet to downlaod the large files.Podcasting has great potential but it can't be realized if you don't have trained faculty to implement it in the classroom. In the K-12 setting disticts have to come up with the money to train teachers, supply classrooms with hardware and internet capabilites. They also need to make sure that students have access to the technology outside the classroom and they need to make special consideration for learners with exceptionalities. While podcasting has the potential to change the norm of educating students it must be researched and outcomes looked at carefully. This article bills it as a cost-effective way to deliever educating (Flanagan & Calandra 2005). It is cost-effective because it is seen as a way to limit the amount of educators needed. Why pay for another teacher when you can just download podcast. This means that students would be exposed to only a handful of teachers and their ideas. This could harm both teachers and students.