How can podcasting be used as an educational tool? As discussed earlier, one of the biggest advantages of podcasting is the ability to download a podcast file and listen to it in a mobile fashion. This means that the student be use the file in any place they happen to be. This could work very well for the community college becasue the basic community college student is by nature very mobile. Many students have a long cummute just to get to the classroom. They then rush off to work, which means more time in the car or on the bus. The mobile MP3 player can go right along with them, and offer them entertainment or education. In the car, and FM modulator such as the Griffin iTrip for the iPod will allowthem the play their device through the car radio. They can listen to the class lecture that their professor has posted as a podcast on his or her website, or listen to a test review that might help them pass the test that they will take later in the day.
I teach a class entitled Introduction To Speech Communication in which the students are exposed to the various elements of speech communication including group discussion. We do an excersice called the Financial Aid Project. In this project, the class divides up into small groups of around five to seven students, and they must choose two people from a list to recieve scholarships that will allow them to complete four years of college that they might not otherwise be able to do on their own. Do they pick the person who has worked to achieve high scolastic standards, the football player or cheerleader or the person from a third world country who will go back to his country after school and help his people produce more much needed food?
In this bobCast, I recorded the presentation of each group and I have included the highlights from the presentations. When you listen to the reasons why they choose the people you start to get an insight into the thinking and feelings of the community college student.
