Workshop Three Blog

Maybe it's because I've lived in China for three years now or perhaps its because I'm used to first graders, but I was blown away by my friend Stephanie's fourth grade class. I visited to share and teach this past Wednesday as a guest speaker on Chinese New Year when I was still in the States. The students were eager to ask questions and one of them asked me (no, I didn't stage this question just so I could blog) what sort of educational technology we had in China. While my school doesn't have the same capabilities as her school, like interactive whiteboards, I am excited about the level of technology that is growing and being implemented each day. One of those technologies is podcasts.

Right now, I currently use audio to distribute my weekly reading selections. At first, I thought it would be useful to convert this into a podcast. Then I started to explore the possibilities of video podcasting. I think a video podcast would be much more useful to my classroom. For example, today we did an experiment in the class that is very simple and easy to replicate at home. We asked three essential questions about liquids and whether or not they would mix or separate. Students completed an observation sheet and part of their reading homework will be reflection on how their predictions turned out. However, I had four students (1/3rd!) of my class absent today. A video podcast would be an easy way to help students follow along with certain science labs at home when they were absent or to review before an exam.

Many of my students are also ESL students. They need many opportunities to practise their listening comprehension and critical thinking skills. A video podcast, even of a lesson that they were present for, would be a great way to help them develop their skills. However, I'm still curious as to how I would be able to best assess their learning when using this type of technology. I do not expect it to be a substitute for my classroom experience, merely a remedial or enrichment activity at this time.