Podcasting with 3rd Grade
Third Grade studied endangered and threatened animals of Florida in their science curriculum. TechConnect, together with the classroom teachers planned to take this unit to the 21st century and have students, not only research facts, but become experts in their assigned animals and make a difference by share their knowledge with others. They were to learn about their animal and then produce a podcast episode. These episodes will be available to listen to and download for their iPods.
What an incredible opportunity to not only learn about each animal, but also to work on:
- Research skills
- Sound editing software
- Speaking and communication skills
- Oral fluency
- Copyright issues
- Information literacy
- Storytelling skills
The project was divided into several different pieces.
- Students were assigned one endangered or threatened animal from Florida and given research question.
- Describe your animal’s habitat (Where he lives? What he eats?)
- Why is your animal endangered or threatened?
- Teachers previewed and selected a limited number of links that students were to get their information from. These links were posted to the teacher’s blog.
- Draw their animal using a drawing program (KidPix)
- Introduction and “play time” in Sound Editing program (Audacity)
- Voice recording of facts. Editing, re-recording, paying attention to expression, articulation, captivation, persuasion
- Inserting and editing music as background
- Creating an “intro” and “outro” for the podcast as a group
Here is a screenshot of the sound editing software and the project of one of the students. They learned to record, pause, edit clips, move tracks, import audio files. They are getting really good at “reading” their own voices too.
Listen in to their class episodes on Endangered and Threatened Animals in the State of Florida/USA
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Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
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What a great opportunity you have had to make a research project to share with the world.I couldn’t link to your podcast though.
Cheryl Oakes
I hadn’t realized that there were so many endangered and threatened animals in Florida. Thank you for educating me. I loved your sound effects.
Doha, Qatar, in the Middle East
Interesting and intrguing presentation guys. You’ve clearly done a lot of research on endangered animals in Florida. Next time let me know what’s endangered in my neighborhood, Winnipeg, Manitoba, ok?
@CherylOakes
The sound file is fixed now. Thank you for stopping by.
OH, I am so glad I returned to listen to the audios! I hope the indigo snake is saved! Great job to all you researchers, keep up the great work.
I have garter snakes here in Maine.Here is an endangered snake from my backyard http://www.state.me.us/ifw/wildlife/species/endangered_species/black_racer/index.htm
bye
We are a fifth grade class in Salina, KS. We do a podcast for vocabulary practice, but they are not nearly as well put together as what you have done here. Great job! We took notes as we listened and found out that we don’t know a lot about the animals of Florida. Below you’ll find a list of the things we loved and ways you might improve your next project. Keep us posted about what you are doing!
What we loved:
The constantly changing background music and sound effects, cueing us to a change in topic! The music selection itself was “wicked”. The fun “tick-tock-tick-tock” to let us know that time is really running out. The amount of knowledge you have gathered is unbelievable! The animals there have really descriptive names. YOur narration used a lot of good expression. The description of the animals was vivid. Your animal portrayal was great. The ending, talking in unison was well-done.
Ideas for improvement:
Some of the students might speak a little more softly and slow down. Some others need to talk a little more loudly. Show notes would help your listeneres be able to follow along a little better.
Your style and delivery really caught my attention. Dry facts are not enough: you have to “sell” your message to the audience. Congratulations on a job well done!
Queensbury, NY (upstate, in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains)
What a great way to bring the plights of endangered animals to people’s consciousness! These kids share with style and flare and I am happy that I listened!
Well the one word that came to mind after listening to your podcasts was FABULOUS!!! You obviously worked very hard at not only researching the animals but also on your presentation. I only wish we lived closer so I could come to your classroom and you could teach me! You have inspired me and for that I thank you all.
Third Graders,
You all did an AWESOME job of sharing information about endangered animals in your podcast. Your enthusiastic voices, sound effects and music clips made your podcast interesting to listen to. While I was listening to the podcast I was thinking that my third graders would love to listen to your podcast and I’m sure that they would want to try one too. We’ve never created a podcast before, so we will learn a lot from listening to all of you. Thanks again!
Your students did a wonderful job. The production sounded very polished and the sound effects added to the production. They did a good job not letting the sound (bells & whistles) interfere with the message.
Great job kids!
What a great resource. I moved to Florida 6 years ago from Minnesota and I didn’t know this about these animals! You did a very nice job with the sound effects and the enthusiasm in your voices was powerful. Thank you so much! Keep up the good work!!
Really nice job! You could certainly tell that the students knew what they were talking about. Your enthusiasm came through to the listener which made me want to listen to all of the podcasts to learn everything I could about your animals. Are you planning more podcasts? I hope so…I’m looking forward to hearing more. Thank you for sharing!
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interesting. good work! this hi-tech world we live in has so many benefits for learners.
I Love this Site ~ and always find soooo many interesting tidbits when I stop by. Thank You for sharing the good things in life.