13/11/12 - Digital Media: Speaking and Listening

Schools have the ability to incorporate technology in the learning of speaking and listening. There are many tools out there that assist this concept of speaking and listening. I will be going through a small range of these utilities.

In this modern error of technology, it is a rarity to see someone without a MP3 device, namely an Ipod. This bit of equipment has allowed people to listen to mass amounts of audio through a little device. Audio that people can listen to varies from music, audiobooks to podcasts.

A Podcast is generally an episodic series of audio recordings, that are downloadable from the internet. They are generally similar to radio shows and have now become very popular in schools. They can be extremely beneficial in the classroom as it can provide a voice for children and bring them confidence in another form of communication. Examples of this can been seen from children who lack writing skills. Although they may not know how to put their pen to paper this does not specifically mean that they do not have an opinion or have not gained any prior knowledge from class learning and discussions. These children can voice their opinion via a different medium. This can also be used as a good tool for getting children to work in groups and learn key skills in discussion. There has now been a prominence in the amount of schools that are creating their own radio stations which they distribute via the internet on sites such as www.radioanywhere.co.uk. There is free software available on the internet such as Audacity which enable you to make recordings which can then be saved as common audio files such as MP3 and Wave. This therefore provides you with a great free and fun resource which can be used in the classroom. 

Key points to think about and discuss before starting to create podcasts

•What audience are we targeting?

•What language is appropriate to the audience?

•Who has responsibility for the material broadcast?

•Who monitors what is said?

•What quality control is there?

•What happens if someone says something libellous?

•E-safety

o  Copyright

o  Protecting child identify

o  Acceptable use

•The importance of not revealing personal information

Digital Imaging can be a very fun and interactive tool in the classroom. An example of the advantages of having digital imaging in the classroom can be seen in the below stop motion video clip. To create this clip we used a digital camera, some Plasticine and a free software downloadable of the internet called Photostory 3. We made some models and then took a series of pictures. We then decided to think about what the characters would be doing and saying in each section of the clip. I believe doing something like this can be extremely advantageous in the classroom as it is first of all fun and brings different subjects together, such as English and Design technology. 

Digital Videos are used in schools more and more these days. Many schools have webcams in the classroom which is a very useful tool as it can be used in many different ways. Webcams can be used for observation studies such as looking at a snail tank and monitoring the behavior of the snails. It can also be used in a similar way to podcasts where the child can record the there thought and opinions of a specific lesson in the day. The possibilities of the modern digital media is endless.