Blogs, Video, and Podcasting in Classrooms

The popularity of podcasts, blogs, and video blogging is changing the landscape of education, as tech-savvy educators expose their pupils to a new teaching method.

While attending this year's Vloggercon conference, I sat in a session led by Bre Pettis called "Videoblogging in Education." Teachers exchanged ideas and were eager to learn more about the future of videoblogging in the classroom. Jen Simmons, Jonny Goldstein, and Bre Pettis are just a handful of teachers leading a new "education through videoblogging" movement that is being emulated by hundreds of teachers nationwide. One lesson kids can walk away with from their class is that getting out there and engaging in something creative is what really counts. These teachers proudly showcased video blogs created throughout the school year by their students.

Ever heard of podcasting? And who hasn't? Podcasting is so easy even a third-grader can do it. You think I'm kidding? Room 208 is a podcast produced entirely by third- and fourth-graders. You can download one of the 49 podcasts to any MP3 player. These little podcasters talk about current events, sports, politics, and school-related news, and they introduce their listeners to a word of the day. They've even created a vodcast (video podcast) to help new podcasters-to-be learn how to follow in their footsteps. You can find many others like it on Yahoo!'s podcast directory.

As times change, so do students. Teachers face a tough crowd that isn't easily captivated by the writing on the whiteboard, so they have to find innovative ways of engaging their audience. Another great example of new technology in the classroom is Michael Cunningham's Skype Foreign Language Lab. The lab's purpose is to encourage interactivity with foreign students living all over the world. Student are able to talk to each other through Skype's free VoIP service to teach and learn each other's language.

Teachers have also turned to blogs to engage students through a medium they're very familiar with. Steve over at Edugadget.com uses blogs for his daily lessons and projects them up on the screen while students follow along on their own computers. The class blog also helps parents keep track of new assignments, as well as their due dates. Steve is definitely not your average teacher, though. He's extremely familiar with wikis, making information accessible for students to download, and uses an online bookmarking tool to help kids locate information quickly. He also teaches his fellow coworkers about blogging and introduces them to helpful Web 2.0 applications. He says, "Just last year I had to explain what a blog was every time I used the word. Now I have teachers asking me how to set one up. Same with podcasting."

Kids are no strangers to social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook, and ELGG offers educators a safe network for their students. The site provides users with their own web log, podcasting repository, and RSS reader, and it gives them full control of privacy options.

As a new year begins, I look forward to seeing a new lineup of content generated from classrooms all across the nation. I'm glad teachers are passionate about education and actively seeking ways of reaching out to a new generation of kids who surely know their way around this new media.

What do you think about blogs, video, and podcasting in the classroom? Let me know in the comments section.