Can podcasts enhance classroom instruction?

A podcast is an audio or video file that can be accessed from the Internet anywhere at any time. There is a lot of value in having podcasts because podcasts help bring content into the 21^st century classroom. They combine the use of technology with traditional curriculum content to allow students to learn the necessary material. Students can also use podcasts to demonstrate what they have learned. They give students the opportunity to not only demonstrate their own knowledge, but to teach their peers. In all that we know about ways that students learn best, giving students that opportunity to teach what they know to others is one of the most effective ways for students to internalize important concepts themselves. Working with Podcasts also teaches students vital skills that they will need to function in 21^st century society. The ability to create, manipulate, and interpret digital media is a skill that students will need for the rest of their lives. Podcasts also support the most effective ways to learn. When podcasts are used, teachers and students can easily create, tweak, and completely change the information included in them. This demonstrates the true purpose of learning. When people learn, they don’t learn something one way and then it’s done. People are constantly gathering new understanding and perceptions of the material. Podcasts allow students to be current in their learning by being able to demonstrate the assimilation and accommodation happening in their own minds as they connect to and make sense of their curriculum.