It is the truth. Podcasts are so hot right now. There seems to be a new podcast popping up everyday. I, personally, am one of those people who has followed the trend. I did not think podcasts were anything special, until a friend introduced me to This American Life. It was so addicting! I started listening to it while I was running and was hooked from there on out. Now, I listen and subscribe to many podcasts, all reaching a certain part of my interests or personality.

When I mentioned the word “podcast” to my students though, they do not share the interest. They know of podcasts, but they do not listen to them. They even tease me a bit for listening to so many podcasts. (What’s new though??)

So now I am thinking to myself: How can I incorporate podcasts (one of my latest loves) into my classroom? AND how can I make it interesting?

I think the most obvious way would be to have the entire class to listen to a podcast together. I am not sure how effective this would be, but it could be a good change of pace to incorporate every now and again. There is a podcast dealing with grammar, which is suppose to be interesting and quick. This would be a great way to incorporate a podcast into my writing class.

Another way a podcast could be incorporate is in an independent way. Students (or a small group) could pick a podcast or episode they are interested in to listen to. They could then do a small write up about it and share it with the class after. I think this could be a great way to incorporate some of my students’ own interests. Each student could listen to a podcast about their own interest. It is like a technology version of literature circle or independent reading.

Finally, the most ambitious of them all. Students could create their own podcast. This is something I know I am not quite ready for yet, but I am motivated to try in the future. It would be a really fun project to incorporate in a year-long class, who also blogs. They could post the podcast to their blog, in place of a blog every now and again. It would be so fun to see students create on this level, but this one would require a bit more thought and planning on my part.

Overall, my love of podcasts needs to be incorporated into my classroom. I think I have a few fun ideas now on how to incorporate them. Looking forward to doing it!