Teachers, Pay Attention!

I stumbled upon a new blog by Darren Draper, a technology specialist in Utah. He had an entry featuring his new video (that is similar to Karl Fisch’s video “Did You Know?”) entitled “Pay Attention". Draper states that in addition to all of Gardner’s “multiple intelligences” that students can have, they can also be “digital”. He continues by citing the amount of time kids spend on the computer, playing video games, talking on cell phones, and text messaging their friends. He poses interesting ideas of using cell phones and iPods in the classroom using the mentality, "if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”! For example, teachers understand how difficult it can be to reach your students using traditional lecture methods. What if you can reach them through podcasts?

My thoughts: there are free podcasts of all subject areas available on the Internet. Using podcasts can be one way to differentiate learning in the classroom. If students were able to listen to a podcast and follow along with it on the computer, they could pause the podcast as necessary until they completed the work on the screen. They can listen to the podcast multiple times to understand the material. Even if the podcast is not posted to the Internet, it can be housed on the school network for students to access via the student drive. The possibilities are endless!