Podcasts in Social Studies
What is a podcast?
There are lots of definitions for podcasts. Typically podcasts refer to audio content but more recently have expanded to include video. One of our favorite definitions comes from the Idaho Commission for Libraries, stating that a podcast is "a blog presented in audio format. The term is a combination of the terms 'iPod' and 'broadcast.'"
How to create your own podcast
This video shows how to create a podcast in Audacity, a free program.
WikiHow has an excellent step-by-step process for creating a podcasts:
- Determine the nature of your podcast. What will the content be? Write it down so you don't forget. Come up with an outline or some sort of organizer to keep track of what you will discuss or promote.
- Record the audio for your podcast (Mixcraft or GarageBand are good). For a free alternative, Audacity is great too.
- Tag it, give it ID information (Artist, Album) and give it album art. Either make it yourself, find some free, non-copyrighted images online, or have a friend make one for you.
- Save the audio file (in MP3 format) to your computer desktop. Do not use special characters (such as # or % or ?) in the file name. Open it up into your sound editor and edit out extra background noise or long periods of silence. Put in intro/outro music if necessary.
- Create your RSS podcast feed. The feed must meet all industry standards for a valid 2.0 feed with enclosures. Try using a complete solution and free service such as Podblaze or Podomatic (see the external links below). The easiest way to do it is to use a blog. So hop on over to Blogger.com, or another blogging service, and [[Start a Blog|start a blog]] with the title of your podcast. Don't make any posts just yet.
- Put your RSS podcast feed on the Internet. Go to Feedburner and type in the URL of your blog and click "I am a podcaster!". In the next screen, configure the elements for your podcast. These are the elements that directly relate to the podcast. your feedburner feed '''is your podcast'''.
- Go to OurMedia.org and sign-up there (this may take a while). Then go to your files, and upload your MP3 file.
- Make a post on your blog/website - the title of the post should be the title of that episode of the podcast, and the content will end up as the "Shownotes" or "Description". Put in a little about what you talk about in your episode. At the end of the post, put a link directly to your media file.
- Wait a little. In a few minutes, Feedburner should add this to your feed, and now you have an episode! You can submit it to iTunes or a number of other podcast directories to get it known. You may want to wait, however, until you have some experience, so that your podcast will be compared as a fifth episode to another's first.
- Ping the appropriate podcast directories when a new show is updated.
- Put the appropriate subscription buttons on your website so people can subscribe to the RSS podcast feed.
Ideas to integrate podcasts into social studies
- Geography
- Students create a podcast about their geographic area. Students can explain what is unique to their area. Trade podcasts with a class from a different area.
- Students can create an informational podcast about a different geographical area they are studying. Students can pretend they are either from that place or that they just returned from there.
- Students create a podcast commercial to draw attention and tourism to their area.
- Create a podcast travel journal about a fictional place from a book they are reading. For example, if they are reading James and the Giant Peach, they can create a podcast about traveling in a giant peach and the surrounding circumstances.
- History
- Have students be a historical figure and create a podcast telling a story in the first person.
- Students could create a podcast that is a dramatic reenactment of historical events or read a historical document dramatically.
- Use podcasts to recreate a famous radio or television broadcast.
- Pick a day in history and create a news report for that day.
- Civics/Government
- Research candidates (past and present) and create campaign commercials. For example, if radio had existed in the 1860, what would Abraham Lincoln's campaign commercial have sounded like?
- Hold mock debates over political issues.
- Create their own "School House Rock" style songs about government.
- Conduct interviews with local politicians.
- Economics
- Highlight a local business and explain its effects on their community.
- Create a news report about an economic issue that affects students.
- Create an informational report about their class's token economy works.
- Do a podcast about inflation -- compare how much things cost in the past compared to now. Create two commercials for well known products, one from a different time era and one from today, and compare the cost
Resources
Podcasting in the Elementary Classroom -- A Conversation on EdTech Talk
IPods Fast Becoming New Teacher's Pet
Social Studies Podcasts for the Classroom
Podcasting in the Classroom: Tips for Teachers
Garage Band in the Elementary Classroom
Examples of Student-Created Podcasts
References
http://www.digitaltrends.com/how-to/how-to-make-a-podcast/ (graphic)
http://libraries.idaho.gov/page/glossary (definition)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hrBbczS9I0 (video)
http://www.wikihow.com/Start-Your-Own-Podcast (tutorial)
Katie Tibbetts, Elizabeth Royal, Adam Woodroof