Diversity in the School

      Diversity is a word that we hear often in today's times.  There are so many different type of people that it is important that the schools reflect this.  Diversity is not a bad thing it is actually a very good thing.  When people, children and adults alike, are exposed to and accepting of  a world of differences they become more well rounded people.  The knowledge that we all have differences and that those differences are what makes us who we are is a very powerful thing.  However, when others are not accepting of these differences it can be very dangerous.

     Diversity is not merely focused on race or culture.  It doesn't center around gender, language, of special needs.  It encompasses it all.  Diversity speaks to the many differences between people and how those differences create the person.  sadly, many people are quick to judge others because of one or more of these categories.  Some people treat others as lesser people because of their race or gender.  Some are made fun of because of cultural habits or special needs.  As teachers we need to create a community where we support the diversity and allow the students to cross social barriers. The fear or hatred towards others based on their differences often comes from a lack of understanding.  If we bridge the gap then we hopefully will break down some of these walls.

      Knowledge is the most important aspect of accepting the differences and supporting a diverse community.  As a media specialist we are able to support this diversity by providing materials that allow information to be shared.  Also, as in the case demonstrated in the story about Ashley, allowing students that have those differences become an active and visual part of the program allows the other students to see that they are not so different after all.  Ashley was in a position where at many schools she would be pitied by the students, but by showing them she was able to accomplish the things that they could this allowed her to become a role model for others.  This provided others with the knowledge that people with differences are still capable of the same things they are.

     It is important that the media center have equipment that provides for the population of the students.  If there are students who have difficulty seeing provide large print books and magnification equipment to cater to them.  If there is a large population of English second language learners then provide materials in their home language.  Have a variety of materials that reflect multiple cultures and create programs highlighting them.  At my school we have a large Hispanic population with Spanish being their home language so our shelves house books in both English and Spanish.  There are magnifiers and computer programs that help the small population of students with special needs.  We have regular programs that highlight the cultures that are represented in the school.  On the morning announcements the mission statement is quoted in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.  Our media center could uses more technology to support the diversity in our school but there are many pieces already in use.

Diversity

In an article regarding diversity in a classroom, it mentions two main aspects of diversity that children will most likely encounter in a classroom. One aspect is children with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. The other aspect is the different cultures. As the media specialist, we can collaborate with the teachers to meet the needs of the students to encourage and make the students feel comfortable with learning. Our media specialist reads and sings to our special needs class. She has used Tumbleweed with the Pre-K class. We have a kindergarten class that has majority Hispanic culture. The media specialist and teacher incorporate stories the students can relate to.
As a Title One School, we have received funding to purchase approved technology to be available to assist students with learning in every area possible. Computers are available for students in classrooms and in the media center. Some of our students have been going on IPASS either to work on it in their classroom, or some use the media center. Before CRCT testing, the computer lab is open to parents to bring in students to work (students that don’t have computers at home). Our Parent Resource person allows parents to check out certain learning instruments to work at home with the student.
As educators, we want to provide every opportunity for our students to learn and grow without any hindering factors.

Technology, Diversity, and the Media Center

Most all of the classes in the media/technology program provide opportunities for us to consider diversity as it relates to the media center. In MEDT 6401 we learned about many different assistive technologies that are available to help students with special needs access information. When designing the floor plan for a media center in MEDT 6461, we were reminded to consider the needs of our patrons in placement of furniture and spacing of shelves to accommodate wheelchairs. In MEDT 6465 we read and reviewed books from many different countries and cultures and encouraged to include diversity as we developed out media collection. We also discussed the media patrons’ right to intellectual freedom and the importance of not allowing our beliefs, biases, or opinions to influence the materials we purchased for the media collection. In PTED 7271 and CEPD 6101 we explored at great length the topic of diversity and meeting the needs of all children. In MEDT 6466 we planned media programs that meet the needs of all school populations or groups. Diversity and the media program are definitely linked.

When considering Technology, Diversity, and the Media Program there are two main areas to consider - the stakeholders and the media collection. Many schools consider the media center to be the hub of the school because it is used by all stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and different ability levels and provides information resources in many formats. For this reason, the media center needs to be prepared to meet the needs of all its stakeholders. The public school populations are diverse so the media specialist must be diligent in making sure that the many cultures and religions of the school and both sides of social issues are represented in the media collection. Technology must also be available to help special education students access the information they need.

Our media specialist does a good job of meeting the diverse needs of the media center’s patrons. Last year we had a situation similar to Ashley’s experience with her school’s TV news show. Our media specialist recognized one of our special education student’s strong interest in the daily weather. With great enthusiasm, he always told us when it was going to rain or snow so she invited him to be a guest meteorologist on our morning news. This opportunity was such a morale boost for him. We also have an Early Reader collection in the media center for our special education students who are reading on an elementary level.

The school media center has many opportunities to address the diverse needs of the school population through its programs, the books on the shelves, technologies used, and varied formats in which its rich information resources are provided.

Digital Storytelling and Ebooks

The new technologies available in today’s schools provide opportunities for new projects like digital storytelling. However, when I first started thinking about this topic, I was drawn to a project my sister did in the late 1970s that was an early version of a digital story. She created a slideshow that illustrated the song “Where do the Children Play?” by Cat Stevens. She went through hundreds of my family’s slides and found pictures that depicted the words in the song, sequenced them, and manually advanced the slides on the slide projector while playing the song on the record player. Same idea, right? Of course today we would search the internet for images, video, and music to download or save on our computer. We then combine them with text and personal narration and create a digital story using software such as Moviemaker or Photostory 3.
Karen Diaz and Anne Fields cover the subject of digital storytelling very thoroughly in our text, Library 2.0 and Beyond. Especially helpful is the section identifying the elements of digital storytelling. The University of Houston’s Digital Storytelling website provides even more useful information as it offers examples, essential information and tips, and ideas for using digital storytelling in the classroom. Digital storytelling can be used by K-12 teachers as a hook at the beginning of a lesson, during a lesson to present information, or as a way to “pull it all together” at the end of a unit. Just from what I’ve read for this assignment, I think that using digital storytelling as student projects is more appropriate for older elementary, middle, and high school student as it helps student develop technology skills, verbal storytelling skills, information literacy skills through research, and writing skills. Of course, with more experience and training, I might think differently. I just don’t see the seven elements of digital storytelling being understood by younger children. Although I am still struggling through the digital storytelling assignment for our MEDT class, I look forward to seeing the many finished products at the end. Training or staff development for digital storytelling would be time well spent for teachers. The media specialist also needs be knowledgeable and willing to collaborate with teachers and use this tool with students.

Ebooks is a hot topic among librarians, media specialists, publishers, and book lovers in general. The big question is, “Will ebooks take the place of printed books?” Many people will say that the printed text will become a thing of the past and therefore libraries will not exist. I’m not sure I agree. There will always be people who prefer the printed book and not everyone can afford the tools needed for using ebooks. Although picture books and YA fiction ebooks are not available or used in most schools, encyclopedias and other reference materials are available online in ebook format. Many of the textbooks are also available in ebook format but a password is needed for student’s to access them.
Our media specialist shared information with me from the recent district media specialist meeting on the topic of ebooks. The technology department is currently researching the mobile devices such as Kindle, Ipad, Nook, etc. that are used to read ebooks. Some of the schools are purchasing these devices and using them with success. At this time our school does not have ebooks except the reference materials that are available online through the county or in GALILEO. Our media specialist is considering ordering through Titlewave some ebook versions of the middle school titles that are part of the reading curriculum for teacher use. These stories can be projected on the Smartboard and incorporated into lessons. Our media specialist commented that the biggest issue is the limited number of titles available for purchase from Follett.
For now I believe that the cost of the devices for reading ebooks may keep them out of our schools. However, technology is no longer a thing of the past, so ebooks may become more of the norm in the near future.

Ebooks and Digital Storytelling

Ebooks are becoming more familiar in the electronic world. In our school, it hasn’t made an impact. The cost of ebooks along with the devices for use will be too costly at the moment. Along with the cost issue, the media specialist at our school does not feel that it will be used to its full capacity right now. We do have the PDAs (personal digital assistant), which is one of the devices used for ebooks. It is used in our school for Dibels at this time, we only check them out to team leaders. I viewed several electronic reference sources that the schools are familiar with for students and teachers such as EBSCO and Britannia.com, which you have to be a member of or have access to it. I don’t think our students will have a problem wanting ebooks, because students today enjoy electronic devices. Many of our younger students (K-2) enjoy their story time in the media center and having the book in their hands. The ebooks that I have seen on a low level could be great for lessons especially for students needing the assistant.

Digital storytelling is a story told with digital images, narration and music. The author of “Library 2.0 and Beyond” referred digital storytelling to allowing the story to be re told. Several subjects can be used with digital storytelling for students to do from the basic to getting very creative in formatting a story. It will certainly be helpful to teachers to enhance a lesson, and allow students to research information that they can relate to. The University of Houston gave seven elements that could be helpful to a beginner like myself:
1. Point of view
2. Dramatic question
3. Emotional Content
4. Gift of your voice
5. Power of the Soundtrack
6. Economy
7. Pacing

These elements can also be found in the textbook (Library 2.0 and Beyond by N. Courtney)and with explanations of each one. Digital Storytelling will be helpful to students with a more active outlook of their lesson.

Training with Technology

     Technology is a field that is constantly changing. It seems there is always a newer or better version being introduced. Not to mention the new technological advances that are being produced at an alarming speed. Unfortunately the users are not as quick to develop as the technology. The students in the school often have more experience using technology that the instructors. This makes it necessary that teachers participate in staff development that focuses on technology.

     I am working in an elementary school that has many different types of technology in the classroom. There are LCD projectors and interactive white boards in every classroom. There are also equipment such as document cameras, digital cameras, and student response systems that can be checked out of the media center. The only issue that we face is that many of the teachers do not know how to use the technology and many are unwilling to learn.

    These teachers moan and groan as we sit through professional development about the new technology then never use the technology in the classroom. We usually only have one training that is an overview where we watch the instructor use the technology and we will watch. We have a training next week on creating our teacher websites. We had this training two years ago and I think we had about ten teachers who published a website after the training. Unfortunately, I am not expecting a much better turn out this year. There is very little hands on training and I think that is part of the reason teachers do not want to use technology, they don't feel comfortable using it. I have some experience with technology and I usually need to go and play with the equipment to figure out how it works.

     If I were to deliver a training on a new piece of technology there are a few things I would do differently than the trainings I am attending. First I would have a one page help guide that the teachers could take with them to reference on their own. If there are a lot of steps I would break it up into sections. I would compile the help guides in a notebook that would be stored in the professional section of the library as a resource. I would also post a link to the guides on the school media center web page as a reference. Secondly, I would break the trainings into shorter sections during the day. This would prevent overload on information and also more time to practice. Which leads to my third change, I would make the trainings interactive and meaningful. This means I would give the teachers a chance to use the technology in a real life setting to model uses in the classroom.


April's DOs of technology training

1. Do give plenty of time to practice using the technology.
2. Do keep it simple and as basic as possible.
3. Do create a help guide for teachers to reference on their own.
4. Do connect the technology to practical uses in the classroom.
5. Do encourage all teachers to use the technology. Excitement is contagious!
6. Do share ways that teachers are using the technology in their classroom.
7. Do be mindful of the other responsibilities of the teachers.
8. Do be available for questions or modeling.

April's DON'Ts of technology training

1. Don't get discouraged by the teacher's reactions.
2. Don't lecture about the technology to the teachers.
3. Don't stop after one training.
4. Don't be surprised when you need to show a teacher the same thing multiple times.
5. Don't expect the teachers to get it the first time.
6. Don't use technical terms that your audience will not understand.
7. Don't monopolize the teachers time with trainings.

Technology Training

Technology has become a major part of the school media center. The media specialist incorporated training for teacher to assist with their instruction. The media specialist provides this assistance to administrators, teachers, and sometimes students. Technology training is the media specialist's way of sharing their skills and knowledge with the staff. The training can consist of the use of equipments such as digital cameras, the LCD projector, or the Promethean Board. Also, various websites to show the staff how they can assist the each other such as Ning in Education, Library Thing gives listing of books with comments and rating for other members, and Flickr is great for photo sharing. Teachers may request training in the area of educational links to lesson plans such as Discovery/United Streaming, research such as Nettrekker, and instructional assistance in the classroom such as Odyssey.
Our media specialist, Ms. Henry, is a first year media specialist, but has directed staff developments for her previous school while teaching 5th grade. She surveyed the teacher at our school to see how they felt about the training they had before they got the Promethean Board. Many of the teachers felt they still needed training. She is proposing with the county school system technology personnel to provide another training particular to help with the Activhub, Activslate, and Activpen. Her goal is to arrange staff development whenever there is new technology to assist teachers and staff when using in the classroom. A few DO's and DON'Ts when arranging a staff development training that Ms. Henry recommend:

• Do make it fun for the staff that have to sit in;
• Don't make it last the whole day (after a while the fun will run out);
• Do make a survey to find out what the teachers need training with;
• Don't have it on a Sat. unless the staff will receive a stipend.

Technology training introduces the staff with what is new in technology and to enhance curriculum for our students.

School TV News

I enjoyed interviewing the student producer, Christian, and the teacher advisor, Mr. Markley to learn about our live morning news show, the Wildcat News. Started last year as a project of our media specialist, Wildcat News was produced each morning in a small room off of the media center. This year the set was moved into its official home in the production studio off of the Explorations in Technology classroom. Wildcat News airs each morning with a premade picture promo (produced by students using Photostory) beginning at 8:25 and then a live five to seven minute news show starting at 8:30. The news show includes a moment of silence, the Pledge of Allegience, weather report, "On this day in history" highlights and school announcments. The student council campaign speeches were also given during the news show in September. Mr. Markley actually gathers the announcments and puts them into Power Point slides that are read from a monitor by the news anchors. Eighth graders must apply to be members of the Wildcat News crew and must also be recommended by a classroom teacher. The crew consists of a student producer, two anchors, one weather announcer, and a four member tech crew. Although the anchors and weather person change quarterly, the tech crew remains the same. Mr. Markley looks forward to adding the Television Broadcast and Video Production modules to the curriculum in his Explorations in Technology class and to producing the Wildcat News during the class rather than before school. Mr. Markley will teach the use of video production and editing equipment, including a green screen. Although the Wildcat News has started out small, I see opportunity for growth and potential for a much more complex production within the next few years. I look forward to watching the growth of Wildcat News and the increased use of technology for our students.

Social Networking: Beneficial or Dangerous

Social Networking is Beneficial

Social networking refers to the connection between people for various reasons.  The application of social networking by using the Internet has expanded these networks to include at the basic level a person's acquaintances and friends but also their friends' acquaintances.  It is said that you can connect any two people through less than six acquaintances.  The idea is that the amount of people that can be connected grows exponentially as you move farther from a central person.  An online networking site allows for easier access to these connections and the ability to potentially act upon them.

Social networking not only allows the participants to connect with their friends but also with others who have similar interests.  Many sites allow for the creation of groups and blogs that provides opportunities for subscribers to interact with those who share their interest.  There are groups on subjects such as religion, music, movies, political views, and many more.  All users create a profile where they provide information about themselves and their interests.

There are many different social networking sites and many of them begin by being directed at a specific audience.  I want to look at some of them but this is not anywhere near an extensive list. 

             MySpace - MySpace is the largest social networking site with more than 100 million members.  This site has a large base of musicians.  Many budding artist share their work on their pages while professional artist promote their most recent productions.  Although there are many artist there are also many other  people and companies that also have a page.  If a media center wanted to verge into this world of social networking MySpace would be the place to do this.  One reason is the number of participants that would be presented with  the information.  MySpace is also very user friendly and accessible to all.  It is important not to merely recreate a media center website but cater to the audience.  Many media centers have audio materials available and there is a component on MySpace that allows for a song to be linked and played on the media center page.  This would be a great place to present new and exciting materials as well as tips to using the media center.  There could also be a blog feature where patrons could freely give their honest opinion on the media program and ways to improve them.

             Facebook - Facebook started as a networking site at the college level.  It has been expanded to include high schools, corporations, organizations, and geographical areas.  There is a little more security related to Facebook because people can only see the profiles of those people or organizations that are set as friends or are in a particular network, such as school or geographic area.

             LinkedIn - LinkedIn is a social networking site for those who are business oriented.  On the site people connect in order to find business opportunities.  This site limits contact to those people who are friends.

             LiveJournal - LiveJournal is a blogging website that connects users.  This could be useful in a media center to allow for literature circles.

A media center's use of social networking site could be deterred by the fact that many of these sites are blocked by the county making access to them difficult.  There is also discussion that leads to the use of social networking in correlation to the online cataloging system.  The idea is that the program would allow users to rate and comment on books.  Some websites, such as Amazon, have already implemented this type of networking.  The views of others can be useful when selecting a book.  I have used these comments to help in my selection of materials.

Social Networking is Dangerous

Social networking sites are not always fun and games.  There have been some serious dangers that have developed as the Internet has become used more often.

          Online Predators - Online predators have become a real threat and many adults, parent especially, fear that children will unknowingly become victims for there people.  A social networking site is a dream for these predators because the users, teenagers or children, often put personal information without considering the repercussions.  There are also many younger users that can be susceptible to falling prey.  The most important thing is education about what should be shared online but the sites are trying to help by providing privacy controls that limit access to part or entire profiles.

           Spyware and Viruses - People who create these viruses often create fictional websites that link to the virus.  User knowledge is the best way to try to prevent these occurrences.

            Identity Theft and Stalking - The more personal information that is shared online the less protected you are.  There are people who take advantage of the vast amount of personal information that people put on the social networking sites.

             Cyber-bullying - The introduction of all the different types of media has created a new way for kids to pick on one another.  Cyber-bullying is a serious problem.  The Internet has allowed an area for rumors to be spread much faster and there is little way of connecting the perpetrator with the crime.  The sites are not usually monitored so victims often cannot do anything.  This is a problem that does not have a solid solution yet and needs to be addressed.

              Invasion of Privacy - The fact that social networking sites are on the Internet means that most people would be able to access the information.  Simply deleting the information is not sufficient as a record of it still remains on the Internet somewhere.  Those who are determined to find it will be able to.  Many employers look at these sites when looking at prospective applicant or current employees.  The information found could have unforeseen consequences.

              Addiction - These sites can become addictive.  The danger is that people will begin replacing real life actions and friends with ones in the cyber world.  This could potentially cause issues with the development of their social skills.  Also, many times focus is place on the amount of friends that a person has on a networking site but no emphasis is placed on the depth of the friendships.  I feel it better to have fewer meaningful relationships then many superficial ones.


The use of social networking in a media center has many possibilities.  It would be an additional way to appeal to the patrons.  However, there are many issues that should be considered to provide a safe environment for the students.

Web Page

What do you see as the top do's and don'ts for a good web page design? After reading about web pages and having some examples, the design web page design is an interesting tool. The book suggests having limited links. Those links should include teacher assignments, bibliographic aids, library catalogs, and of course name and contact information of the library staff. Many web pages are designed by the librarian. It is not uncommon for someone else to design and maintain the webpage such as a technology technician, teacher, students (upper grades), library aid, district office personnel, or parent volunteer. The site should suite the audience. The web page for an elementary school is a different design than what you would see for a high school. Also, the web page should comply with school colors and make sure it is readable. When designing the web page, the graphics should match the school's other web page design.

The media center's web page is very useful providing information. The information can be updated on the web page. The web page is available to all to look at from any location. It is a great communication tool between students, teachers, and the media specialist. Its purpose is geared toward students, teachers, parents, and library staff. It allows parents of prospective students and people outside the school to view, descriptive of the media center, and a reflection of the school itself. To view some schools' web pages on each grade level, the following websites are available:

North Elementary School Library Media Center(http://www.nobl.k12.in.us/North/NorthMedia/index.htm)

Milton Middle School (http://www.milton.k12.wi.us/schools/mms/website/library/MMS_LMC/Welcome.html)

Creekview High School
(https://sites.google.com/site/theunquietlibrary/)

As the media specialist, have some ideals in mind. The school district might have certain order or policies to design the web page. Other media specialists in the area are available for suggestions, so don't hesitate to ask around.

Wonderful World of Wikis

Today's teachers and media specialists are preparing students for success in today's technological society so teaching and using technology is a must in today's schools. Wikis are one of those technologies that today's educators need to learn about and use with their students. Basically a wiki is a simple website that can be created and edited by a community of users rather than by one webmaster. The following are educational uses of Wikis:

• Create distance learning resources
• Plan a conference
• Build an online collaborative classroom
• Engage students outside of the classroom
• Faculty collaboration and communication
• Pathfinders for research projects

Although email is probably the tool most frequently used for communication, a wiki is much simplier. On a wiki, a group of people can edit and save informaton and share share links. Using a wiki for communication keeps the trail of emails to a minimum and simplifies the dissemination of information.

Another advantage of a wiki is that it is internet based and can be accessed from any computer with internet access so teachers and students can work with it at school and home. A wiki is a good place for students to store work so that they can collaborate on projects with classmates or continue their work on projects at any intenet linked computer.

The wiki that we are using for MEDT 6467 is my first experience with wikis. I like the ability it gives us to share our projects by posting them to the wiki.

To better understand how a wiki can be used , I explored the use of wikis by some of the media specialists and teachers in our school district. Here are links to a couple of them. I hope you'll check them out!

RRHS Lit/Comp and Journalism teacher who is also in the UWG media and technology program took 6467 last spring. This wiki that she uses with her journalism students is modeled after the one we are using.

Former TMS media specialist is still linked to the school's media center webpage and has a great wiki for her new school. Check it out the rules for using the wiki that she has posted.

Since the media specialist is often the "go to' person for new ideas and technologies, it is important that we know these new tools and are willing to provide training for teachers and to collaborate so that tools are being used with students. Wikis are one of the tools we need to know and the best way to know them is to use them!

The World of Podcasting

Question:
The rise of podcasting in schools has been a grassroots occurrence. Depending on what school you look at, podcasting -- if present at all -- may be introduced by teachers, administrators, students, media specialists, or technology specialists. At Willowdale Elementary in Omaha, Nebraska, the technology specialist Tony Vincent introduced podcasting and has taken upon himself much of the work of spreading the innovation and guiding the quality of the podcasts produced. At Beverly Elementary School in Birmingham, MI, the media specialist Kristin Fontichiaro podcasts (herself) and hosts a Podcasting Club for 4th graders. The podcast is disseminated through a blog. At other schools, no one is podcasting.

So, imagine a teacher approaches you and asks you if you can help him to start up a podcast for his class (something like Radio WilloWeb). In truth, you may know little about podcasting. So, how do you respond to the teacher? Do you tell him farewell and good luck? Do you tell him you don't know much, but you're willing to find out? What is your role? What are the reasons behind how you choose to respond to this teacher?

Thoughts:
As I explored the new world of podcasting this week I began to envision the many uses of podcast within a school.  The scenario that has been given about a teacher approaching me in order to create a podcast could easily be true, as stated in the scenario I do not know much about podcast.  The little I do know I have gained in the technology class by making a podcast.  My response to the teacher however would be enthusiastic excitement as I think using a podcast is a wonderful learning tool for students.  I would need to play with the software on an individual basis or collaboratively with the teacher but the result would be beneficial to the students.  I would be eager to begin working on creating podcast with the students for several reasons.  

Initially, it exposes the students to various forms of technology.  The students use a microphone to record the narration for the podcast.  The computer is used in various ways through recording sound, manipulating files, and possibly even manipulating images if it is taken a step father and produced as a vodcast.  The use of different formats of technology or the same piece of technology in different ways allows for the students to improve their knowledge about the technology.  We are all aware that the technology that people use on a daily basis is only increasing.  Many of the students already are ahead of their teachers when it comes to using technology.  For the students to be successful it is imperative that they are able to use technology so the logical step for teachers is to not only use technology in the classroom but teach the students how to use technology in the classroom.

Secondly, a benefit of having the students create a podcast is that it helps improve their academics.  A podcast can be used for a variety of assignments such as reports, current events, foreign language practice,audio tours, and even accommodations for those with special needs. Kristin Fontichiaro  points out these uses in her article Podcasting 101 (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7729/is_200703/ai_n32211230/?tag=content;col1).  The students are able to research different topics or current events and deliver their information in the format of a podcast.  Since a podcast is in a digital format it makes it easy to share with others.  A podcast also provides opportunities to check the grammatical and mechanical  aspects of their work as these errors can often be caught during the recording of a podcast.  Podcast can be used with students who are studying a foreign language or those who are trying to learn English by providing extra practice in listening and speaking in the foreign language.  An audio tour could be used to introduce new students to the school or all students to an art fair or book fair.  I really liked the use of a podcast for accommodations for those students who are to have the test read to them.  Having the test on a podcast eliminates the chance of the student feeling different. 

Finally, I like the idea of using a podcast because it engages the students in their learning.  Students are always excited to use technology in a lesson.  The students are more likely to put more effort and would retain more information in assignments in which they are excited about using technology.  

As I viewed sample podcasts, such as the ones created by Willowdale Elementary (http://mps.wes.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8&pageid=115312&sessionid=cc17faa3b4b3cc4b4356056651b975f8), I saw all the possibilities.  They were able to talk about various subjects that related to content the students were learning or current events that were occurring.  They successfully created podcast across grade levels and presented the information for all who visited the website.  Podcast should be considered in every school as they have numerous uses and benefits for the students.