South Fall 2008 Podcast Reviews

The pod cast I listened to was titled, Lessons from Life: The Last Lecture of Randy Pausch. Basically the question the students were asking listeners was if you had to choose one lecture to do before you die what would it be? Pausch was a very talented professor but sadly recently past away. He did lectures on a variety of topics. He had a dream to play in the NFL but the closet he ever got to meeting anyone famous was talking to some big wigs at Disney. His way of thinking was what our kids learn they learn indirectly. He used many techniques in his teaching. He took activities that students normally would not enjoy and turned them into something fun and educational. Another technique discussed in the pod cast was the brick wall. He told his students that brick walls are not put up to hold us back but to show that obstacles can be overcome if the desire is put into affect.
My favorite part of the pod cast was when the girls talked about Pausch’s technique the card game. Everyone is dealt a hand of cards and we all have to make the best of it because we cannot change it. The students who did the pod cast did a great job. They gave a lot of information and made me really want to admire Pausch. I could tell they were very nervous and there was a lot of pausing. The one thing I would change is probably how the title correlates with their pod cast. The tile ensured me that I would here much about Pausch’s last lecture before his death. Instead the students talk more about his life and many lectures he had done. Other than that I thought it was great! You should check the podcast about Pausch out!

The second pod cast I listened to was titled Bogging and Teaching. The students discuss how blogging can be used effectively by teachers and students and they also share information about usefull blogs. I agree with the first point of blog usage. Blogs are a very useful to not only useful in keeping in touch with his students but also with the parents. Many students brush off homework and tell their parents they do not have any. Teachers with class blogs typically update their blog daily so the students are always informed. The second student to teach made a great point about keeping parents up to date. She gives an example of a scenario where a parent was unable to attend a field trip but they were able to see a variety of pictures due to the blog. I thought their pod cast was awesome! They all seemed like they were very informed about the subject they were speaking about. I am sure they could have added more but as far as I am concerned they did a great job at convincing the audience on why blogging is a great tool in the education field.
As a future teacher I will be using blogs in my classroom. This semester was my first time ever to use a blog. I found it very interesting and useful. It made it so easy to keep in touch with Mr. Wakeman without actually having to schedule a meeting with him or send him an email to ask a simple question. Technology is becoming more and more advanced and as a student I feel privileged to have the advantage of keeping up with it at my fingertips.