Podcasting Bird Stories: Giving Birds a Voice

Podcasting and Science Education: Giving Birds a VoiceJames Hefti Crossing BoundariesPulaski Senior High SchoolPulaski, New York 13142, USAjhefti@pacs.cnyric.org

Who am I?High school science teacher in upstate New YorkEleventh year currently teach 76 Biology students and 22 Earth Science studentsTrying to include more technology-based instruction Have received outstanding professional development through Crossing BoundariesHobart & William Smith Colleges & Cornell University

What is a podcast?An audio recording downloaded from the internetWatch YouTube video Podcasting With Your Students for more information!Or podcasts can easily be recorded by studentsBarred owl example You can post podcasts on a free Wikispace wiki and create a gallery of podcastsheftibiowiki.wikispaces.comStudents can listen, learn and discuss what theyve created

How can a podcast be used in a high school science classroom?New instructionEnrichmentReviewAssessmentPodcasts could summarize a scientist's research, describe a species or follow the metamorphosis of a butterfly... the potential is unlimited!

Human organ systems podcasts students discuss a series of topics regarding a specific organ system Environmental Minute or public service announcement Earth Science students go beyond required instruction and investigate and discuss objects in our solar system that they find interesting

Ideas for podcastsExample PodcastsiTunes has many science-related podcasts to subscribe to or download for free Barred owl example for the environmental minute assignment Sample podcast from Crossing Boundaries wiki regarding hippo conservation in AfricaImmune system podcast example for Human Organ Systems Podcast project

Example iTunes podcast in SpanishHow-to create a good podcastThe 5 Rs (sort of)Research the topicWrite the scriptRehearse the scriptRevise the scriptRecord an audio file

Include your name in the introductory statementEdit the script before recording!Speak clearly when recordingDont talk too fastClose your podcast with some type of summary

How-to create a good podcastAudacityAudio editing softwareFree software download: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/downloadTo convert Audacity files to mp3s (also free download):http://lame1.buanzo.com.ar/#lamewindlEasy to use for beginner applicationsVery powerful and sophisticated for advanced usersQuick demonstration of recording processOutstanding resourceshttp://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Audacity_Wiki_Home_Page (Audacitys wiki that includes tutorials and tips)http://www.birds.cornell.edu (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)http://allaboutbirds.org (All about birds by Cornell)http://macaulaylibrary.org (Cornells collection of bird and animal sounds at Macaulay Library)

The future of studying?Teacher makes student-created podcasts available for downloadStudents place files on their portable music devicesStudents listen while going for a walk, while riding the bus to school, whenever they have down timeStudents learn from each other

Immune System PodcastJamie HeftiJamie HeftiBlues70242.305