Students at R.I. Baker Middle School had a unique way of keeping up to date on school activities over the past school year.
Podcasting has taken root in the school and looks to return in the fall. Under the direction of teacher Mike Davis, students learned about podcasting as part of an exploratory class he taught. That lead to a club and after school sessions to learn more about podcasting and setting up podcasts for the school.
Once every three weeks or so throughout the school year a new podcast was put together for students and staff to enjoy. The podcasts, which are like a radio show of sorts but are available on demand via computer, feature a calendar of events for the school and upcoming activities such as sporting events.
A “Did you hear” segment and interviews with students and staff are also featured. This year Holly Van Ewijk and Dylan Schoenbrunn hosted the podcasts.
“It was really awesome,” said Van Ewijk.
She said it was almost like being on T.V.
It was her teacher, who said she had a really good voice for it, who encouraged her to sign up and she has really enjoyed it.
Schoenbrunn said he didn’t know what to expect because he didn’t know what podcasting was but he was also picked for his voice.
Van Ewijk said listening to the podcasts are like listening to the radio. Anyone who clicks onto the Baker school site could listen to the podcasts this year.
“I like being involved in a lot of activities,” she said.
“It’s a fun, effective time waster,” said Schoenbrunn with a chuckle.
While the podcasts are focused on the Baker students, he did add they are also a great communication tool within the school.
Davis said he was introduced to the idea last year at a professional development session.
“I thought it looked pretty cool.”
Over the summer he learned about uploading video to You Tube and carried on with podcasting as an exploratory with about 16 students participating last fall. From there the program grew into an after school club and led to the development of audio podcasts for the school.
Davis is a fan of podcasts, he even downloads CBC podcasts to enjoy on his iPod.
“You can listen to it whenever you want.”
“It makes it portable for when you want it.”
He said while the students are providing useful information for students they try to keep their content light. The students learned as they went along this year.
“I’m really proud of these kids.”
Davis said it really is an easy technology for people to use.
“There will be much more of this in the future.” Being a big fan of radio, Davis said it’s no wonder podcasting appealed to him.