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As I am learning all sorts of new things in my LME Certification classes I find myself filtering out information and ideas that wouldn't be applicable for my students, and I wonder if that's such a wise idea. I teach K-4th grade, so many very cool ideas are not practical for lower elementary. Podcasts, for example. I know how to teach them, my school has the technology, but when I did an informal survey of my students, none of them had ever heard of a podcast. So I wonder, is it really worth it? Probably not. Most of my students are still learning internet and Word basics, so as cool as a Podcast lesson would be, I feel their VERY limited class time would be better used on more practical lessons.
I have some coworkers who really want to start some VERY cool things at our school, like a TV studio where we can broadcast morning announcements. Now don't get me wrong, I love the idea, but with the time I have in class with them, they have about 1/2 hour a week to get their actual tech lessons. I have to prioritize. But I also have to appease my coworkers. I think it's a balance I'll always have to struggle to find.
I have some experience with podcasts. When I taught in a 3rd grade and a 4th grade classroom, my class make some podcasts out of "literature circles" - students read a book in a group, planned and scripted a "discussion" of the book, recoded it and uploaded it. The technology was a terrific motivation for the students. I also share the same frustration with so little time to work with students in the library on a project like this. I need a flexible schedule!
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