Podcasts and civic education…
Today’s learning exercise (3-D-1 for those in my BOCE class) took me farther into the uses of podcasting. I learned about the various tools, some free, used to create and edit podcasts. I explored exemplary podcasts, and came up with a few ideas of my own.
In looking for information about podcasting, I ran across KidCast. This series by Dan Schmit at http://www.intelligenic.com/ has really struck a cord with me. Schmit understands the urgency of civic education and the role podcasting in schools can play in open dialogue. See his podcast on Kidcast 47 – Ethical Dilemmas, Civil Discourse and Citizenship. My comment follows.
I came back to YouthRadio. The youthradio podcasts demonstrate the power of podcasting and student blogging. Their podcast “Many Voices for Darfur” opened the door for classroom uses of podcasting. Contrary to common (mis)understanding, social studies does not reside in the memorization and regurgitation of facts and dates. The meaning in social studies occurs in students understanding their relevance in society. The “Many Voices for Darfur” demonstrates these students understand they are a part of this world, and recognize they have a voice in its future. We can see Web 2.0 helping these students learn how to be effective citizens. My comment follows.
The above leads me to a larger topic. There is something inherently democratic about the web. Both Web 2.0 and democracy are about empowering the individual. Web 2.0 decentralizes experience to the most local level, while simultaneously contributing that experience to the multitude of ideas and views from around the world. For me, these tools and the social studies seem to be a natural fit. I am pursuing the use of technology in my classes not because I am hooked on the gadgetry, but because I think it is the right way for individual students to learn about and express their understanding of the world.
