The Lure of Podcasting
In 2007 Dorothy Burt had the opportunity through a Ministry of Education funded eFellowship to research podcasting with KPE.
If you would like to read the report of the findings from this research,
click here to download a pdf version.
The research question was "In what ways can including podcasting in teaching and learning activities contribute to reading outcomes?"
Abstract:
This participant case study explored the use of a 21st century technology to raise student achievement outcomes in a traditional literacy. The technology provided the opportunity for students to have their voices heard by an authentic audience, and was used in the context of a strategically constructed teaching and learning cycle. It was not presumed that the technology itself, podcasting, would significantly contribute to reading outcomes. It was expected that the
interest and enthusiasm engendered by using it would lure the students to participate in a programme that required; reading and understanding books, reading scripts, and interaction with text-based technologies such as blogs and emails.
There are a number of reading programmes being successfully used in New Zealand schools to raise students’ reading ability. The instructional reading programme at Pt England School is based on Dr Gwenneth Phillip’s ‘First Chance’ programme. The KPE (Korero Pt England) podcast was strategically designed to lead students through teaching and learning activities which would require them to use the reading skills they have learned in authentic contexts. The students were motivated to participate by opportunities to use the technology and interact with wider audiences, especially those who were not intrinsically motivated by reading.
This study observed that the sample group of 27 students involved in podcasting with KPE significantly improved their reading habits and their attitude to reading books during the course of the study. They also improved reading ability (accuracy, comprehension and fluency) as measured by standardised testing. Pupils, parents and teachers alike attributed much of this to the podcasting activities.
If you would like to know more about podcasting with KPE, there is information available on this website, our student blog, and the podcast feed from iTunes. This movie was created by a group of students describing their podcasting activities in 2007.
Below is a presentation made by Dorothy for the Time4Online Conference in 2007 discussing the colaboration opportunities podcasting with KPE offers the students.
