Brodcast Projects Promote Literacy


Some students may not be interested in reading books or writing reports, but one teacher at Christiansburg Elementary School in Virginia has found a way to motivate them: podcasting. In Angela Williams' summer class, elementary students have been creating podcasts, and it's been a really good "incentive" for those who struggle with literacy, The Roanoke Times reports.

Williams is using podcasts — audio or video programs delivered through computers and MP3 players — as part of a program offered by the Montgomery County schools' office of gifted education. She is one of two teachers at the elementary school who piloted the state's Learning without Boundaries program last year. The project, organized in part by Radford University, Virginia Tech and Apple, put the iPod Touch and other wireless electronics devices in students' hands to find out how effective they are as teaching tools.

She said some students didn't want to write scripts for podcasts, but instead choose to help find audio to go with the words. After seeing how it worked, reluctant students quickly became motivated and wanted to write their own. She plans to keep the podcasting lessons going this fall, and she said she views the audio-editing software as an alternative form for students' book reports and projects.

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