Sometimes people just make my day.

Yesterday I had wakened early (before 5.00) and had begun my drive down the M1 towards Surrey. My route was to take me on to the M25 and then around to J10 and off to Cobham. I gave myself 3 hours to do it … it was not enough. I arrived on the M25parkway at just before 7.00 and then stopped and started my way around anti-clockwise … even had time to count the number of jets I could see in the sky over Heathrow (7). I arrived at the 4S Training Centre in Cobham at 8.33 … rushed in … and was greeted by smiles and a really warm welcome. Just down the corridor, in the room we were to work in I met Tim Barette … more smiles, warm handshake, and ‘What can I get you to drink?’ and ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ and ‘ Will this be okay for you?’ and ‘Is there anything else you need?’

Sometimes people just make your day … thanks Tim !!

Then the teachers came and we podcasted. We used Podium from Softease and it was easy to use and didn’t get in the way of what we were trying to do and we recorded sounds and made podcasts and had fun and could see why we might want to do this with children in classrooms.

We took poems as a theme and the teachers read and developed lots of ideas and added backing tracks and ’stings’ to their productions. We spoke of building a podcast as a ‘design and build’ exercise in D & T and commented that preparing the resources ( sound files mainly) was a pre-podcast job.

The scripting tool in the software excited interest and its potential was not lost on a group of primary teachers who could see the cross-curricula application of both the scripting and the podcasting.

The ‘witches’ from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, concluded proceedings.

It was no big deal. Not once did any of the teachers ask how to do something. They listened, watched and then experimented … brilliant !! I do hope that they enjoyed it as much as I did.

The podcasts they made can be listened to here (Remember it was a first try and was supposed to be fun)

Podcasting at Killhope Mining Museum
Tuesday 10th June 2008
ITSS
Softease
Killhope

Scenario/Scene:

The Killhope mining museum lies at the upper end of Weardale and it was here that eight schools, four children per school and an assortment of staff from ITSS, the schools, the museum and Softease assembled for the ‘great podcast challenge’. - A day in the life of a washer boy

The Task for the groups

To produce a podcast of up to 5 minutes about the life of a washer boy.

• The audience for the podcast was to be other children in Y5 and Y6 who are finding out about life in the Victorian era.
• Each team had the loan of a small voice recorder for use round the museum.
• ITSS/Softease provided brief tuition and support for using the recorders and software.
• During the morning each team had a conducted visit to the mine, dressing floor and mine shop. Teams were required to make recordings of background sounds or interviews during the visit for later use in their podcasts.
• During the afternoon teams had access to laptops to combine the recordings into a podcast.
• Teams were encouraged to use any information from any source

What worked really well:

• The project idea
• The concept of adding real authenticity to a podcast
• The weather was superb
• The children were wonderful and worked hard all the way through the day
• The group of ‘helpers’ worked well together

What we would do next time in preparation:

ITSS staff

• Check the software – some machines did not pick up the microphones
• Buy some USB directional microphones
• Buy Headphone Splitters
• Provide clear sheet so pupils can note names and locations of recordings
• Provide details of travel times so teams do not arrive late
• Cut down the tour of the museum.
• Provide more information to staff about travel times
• Ensure briefing session for pupils at the start and at the start of editing
• Provide some guidance for staff on how much input they should have
• Provide training for staff BEFORE the event.
• (They could come along to have software installed on their laptops and to provide basic training)
• Agree times for use of the rooms within the museum as a prerequisite
• If possible, allow the children that will be attending the event to see/use one of the sound recorders before the event.

Suggested plan for next time:

9:30 Teams arrive
9:45 Briefing – Including brief demo of final product and details of the timing for the day
10-00 Start tour
45 Mins Mine
45 mins Washing Floor
30 mins Mine Shop)
12-00 Lunch
12-30 Briefing – How to use the software
12-45 Teams start Compiling Podcast
2-00 Break (Judges to look at progress)
2-15 Continue
3-00 Finish Podcast
3-15 Present Prizes à 3-30 Close

Softease staff

• Bring:
back up microphones
back up MP3 recorders
• Email schools about podcasting
• Send all schools involved 30 day versions of the software 3 weeks before the event
• Need contact’s email addresses so can register them on Podium ecourse to familiarise themselves with the software

School staff

• Provide the opportunity to have training on the software prior to the event
• Provide a finished example so staff have a better idea of what they are aiming for

Killhope staff

• Make sure that they are aware of the specific requirements of the task
• Ask them to prepare before hand places for good sounds
• Perhaps prepare some extra sounds
• Give plenty of time for individual sound recording

Children

• Warm clothes ESSENTIAL

What we would do next time on the site:

• Demonstrate the software to helpers, children and teachers
• Talk to the children and staff about the need to capture audio in situ as well as just sounds. Would have been nice to have more description about a task they were doing at the time as opposed to trying to remember what it was like to try and wash the stones etc. when back in the “classroom”.
• More time to listen to completed podcasts would be good.

What preparation was needed:

Softease
• We are happy to do briefing/demonstration sessions to the attendees.
• Need to be more aware of expectations so that we can ensure we have developed a concise presentation that get the key messages across.

What didn’t work:

• Children trying to work out how to use the sound recorders “on the go”.

You can listen to the podcasts produced here.

4th July found me making the drive round the M25 (it was totally clear!!) to Essex to support my friend Philippa for two sessions of podcasting with Podium.

We had two splendid sessions made the more inspiring by ‘frontman’ Alan Drew, Curriculum Development Advisor, ICT, for Essex County Council who had put real time and effort into his opener about the nature of podcasting. This presentation really set the scene for the ‘hands on session’ to follow and also showed how Essex are using their ‘e-folio’ portal to support and enhance teaching and learning. Alan explained that the materials he had used and much, much more on podcasting was available through the portal and cemented, for the teachers, the importance of building up their familiarity with it.

Now its up to the Lead Teachers and ASTs who attended to run with the ideas … they know why they should, they know how they can and they have the means to move podcasting forward in their schools.

This is a brief interview with Ben Williams, the ICT Co-ordinator from St Marks Junior School in Salisbury in Wiiltshire. Ben has been using podcasting as a means of engaging pupils and improving their literacy for well over a year. He shares some of the reasons why podcasting is so powerful, especially with a simple tool like Podium that is suitable for non-ICT specialists and specialists alike.

To listen to some of St Marks School podcasts go to http://www.st-marks.wilts.sch.uk/gateway.htm.
Ben also maintains a school blog at http://stmarksschool.wordpress.com

As sponsors of the annual Newsday competition, we were delighted to attend the awards ceremony on Friday to hand out prizes to the winners of the podcast category, of which we were sponsors. The awards ceremony was held at the Guardian Newsrooms in Farringdon, London and was hosted by the lovely people at Learn.co.uk from the Guardian.

There were two sessions, one in the morning for new entrants to the competition and one in the afternoon for previous entrants. Those attending the afternoon session were lucky enough to see a presentation from the Guardian’s editor of 13 years, Alan Rusbridger.

The students that were shortlisted for all categories were present and it was inspiring to see such a dedicated group of young people who had put their best efforts into the task at hand.

Well done to all of the schools that entered this year and congratulations to the winners. The winners in the best podcasts categories were:

Best KS2 podcast – Catforth Primary School
Best KS3 podcast – Ellis Guildford School
Best KS4 podcast – Cottenham Village College
Best KS5 podcast – Helston Community College
Best International podcast – British school in Tokyo

To find out more about the Newsday event and for a list of the winners in all newspaper categories, visit www.newsday.co.uk.

The sun shone on us on Friday in Luton where, in the ICT suite of the Luton Learning Resource Centre a group of primary consultants gathered to podcast using the Podium Software.

The idea was for these professionals to discover both the functionality of the software and the curriculum implications behind its use. Able users they were, with lots of enthusiasm and interpretive minds to see challenges and advantages. The software proved itself on all counts, being simple to use and safe and secure in its operation. The key thing was the application of the concept of recording sound and syndicating it so that subscription meant continuity.

Ideas flowed thick and fast as the consultants worked with the software.

The use of the podcasting as an audio record of reading was developed and as one professional said: ‘Rather like and audio blog with each book read being a blog post.’ … and so it was. In Podcasting terms each episode of the podcast of a reading record was associated with a specific book on a specific date with room for comments and ‘book review’. The idea that this meant that there could be a wider audience for reading progression and that this could engender a sense of ownership and audience was not lost on the group.

As they mastered the software the consultants worked with multi-tracking … recording a story on one track and adding sound effects on another. ‘Rosie’s Walk’ by Pat Hutchins was a favourite text here with some very inventive animal sounds produced.

We looked at, and experimented with, the idea that podcasting was a great revision tool and examined its application in teaching and learning languages.

Finally the group looked at the ’scripting tool’ and examined how its use to practice and refine speech before publication with its manual autocue could be a real ‘tool’ for developing the links between reading, writing and speaking.

By the end of the two and a half hour session the consultants had loaded the software onto their laptops, set the systems up to ‘ftp’ their podcasts to the server, sampled and experimented with the functionality of the software and discussed the contexts.

Over the last 18 months or so I’ve thoroughly enjoyed telling people the stories of many teachers who have personally witnessed the power of podcasting to increase pupil engagement and learning through the use of recorded audio and podcasting.

These have included:

• Infant schools, such as Grays Infant school in Newhaven and Sandon JMI in Hertfordshire
• Special schools such as Hatton School in London
• Secondary schools such as Minster School in Nottinghamshire and Helston Community College in Cornwall, who were both joint winners in 2007 TES Newsday competition.

Today I’m pleased to be able to launch our own podcast about… podcasting the classroom. In the first episode I introduce the concept of podcasting for those of you who are either new to the concept or perhaps still not entirely sure what makes a podcast different from a recorded audio file hosted on a web page (hands up who knows the answer?).

In the second episode I was delighted to talk with Simon Mills from Teyfant Primary School in Bristol about his experience using recorded audio and podcasting with his Y3 class. Simon’s blog is well-read, and his class podcasts are also an essential listen, especially after you’ve heard Simon tell the story behind the making of the ‘Baby Bear’s Christmas Kiss’ episode.

Simon also explains how the self-reflection process within podcasting transformed a group of children’s self-confidence when speaking in front of an audience at their Christmas show, with much positive parental feedback.

Further interviews will follow in due course, so if you are interested in hearing these I recommend you subscribe to the podcast feed which is http://feeds.feedburner.com/podiumpodcasting/podcast using your preferred podcast listening software.

Click here to get your own player.

The mp3 file for the interview with Simon Mills on its own is available here.

With 32 excited Y1 children, 10 laptops and assortment of microphones, 2 teachers and myself we embarked on a podcast of what each of the groups thought of the story of Cinderella.

Firstly we had to set the kit up over lunch time and check that the laptop batteries were charged and that the mics worked … well that took some time … but in the end we were there just in time for the children to come in.

We began,(after the niceties) to have a look at the Podium software. I demonstrated on a SmartBoard (bad move - explanations later) how to open the software and where to click to record. We had a class go at ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’ and the playback sounded really good as my laptop has a great in-built mic and the speakers on the SmartBoard did the job well.

We reviewed how to make the recording, talked about not chewing the microphones and not fiddling with the wire while speaking and then the children went to their tables to speak and listen to their voices. It was wonderful … 32 young voices with no problems about what to say. We paused and spoke of ’sharing’ and ‘taking turns’ and then we were off again. These were Y1 children many had never used a laptop before and certainly had not seen a trackerpad and so some of the pointing and clicking was a bit hit-and-miss but they soon got the hang of how it all worked. Small problems were found listening to playback as the laptops had really low volumes which I could not seem to change. Perhaps that was for the best really as they had to listen carefully and quietly. Oh … and the SmartBoard bit … well, because I moved things around my screen with my finger they thought that they could do that on theirs ! They soon worked out that it didn’t happen!

I then showed how to import MP3 sounds into Podium (just for fun) and they made up lots of sound jumbles. Then we got down to the real stuff.

The group had listened to the story of Cinderella in a literacy context based on the idea of ‘traditional tales’ and had gone on, in small groups, to write their ideas about the story. These ideas they had ‘carved up’ so that in the speaking rehearsals they knew who was going to say which bit. And they had practiced their parts.

To set up the podcasts the children had to type in the podcast title, who would make it, the name of the episode and their initials. this took quite a while as keyboard familiarity is something that they are working on.

Once that was done with papers at the ready, the red buttons around the room were pressed and the recording started. Some stuttered and stopped and we restarted … some spoke loudly and softly, some repeated. But, after all the trials were done they were satisfied with their own individual bits.

These Podium files were then saved as Podium MP3 files so that I could collect them and stitch them together to make up the final Cinderella Podcast.( They did not publish their individual files as the network was going a little slowly)

When all the files had been collected on my portable hard drive we did a final class podcast on my laptop of ‘Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes’.

The whole thing took the best part of two hours and the children did not appear to flag once. They stuck to the task and appeared to have had a good time. The quality of the literacy was also good and the ’soft’ curriculum aspects of sharing and collaborating were well to the front.

You can listen to the Cinderella podcast by clicking here or by pasting this address into iTunes:
http://www.podiumpodcasting.com/~182812/PSLiteracyGr260308182321/rss.xml

So what are your first impressions of the new multi-track Podium? Simon Mills, as ever, has been quick off the mark with his views, which certainly seem to mirror my own.

During a recent hands-on training course with ICT co-ordinators in South Wales (thanks to Graham Evans from ESIS for the invitation), I was introducing podcasting for the first time to the majority of the group. Indeed, the idea of recorded digital audio and mp3 files was also new to a minority and required explanation before proceeding.

After introducing the concept of recording audio, I modelled the production of a weather diary podcast episode for the group. After a brief recording of my description of the weather (wet and windy) using a USB microphone attached to the computer, I immediately added another track to show how you can import pre-recorded audio files e.g. sound effects. In this case, a suitable excerpt of wind and rain to add appropriate atmosphere to my oral description.

Next it was the turn of the group to produce their own recordings. Thanks to the simplicity of Podium, and a few sound effects handily placed beforehand on the training network, nobody had any problem producing their very first podcast episodes including multiple audio tracks.

Later on I returned to illustrate the scripting and multi-track chapter tool, which again were easily digested by the teachers, with many commenting how useful this would be to record work in Welsh medium.

I then introduced the work of Paul Harrington and the pupils of Cefn Forest Primary to the group, only to discover the school is actually very close to the ESIS training centre. Doesn’t this go to show once again just how much good work there is in schools that the rest of the world doesn’t see, even in their immediate geographical vicinity?

So if you have started to use the latest version of Podium, why not share your impressions, either here or in your own spaces. But do share… so that we all may benefit from your experiences.

There has been a lot of emphasis on podcasting in primary schools during the 18 months I’ve been travelling the country extolling the virtues of podcasting with Podium.

Clearly the importance of multimodal learning, speaking and listening as well as the renewed primary framework mentioning podcasting as an ICT application are important factors, as well as an undoubtedly more open curriculum in general.

It is easy therefore to overlook just how powerful podcasting can be for any age or subject in secondary schools.

Today I’ve spent a day on a podcasting course with Peter Wrigley and Rachael Large from the Secondary advisory team from Warwickshire’s ICT Development Service.

As usual there were many ideas for different ways that podcasting could be used, including:

• Explaining to children how to logon to the network (a frequent issue at one school)
• Y9 Drama - making a series of adverts to broadcast on a radio show.
• Y8 Shakespeare e.g. ‘Much Ado About Nothing‘
• GCSE French oral role play revision.

In the morning after an initial explanation of the concepts involved, everyone went off to create their own example podcasts using Podium multi-track and/or Audacity.

There was a real discussion about which of the two was more appropriate to use with students. After having used both the consensus was that Podium was the clear winner, although people liked the voice-altering functionality in Audacity as well, for children that are self-conscious when listening to their own voices.

In the afternoon we looked at extending audio recordings by combining them with images in Photo Story 3 to create very sophisticated movies in minutes. Peter especially was anxious to volunteer his time to test our the next planned Podium milestone…. Podium video!