Present a video to a class, talk about a controversial topic, teach your lessons. Now ask that room full of students to take out their notebooks and write a response to what they just listened to. Most will oblige without any hesitation. However, ask that same room of students to stand up in front of the class and communicate their ideas orally and I am sure you will have sent at least half of them into panic mode. Students struggle with oral communication, or more specifically they struggle with being effective listeners, which translates into difficulty communicating their responses. They are not confident in presenting their ideas to a room full of people. However, through the use and creation of Podcasts, teachers can help students to effectively and confidently communicate their understanding of materials.
Connecting to the Curriculum
The overall expectations in the Ontario Curriculum for Language say students will:
- Listen in order to understand and respond appropriately
- Use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate
- Reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas in need of improvement, and strategies
Students who participate as active learners will listen to understand because they are in a constant state of thinking and reflecting. Teachers must encourage this process so that the students are prepared to respond and are confident in what they deliver. From there, we can coach them on speaking skills and strategies that will help them portray their message clearly and effectively.
Professional Podcasts: Learning How to Effectively Communicate
As stated earlier in this blog post, most students are nervous when they deal with public speaking. A post on Edutopia says:
"An estimated 75 percent of all people experience nervousness when speaking in public. In fact, surveys have shown that most people fear public speaking more than death."
How do we combat this fear? How can we guide students in a direction where they will be confident in speaking to an audience? If students are confident in what they are saying, their fear will dissipate. We must find a way to teach students how to harness their understanding of a topic and to effectively communicate it. A unique tool that will facilitate this is through Podcasts.
Podcasting is a big trend that is flooding the nation. Instead of being glued to texts, we are now capable of listening to information as an alternative. This creates unique opportunities for classroom learning and skill development in the oral communication territory. Utilizing Podcasts in the classroom from sources like TED Talks, or WatchKnowLearn, will not only relay important messages and information to students, but it will demonstrate how information can be presented effectively through voice and presentation. This will lay the groundwork for their movement into creating Podcasts of their own.
Student-Made Podcasts
Teachers have been incorporating Podcasts into their classrooms as a way for students to learn and teach information about educational topics.
Jim Moulton's blog post on Edutopia talks about his experience seeing students create Podcasts of their own. He raves about the positive process of making Podcasts and the skills and strategies students were using to create them:
"reading, understanding, rereading, reflecting on, and ultimately recording [...] They are thinking about how to modulate and pace their voices, how to read in tune with the words so as to make their recording engaging and meaningful, entertaining and instructive, popular and purposeful."
This is every teacher's dream, and with the right implementation of this exercise, it can be a reality, too.
In Maya Payne Smart's post on Edutopia, she talks about Brent Coley's grade 5 classroom diving into the world of creating podcasts. Coley had his students work in groups to write scripts at the end of social studies and science units to summarize what they have learned. After checking their scripts, he helps them make audio recordings, which are later uploaded to iTunes. Smart writes, "With minimal technology, Coley gives his students a global audience" and that "web distribution of their work motivates students to put their best foot forward." Coley's classroom is motivated to create their best work for optimal results, which is a huge factor in building confidence in oral communication. Because his students have such a big audience, they are more driven to make sure their work is informative, concise, and enjoyable. Smart says:
"Student-created podcasts reinforce course concepts, develop writing skills, [and] hone speaking ability."
Students are more engaged and excited when their work transcends the usual academic scene. Through podcasts, students are able to learn, reflect, write, and deliver their own voice to a wide audience. Through Coley's carefully constructed process that consisted of drafting and revising scripts and then recording, his students showed confidence in their knowledge and were able to communicate their ideas effectively. Receiving feedback and acknowledgement from people all over the world only solidified their sense of accomplishment and gave the students a sense of purpose.
Capitalizing on opportunities like student-made Podcasts is one of the many ways teachers can help students develop appropriate listening and speaking skills, inspiring confidence in their ability to communicate.
Confidence is Key
Oral communication proves to be an uphill battle for many people, especially students. The thought of speeches, presentations, or just communicating to an audience should not have children shaking in their boots. By incorporating fun and engaging activities into the classroom that promote good communication skills, teachers can chip away at the stigma that surrounds the strand and build a generation of confident communicators.
Jones, Gai. “Feeling the Power of Oral Communication.” Edutopia, 16 Apr. 2015, www.edutopia.org/blog/feeling-power-or-oral-communication-gai-jones.
Moulton, Jim. “What Has Podcasting Done for You?: Great Things Often Begin in Small Ways.” Edutopia, 25 Apr. 2007, www.edutopia.org/what-has-podcasting-done-you.
Smart, Maya Payne. “Listening to Themselves: Podcasting Takes Lessons Beyond the Classroom.” Edutopia, 12 Nov. 2008, www.edutopia.org/podcasting-student-broadcasts.
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