Job Training: Creating a Podcast

Here is an introduction to lessons at CGK Afterschool.

CGK’s two-month-long project works will be based on the main “Driving Question”.

Here are the Driving Questions for this “Job Training” lesson.

“What is a podcast and how can we use it to teach others?”

We followed this question with fun lessons each week that drew the student’s interest.

Here are the comments of Mr. Dan, the teacher who was in charge of the lessons.

Week 1

Students brainstormed ideas of what a podcast could be about after looking at some examples and discussing. Using clipboards students listened to the amazing kids podcast and took notes and answered questions. Students then went into four groups to discuss potential ideas for podcasts and presented to their peers. This week was very difficult as it was very heavy on the listening and podcasting is a very tough idea for them to grasp. Hopefully next week they can build more of an understanding about what it is they will be working on and the best way they can go about it.

Week 2

Because the concept of a podcast was very difficult the previous week, I went back to the drawing board and introduced podcasting in a different way. First, we split a podcast into 8 sections that could be brainstormed easier. We talked about the difference between podcasting and radio. We then looked at various podcast logos and listened to the intros of various podcasts pausing them to talk about what the students heard. We then listened to a podcast that Mr Dan had made that had many examples of the sections students would needs to think about. Mr Dan`s podcast included interviews with Ms Saeda, Ms Kitty , and Mr Minoru, a proper introduction, discussion about slime with students, a music performance by a student, an interview with a student, a weather forecast, and it was full of silly things that the students really enjoyed listening to and discussing. Students then went to groups to work on their podcast planning booklet and discuss potential ideas for each section. The students did really well and by the end of the day had a much better understanding of what a podcast is and the direction they need to go.

Week 3

Students discussed the pre-selected sections of the podcast and we brainstormed ideas that could be helpful for all groups. With the help of a student in front of all the students we recorded an interview podcast that they could listen back to and critique. Students where then put into teams of four to work on planning books for the section they were doing. One team was working on the intro, one on discussion and one on interview. For the remaining time students worked and talked together to come up with a framework they could use for their section. When completed students can use voice notes on the ipads to practice what they will say for the podcast so when they record the real thing they will have had a lot of opportunity to practice. Students presented their progress for peer review.

Week 4

Students finished planning their sections in groups and started using the ipads to practice what they will be talking about. Teachers made sure students were aware of the emphasis on follow up questions. Students spent the whole project time talking with each other and practicing and made a lot of progress. Hopefully at least two groups will be able to record the master copies of their section next week and chose another section to move onto. For presentation they shared their work up until now for peer review.

Week 5

Students continued to practice with their sections. The intro group and interview managed to record their final take on a laptop using an external microphone in a quiet space. They will now debate what section they would like to work on next week. The discussion group will practice a little more and be ready to record their final cut next week.

Week 6

The discussion section team managed to record the final cut of their section today. The other teams chose to work on an advice to Sky friends section and a story time section. There were many people in the story time section, so the group was dysfunctional, and students were not listening to each other. At the end of the lesson students were asked what went wrong with the group and were encouraged to suggest ways to improve for next week. The students provided excellent feedback and suggestions after successfully identifying the problem with the groups. From next week the story time group will be split into two smaller groups following their feedback.

Week 7 – Heather

All three groups were able to complete their recordings today. The story group recorded Little Miss Dotty, Advice to Sky friends talked about a few rules, and the last group of three talked about their summer plans. The advice group was able to compare the rules with those are preschool when talking to Ms. Kitty, but then they only read the rules when they came to record with me. The groups were able to work well together and able to complete their work in a timely manner with some support.

Week 8

After a quick recap of what they had done over the weeks students worked together practicing for their group presentation and also on their individual scripts and presented to their parents.

At the final presentation, each group presented what content they had recorded, and everyone listened to the recorded podcasts.

The students worked together to think about what they were going to say, and they all seemed very happy when they listened to what they had recorded in turn.

Thanks to the children's hard work, a 25-minute long  "podcast" was created.

Please give it a listen!