When Joe Molloy from Saint Attractas Senior National School in Dublin started recording and publishing audio with his pupils in 2002, he must have been at the very earliest stages of what we now know as podcasting, a term which didn't even exist until 2004.
Learning how to write his own RSS feeds with help from Martin Owen from Bangor University, Joe started to explore the educational potential of podcasting and using the Netscape Navigator to reach a wider audience. Shocked at the initial response, he has since developed his passion for audio and has recently celebrated the 20th birthday of his school computer club. Now that's impressive!
In 2005, Joe got into eTwinning and manned the Irish eTwinning stand in Linz in 2006 where he came up with the idea for his project Once Upon a Blog with Maltese colleague Jacqueline Vanhear from St Joseph School. The project which involved both sets of pupils podcasting folk tales and legends from their respective countries achieved a Quality Mark at the Brussels eTwinning Conference in 2007 and listening to charming examples such as The Salmon of Knowledge and The Legend of the Little Angel, it is easy to see why.
Going from strength to strength, Joe has now set up a podcasting studio in his school and trains other teachers on the educational value of podcasting. He feels that podcasting is an ideal way to develop pupils' language skills and help them to learn about others' cultures. To find out more of Joe's views on embedding podcasting throughout the curriculum, why not listen to our hour long interview where he generously shares his classroom experiences. It's rivetting stuff.
Download Interview_with_Joe_Molloy.mp3
Summary
- Introductions
- always being interested in technology
- starting off by recording audio in an after school computer club
- uploading the results on to the web and creating a unique link for the content
- having to code your own RSS feed pupils learning how to use a microphone and improving their diction, phrasing and voice effects writing radio plays and pupils honing their skills
- moving from a static site to a dynamic blog
- being one of the first examples of podcasting in Ireland
- being shocked about receiving 1000s of hits a week
- being inundated with requests on educational podcasting and good practice
- hosting the Wordpress blog and dealing with bandwidth issues and spamming
- the early days of podcasting and the impact of the automated nature of a blog and its RSS feed
- embedding audio with the Podpress plugin from Mighty Seek for Wordpress
- colour-coding the player
- registering Slua.com and paying for hosting Podomatic v Wordpress
- running other sites from the same domain
- the "engage or enrage" and "guide on the side not the sage on the stage" philosophies
- encouraging teachers to use podcasting to enhance learning across the curriculum
- "a value added tool for curriculum development"
- believing that podcasting is ideal for promoting cultural diversity and language development
- making contact with other countries, texting in different languages and having a cultural exchange
- getting into eTwinning in 2006 and making a proposal for a podcasting project with a European partner
- meeting Jacqueline from Malta for the first time
- using MS Live Messenger to videoconference with Maltese school and dealing with connection speed issues
- launching the Once Upon a Blog project and exchanging native folk tales accompanied by traditional music
- finding suitable music and the importance of keeping podsafe
- leaving comments and peer assessing each other's folk legends
- learning about cultural differences between each other's schools
- making vodcasts for the project
- the disappointment of pupils when the project ended and them being used to the "extra dimension" of eTwinning to their curriculum
- having live links every week and a new podcast every month
- giving Jacqueline regular support on issues such as uploading and editing posts via Skype
- hosting both blogs on the Slua site
- getting the pupils to illustrate each podcast legend, scanning the images and putting them on a web gallery associated with the main blog
- not being able to publish every pupil's work and creating healthy competitiveness including special needs pupils within the project
- using digital voice recorders to improve reading and writing skills
- recording paired reading sessions and expanding pupils' horizons
- explaining digital rights and the alien nature of restriction to young people
- getting parental permission at the beginning of the year
- using podcasting as a way of promoting the school website and keeping parents informed
- finding the necessary funding to convert a recommissioned disabled toilet into a podcasting studio
- buying a mixer, USB interface, speakers, XLR condensor microphones with spit filters, shock mount cradles and angle-poised stands
- dealing with early troubleshooting issues
- using speakers to allow pupils to listen back to themselves and improve their diction
- sourcing suitable equipment
- recording with Audacity at school and at home
- recording phone calls with Adove Audition and a notch filter
- getting a teacher discount when buying software, but knowing what to buy
- reading Geoghegan's book on podcasting
- improving editing skills in the computer club or the 'bog in the blog'
- pupils being disappointed when they transfer to their new school because they can no longer podcast
- running a week long podcasting course where teachers learn about different types of blogging platforms, how to create audio with Audacity and then how to podcast
- the problems of using a mixer with Audacity and not being able to record two separate channels at the same time
- setting up a school radio station and interviewing visitors
- being interviewed by an 8 year old for the Calcutta project
- thinking about future vodcasting projects
- making tutorials for blogging and podcasting on DVD
Show notes
International Edubloggers Directory
Proof of how podcasting can help boost your pupils' listening and reading skills
Podcasting for the Struggling Reader
Podcast Solutions: The Complete Guide to Podcasting -
Have a listen too to Jacqueline's side of the story (recorded on the same day as this interview) and her impressions of the educational value of podcasting for the Once Upon a Blog eTwinning project. It's a joy to hear.
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