Podcasts and iPod
Flash Cards:
Study Tools for the
21 st Century
ICE Conference 2010
Brent Coley
Tovashal Elementary School
Murrieta Valley Unified School District
www.mrcoley.com | bcoley@murrieta.k12.ca.us

They say everyone has a
twin…

Imagine this scenario…

This is Sarah…
Photo courtesy of Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellogeri/1348671074/in/photostream

“It’s time to use technology to
rewrite the rules of education.”

Without why,
how is irrelevant.

What We’ll Cover Today:
• Definition of podcasting
• Benefits of educational podcasting
• Ways you can use podcasting in your
classroom (plus one bonus idea)
• A snapshot – How to create a podcast
• iPod flash cards and ways you can use them
with your students
• How to create iPod flash cards
• Giveaways

What is a Podcast?
• A podcast is “a series of digital media files
(audio or video) that are released episodically
and downloaded through Web syndication.”
Source: Wikipedia
• What distinguishes podcasts from ordinary
Internet broadcasts is their “subscribability.”

Benefits of Educational Podcasting
• Reinforces concepts studied in class
• Develops writing skills
• Develops speaking skills
• Enhances parent communication
• Provides students a global audience
• Students love it!

That Sounds Great, But How Can I
Use Podcasting In My Classroom?
Ideas for Student Podcasts
• End-of-unit “summary” broadcasts
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3
• Students reading their writing (e.g. narratives)
• Students reading their poetry

That Sounds Great, But How Can I
Use Podcasting In My Classroom?
Ideas for Student Podcasts
• Book reviews
• Student Council/ASB announcements/updates
• Audio version of classroom/school newspaper
• Digital Student Portfolios (e.g. WPM)

That Sounds Great, But How Can I
Use Podcasting In My Classroom?
Ideas for Teacher Podcasts
• Audio version of classroom newsletter
• “StudyCasts” – audio review sessions
Sample

What Do Students Think of
StudyCasts?
• “When I study the StudyCast I get a better
grade, and it helps me study for big tests. It
really works, and I love it.”
• “I like the StudyCasts because I can listen to
them on my computer while I’m doing my
homework. I had listened to the Puritan
StudyCast five times and I got a good grade.”
• 88% of my students listen to StudyCasts.

That Sounds Great, But How Can I
Use Podcasting In My Classroom?
More Ideas for Teacher Podcasts
• Record classroom lessons/lectures
and as promised…the bonus idea…
• Audio sub plans
Sample

Okay, Once Again, That Sounds
Great. But How Do I Do It?
Materials Needed to Podcast:
• Microphone
• GarageBand (preinstalled on a Mac) or
Audacity (free download for PC or Mac)
• Classroom website or other podcast hosting
website

Creating a Podcast:
The Four Stages
• Preproduction
• Recording
• Postproduction
• Publishing

Creating Your RSS Feed
• If your RSS feed is not created
automatically by your website or
podcast hosting service, you can
create one using the free services
Blogger and FeedBurner.
Step-by-Step Directions on mrcoley.com

iPod Flash Cards
• iPod flash cards are series of images that can
be viewed using the “Photos” feature of an
iPod.

iPod Flash Cards
• If you can create a PowerPoint or Keynote
presentation, you can create iPod flash cards!

iPod Flash Cards
Ideas for Flash Cards
• Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and
Division Facts
• Mathematical Formulas
• States and Capitals
• Key Vocabulary in Content Areas
• Foreign Language/ELL Vocabulary Words
• Classroom Lecture PowerPoints

iPod Flash Cards
• To create a set of iPod flash cards, save your
PowerPoint or Keynote presentation as JPG
images.

iPod Flash Cards
Tips and Suggestions
• Use a font that is easy to read and not too
fancy.
• Use a large font size.
• Keep backgrounds simple (solid colors or
simple textures).
• Don’t put too much information on any one
slide.

Online Resources
Web links, tutorial videos, printer-friendly
handout, online evaluation
www.mrcoley.com/ice

Giveaways
• Over 50 Sets of
iPod Flash Cards
• Over 50 Editable
PowerPoints
• Podcasting Tutorial
Videos
• iPod Flash Cards
Tutorial Videos

Contact Information
Brent Coley
Website: www.mrcoley.com
Email: bcoley@murrieta.k12.ca.us
Twitter: www.twitter.com/brentcoley
Thank you for coming!
Don’t forget to take a moment and
complete an online evaluation.