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Digital Science through Pod Casting


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Keywords: Podcasting, Experiments, Science
Subject(s): Podcasting, Technology, Life Science, Social Skills, Earth Science, Biology, Photography, Science, Chemistry, Physics
Grades 7 through 8
School: Steele School, Steele, AL
Planned By: Jayson England
Original Author: Jayson England, Steele
Sometimes elementary teachers are intimidated by teaching science to their students. With this lesson plan, teachers can utilize a middle schoolers' need to be the center of attention to teach science.

Seventh and Eighth grade science students will utilize the technology available to turn simple science experiments into teaching tools for elementary teachers.

Students will be put into teams of 3 to 4. Each of the team members will be responsible for the production of a teaching unit based on an elementary science concept. The teams will be given various simple experiments to choose from. They must make a short (3-5 minute) presentation, utilizing the experiment, to teach younger students a science concept of their choice.

Once they have completed their concept, they will present it to their classmates. Upon completion of the presentations, the students will make suggestions to the other teams about improvements. Once the presentations have been refined, each team will record their presentation digitally.

Each presentation will then be converted to a Pod Cast for access by the elementary teachers. All of the presentations can be cataloged for use at later dates. The catalog can continuously be updated and added to each year. This will allow students to view concepts recorded in several different manners.
Comments
This is a lesson that will probably require initial investment, but with care and planning can be continued. The pod casting library can be continuously updated on a regular basis. This updating will allow the elementary teachers to tailor information best suited to individual student learning. This project can also be used for a variety of learning objectives that include vocabulary development.
Cross-Curriculum Ideas
This project could go hand in hand with teachers from other subjects. The teams could work on the writing for their presentations in English, develop the necessary math skills in math class, and even trace the history of scientists in social studies class. This would be a great collaborative effort for departments of various sizes.
Follow-Up
Students could follow up presentations by breaking hard to learn material down into smaller segments. The imagination of the students can be pulled out as the younger students learn.
Materials: Web Page, Keyboarding, Podcasting, Database, Word Processor, Science, Flash/USB Drives, Batteries, Camera Bags, Digital Voice Recorders, Sports, Digital SLR, Mobile Labs, Point and Shoot, Timeline
Other Items: 1 Web Site Hosting, $ 250.00 each, total of $250.00
1 Pod Casting Kit, $ 3500.00 each, total of $3500.00
1 Digital Video Camera, $ 600.00 each, total of $600.00
10 Still Digital Cameras, $ 200.00 each, total of $2000.00
20 IPOD Nano, $ 149.00 each, total of $2980.00