Today I had the pleasure of joining a couple of Y8 groups on a Maths visit to Bletchley Park, where secret British code-breaking operations took place during World War II. I thought we might try out the features of AudioBoo to explore some of the issues around live podcasting. In preparation I downloaded the AudioBoo app onto both my smartphone and iPod Touch. Since the smartphone had Internet access, the recording made on it could be instantly uploaded to our AudioBoo account and become instantly available to potential listeners. The camera on the phone was able to snap pictures appropriate to the location being discussed then easily linked with the recording. In addition, the phone’s gps feature meant the location of the podcast was also attached to the file, allowing a pin to be automatically placed on a map to show where the recording took place. No specialist knowledge required!
Here are some of the recordings we made:Getting ready:
This exploration was just an initial foray, but live podcasting clearly offer plenty of scope on field trips. On a geology or geography trip for example, students could photograph, then describe and explain the features they are seeing, as an alternative to writing notes perhaps … given the British weather, perhaps this has distinct merit!? As they enjoy a guided tour as we did at Bletchley, perhaps (with permission) they could ‘interview’ their guide, asking questions to expand upon what they were learning. Maybe on an art gallery visit they could be challenged to convey to others, using the spoken word, what they see in particular works of art.
As this is all being done ‘live,’ there is the opportunity for othesr back in school or indeed parents to hear what students are learning on the trip. The ease with which AudioBoo podcasts can be embedded into websites and blogs makes follow-up or supplementary work on return to school incredibly straightforward.
A couple of things I did notice: smartphone users will not be surprised by how quickly battery charge is consumed when using all these features (that’s why I took the iPod Touch – as back-up). Uploading the recordings also seemed to take a while … perhaps due to cellphone reception? But there’s no reason why recordings couldn’t be made in situ, then uploaded later.
Practically In the pICTure 