Podcasting

     Using technology in an early childhood setting is always a challenge. Podcasting presents its own unique set of challenges. Is it useful in an early childhood environment? If so, in what ways can it be used for children that are not able to navigate podcasts? Obviously, adult assistance is necessary when using this type of communication whether it be the teacher, home care provider, or parent.  The first use that comes to mind is basic introductions. In some early childhood programs, home visits are conducted before a child can begin the program. In others, the child meets the teacher on their first day. In this case, an incoming family can be directed to podcast where they can listen to the teacher give a welcoming message to the family.  Another use is to communicate with families over long holiday breaks. Young children are fascinated with technology. Hearing a message from their teacher over a podcast is exciting for them and may make the transition back to school less upsetting for those with separation anxiety. Teachers can also send home a special book accompanied by a podcast reading from the teacher. Children can follow along with the book and listen as many times as they like.  The most effective use of podcasting in early childhood is for parent education. Podcasts can be posted to your blog, classroom Facebook page, classroom Twitter feed, or teacher website. Parents can access valuable information about parenting skills, home learning ideas, and upcoming events.

   There are multiple tools to assist teachers with Podcasting. Using Audacity, teachers can record literature with music and sound effects and then share those on their blog or website. Families can access those with their children in the comfort of their home for use as bed time stories or learning tools. Audacity can also be used to share recordings of the teacher singing classroom songs with the parents. Often, small children sing school songs at home but the parent is unable to understand some or all of the words. Teachers can share their fun and sometimes made up tunes along with a short message regarding the educational basis of the song.  These can be uploaded to a website or blog to enable parents to access at any time. Teachers can also record short messages on AudioBoo to relay information regarding classroom and school wide events and greeting messages. AudioBoo is great for conveying brief informational messages but not for lengthy recordings such as books or songs.  Teachers can share Podcast from iTunes with parents to convey valuable information on parenting, technology and young children, trends in early childhood education, crafting ideas, etc.  Podcasts through iTunes for young children are more limited because they only provide verbal stimulation when young children need both verbal and visual stimulation.  However, there are a few for kindergarten age, which still falls into the early childhood category.  When using these tools for early childhood, teachers may have to get creative but Podcasting can still have a place in the early childhood classroom. 

For more information about Audacity click here.

For more information about AudioBoo click here.

For more information about iTunes podcasting click here.

     I am providing two recordings for you. The first is an introduction podcast created by me using AudioBoo. As previously mentioned, the AudioBoo Podcast is short (approximately 1 minute) as they can only be a maximum of three minutes. I created and AudioBoo account and then followed the record/upload setting. From there, I was able to start recording immediately. I was able to record as many times as necessary until I was happy with the result. I found it easier to write my introduction ahead of time rather then record an "off the cuff" version. AudioBoo allowed me to name and save my podcast once I was satisfied with the recording.  The next tool I used was Audacity. I recorded myself reading a poem.  I was able to include music, bird tweets, and a snoring sound into the poem in appropriate places. Audacity allows the user to manipulate the recording by compressing dead space, shortening music length, and adjusting volume among many other options.  

     The following is a podcast created by me using the tool AudioBoo. I provide a brief overview of the longer podcast highlighting some specific elements that stood out to me in light of the technology use I am seeing from many young children. The Podcast is from iTunes entitled Every Day Matters in the Classroom with Cool Cat Teacher, episode 6 named "Toddlers on Technology."

    Next is the podcast created using Audacity.  Here, I am reading a poem entitled "Early Bird" by Shel Silverstein from his book Where the Sidewalk Ends. I was able to add music before the poem using a link licensed under Creative Common license. I was also able to add bird chirping noises after the word 'bird' and a snoring sound after the words 'sleep late.' Audacity allowed me to read the poem in its entirety and then split the reading where I needed to add sounds.  Once I was finished adding everything necessary, I was able to remove any undesirable pauses or dead space by aligning the music, reading, and sounds accordingly.  I saved the recording on Audacity, emailed it to myself, saved it, and then uploaded it to AudioBoo where I was then able embed it in this blog.

     I hope you enjoyed reading a very brief introduction to the idea of podcasting with young children and families. Unlike older children in secondary and elementary education, young children are dependent on caregivers to utilize technology. Teachers must get creative in their use of podcast, but it is still possible. Even if you believe that young children can not benefit directly from a traditional 'lesson' delivered through a podcast, remember that use of technology is a lesson in and of itself for an early learner. Even the shortest message of  "Hello, boys and girls. I hope you're enjoying your holiday. I miss ,and I'll see you in two more days," is an effective use of podcasting for young children. 

Social Media

       Social Media has multiple applications in education. Teachers is all levels of education can use social media to communicate with parents and students.  Updates regarding upcoming school activities, class activities, homework assignments, and long term projects can be posted using multiple types of social media. Links to school, classroom, or teacher websites can be shared through social media to further extend communication. Social media gives teachers, parents, and students the ability to communicate immediately with one another without the use of e-mail, paper newsletters, fliers. or notes. In an article by Brian Puerling entitled Social Media in Early Childhood Programs, multiple uses for social media are addressed. The author also discusses how introducing young children to the appropriate use of social media develops their ability to "draw from multiple resources in an information rich world" (Puerling 2013). Seeking information from multiple resources is an expected skill that aligns with Head Start and many curriculum assessment outcomes..
Social media can only be used, however, for general communication regarding events. No student specific information can be released using these tools.  Student confidentiality must be protected using email, parent/teacher conferences, and notes. 

     Two social media tools applicable in early childhood would be Facebook and Twitter.  Facebook is extremely useful for parent communication and can even be used to share information with students.  Notifications for school events, field trips, and in-class activities can be posted weeks to days in advance. Reminder notifications can be sent the day of the event to keep parents up to date. Parents can also receive posts about weekly learning activities and themes.  Inclement weather updates and school cancellations can also be sent through Facebook. Facebook can be used to link parents to teacher websites, school websites, or a teacher's Pinterest Board for educational and activity ideas.   Videos, links to educational game websites, and learning activities can be posted through Facebook allowing students to work and play online or on a mobile device away from the home computer. As long as permission has been obtained from parents, Facebook can be used to post pictures of the classroom, student learning activities, field trips, or community events, or family events.   In addition to Facebook, Twitter can also be used for updates, school events, school and classroom notifications. Twitter is more limited than Facebook due to word limiting, but it can still be used for short notifications and reminders. If a teacher chooses to only use twitter, a longer and more detailed version may need to be sent by email or paper at an earlier date.  Twitter can also be used to share pictures of the learning environment or special activities and events.  Teachers can also use Twitter to share ideas and information with students and parents by tweeting links to websites. These two forms of social media are incredibly useful in the field of early childhood for the dissemination of information.

     Although social media can be incredibly useful for communicating with parents, it has its drawbacks especially in the low income communities. Not every parent has access to a mobile device  or a computer, at least not immediately.  Many still have to rely on the library or the computer of a family member to check Facebook or Twitter.  Since those two forms of social media are used for the immediate dissemination of information, it is imperative that the parent has frequent access to the appropriate technology.  Also within this community, lies a sector that may not have the educational background to navigate social media. There are still many that are illiterate or only functionally literate making technological communication impossible. There are still other issues with the use of social media regardless of income and education levels.  Teachers must be extremely careful when posting photographs of students; release forms must be signed by every parent. The safety and confidentiality of each child must be protected. Names need to be left out of photographs and the tagging of parents should probably be avoided so as to not alert anyone who may be a danger to the child.  Facebook particularly opens the door to blurred lines in parent/teacher relationships.  Teachers must be extremely careful to maintain a professional page that is unrelated to their personal page. Teachers should avoid being friends with parents and students on their personal page so as to maintain those professional boundaries.  Because of this, school administration may have to monitor social media use by parents and teachers. Staff should always obtain permission from school administration before beginning a Facebook page or a Twitter feed.  Administration may not have the time or manpower to monitor social media use and may not allow the use of social media.  Even with these concerns, social media can be used to effectively communicate with parents and students as long as it is used with responsibility and boundaries.

This blog can be used for commentary on new ideas in Preschool Early Childhood Education such as curriculum ideas, activities, and parent/teacher communication.  Please post about ideas for children age 3-5 that align with the latest standards in early childhood. Activities involving worksheets or teacher directed activities are not appropriate for this blog.