Podcast Channel created by Elementary Students

Guest post by friEdTechnology Associate & 3rd grade teacher,  Melissa Summerford, Tweet her at @SummerfordStars

My name is Melissa Summerford and this is my fourteenth year in education. I am a 3rd-grade teacher at Bear Branch Elementary and I absolutely love my BBES Family. I realized I wanted to be a teacher while working as a paraprofessional in 2003.  I saw the impact teachers were making on students lives and I wanted to be apart of that club.  I was twenty-six years old and had three kids when I decided to go back to college. Six years later I became the first in my family to earn a college degree. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Prairie View A&M in 2008.  After 10 years of teaching, I have decided to work on a master's degree from Lamar University.  I am majoring in Digital Learning and Leading.  I have learned that showcasing my learning is a way to grow and improve my craft of teaching.  My ePortfolio website is a place where I can reflect and share my experiences as a teacher.  It is my goal and desire to inspire others to learn and grow using new and challenging methods.  

Student voice is something I strive to give my students and I consider it to be an important component in my classroom .  Student voice “is the individual and collective perspective, and action of students within the context of learning and education".  One way I incorporate student voice is through Podbean.  Podbean is a site that hosts podcasts for all types of learning and interests. Incorporating a classroom podcast has created another way for my students to share their learning globally.  I believe when students know they are sharing with the world their desire for learning increases.  

Go ahead and check out our class podcast here!!

How does it work?

Create a Podbean account here - You can try it for Free

You can sign up through facebook, twitter,  your google plus account, or you can create a new account using an email.

There is also an app you can download from the app store.  This is a handy tool because I can record podcasts straight off my phone.  I love this tool because my students get so excited when they know they are about to be featured on the channel.

I also allow students to create recordings of their own.  They use a google extension called voice recorder.  Students are able to save their recording in their google drive and share with me.  I review their recording(s) and then upload to our station.

ePortfolio : bit.ly/SummerfordTeachingBlueprint