After the Bells, Beyond the Walls

Langhorst, E. (2007). After the Bell, Beyond the Walls. Edcuational Leadership , 74-77.

This article discusses the efficacy of the use of podcasts at South Valley Junior High School in Liberty Missouri. Experiments were made podcasting for test reviews which were called StudyCasts.The special education teachers found that the StudyCasts benefit students with reading disabilities. Students can repeat portions of the recorded review or listen to the entire session as many times as they wish. This also helped the teachers use their time more efficiently.(Languorous,2007)
The school also established a Virtual Book Club where the students all accessed a blog where they could discuss the book and listen to interviews by the author of the book. The use of podcasts also added another dimension to the special education population. Their teacher recorded the book which allowed these students to be active participants too.
The author feels that the use of podcasts is an excellent way to address the different learning styles of students. He says that,"blogs and podcasts can more flexibly meet the needs of individual students both in and out of school."(Langhorst,2007)
I appreciated this article because it demonstrated varying uses for podcasts and the effectiveness as well as the benefits that it afforded the special education population.