Podcasts and Vodcasts

Podcasts are becoming very popular in people’s lives these days on a daily basis, they are created for people to enjoy whenever they want, whether it is commuting to work, exercising etc. some are created as mini talk shows and some are introducing you to the latest news, whether it is music, politics etc. Podcasts can be created by anyone who decides to show their passion about a topic as it could interest others too. However, vodcasts are very similar, but they provide images and videos (Orden, 2013).

People listen to podcasts and vodcasts to get ideas, learn about new things, and they are able to gain knowledge whilst commuting. Podcasting/vodcasting in schools allows children in groups to create a podcast/vodcast, all they need is an electronic device with a camera to record, people and a topic to talk about. Teachers could set tasks and review at the end of each lesson to see if the students are understanding the topic. It is a fun way of learning and explaining what they know. Educational podcasting can be highly effective, it could potentially build a child’s confidence and self-esteem, they could work with a group of friends they feel comfortable in, and express their opinion without the rest of the class seeing (Poore, 2016).

‘Flipped learning’ is highly beneficial towards teachers and also students, teachers are able to have a head start with their lessons and students are able to learn more within their lessons because they have done the work beforehand. However ‘an effective flip requires careful preparation’, therefore, time and effort still needs to be put into this (Educause, 2012).

This video shows a school in America using flipped learning, I have decided to use this one as it mentions about flipped learning benefitting pupils with different levels of abilities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a7NbUIr_iQ

Educause, (2012) Things you should know about flipped classrooms. [Online] Available at: https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7081.pdf Accessed on: 17/01/17

Orden, J (2013) How to Podcast. What Makes Podcasts Different and So Popular to Listen to? [Online] Available at: http://www.howtopodcasttutorial.com/what-is-a-podcast.htm Accessed on: 17/01/17

Poore, (2016) Using Social Media in the Classroom. London. Sage

Podcasts and Vodcasts

            There are many new advances in the technological world that could potentially increase the worries that technology is replacing teachers. This could be because new ways of delivering lessons, research and education are arising in classroom settings, such as Podcasts and Vodcasts. "Podcasts are media files that can be distributed via the Internet and played on computers and handheld devices such as iPods or other digital audio players,"  and Vodcasts can be recognised as having the same principles, but rather with images and videos, (Mathieu, 2009).  In my opinion, I think that these new ways of distributing information could be good for children and teachers to gain access to any files or videos that they require quickly and efficiently and can gain access to a wide variety of sources outside of the country to facilitate in learning which can enhance their interests in the specified topics. Examples of  digital learning in some educational settings are Ted Talks, Times Educational Supplement, Newsround, Flipped Learning and The Bedley bros, all of which seem to have an impact on how individuals learn now and in the future.

As a group, Sophie, Jodie and I represented the idea of podcasting and vodcasting by creating a video of a tour around the campus of the University, using image and audio. The link is below:-

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAZZ1tf0cU4

Mathieu, J. (2009). Blogs, Podcasts, and Wikis: The New names in information Dissemination. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Vol.109 (5).pp.6-8.

Multimodal and Multimedia

Our conceptions of language and communication have increasingly been changed by the introduction of technology and its digital capabilities. Also, by the increased availability of different modes of displaying digital information, it is no surprise that many more schools are encouraging the ideas of multimodal and multimedia in classrooms. "Learning environments that provide learners with multiple representations offer opportunities for greater interactivity, and complementarity," (Gilakjani et al, 2011).

    The correlation between multimodal and multimedia is crucial because it allows teachers to not only use several ways of producing content but also allows multiple ways of displaying information to support the needs of all children. Beauchamp, (2012) suggests, “Multimodal capability describes the facility of ICT to combine various modes (multimodal), such as visual, sounds and text, which are displayed through a variety of media (multimedia).”

The different modes for teaching act as ‘vehicles for learning’ because children can participate with their preferred way of learning, such as Visual, Aural, Gestural, Spatial or Linguistic through various ways of media such as Screens, tablets, noticeboards, apps, etc.

Due to the expanding nature of multimedia that exists, it is not surprising that innovative methods are being used in schools. Many of the methods that are progressively being used, include, Virtual Reality Headsets, Aurasma, QUIVER which is increasingly popular due to its ability to bring images to life, and Holograms. These methods are based as the future of education and will certainly impact on the individuals learning because it will expand their minds with the unthinkable. The exposure to these methods will inevitably become important because children can experience different worlds within the comfort of the classroom and expand their minds for the good by using their own creativity without the need for teachers to be present in class. But it should not overshadow the importance of the basic writing and language skills that children require to experiment with the new technological ways of learning.

Beauchamp, G. (2012) Chapter 1: What is ICT in the Primary School?: Tools and Techniques. In ICT in the Primary School: From Pedagogy to practice. Pearson- Books.

Gilakjani, A., Ismail, H. & Ahmadi, S. (2011). The Effect of Multimodal Learning Models on Language Teaching and Learning. Theory and practice in Language Studies. Vol 1 (10), pp. 1321- 1327.

Multimodal and Multimedia

Multimodal and multimedia is a very common way of learning these days throughout compulsory education. This way of learning is highly beneficial to a child’s development in education as it allows the child to engage more in the tasks as it seems to be a ‘fun’ way of learning for the children. This type of learning allows the teachers to teach in many different ways to help the children understand. ICT has many unique features which enable teaching more beneficial, such as, speed, creativity, automation and interactivity (Kennewell and Beauchamp, 2007).

The difference between multimodal and multimedia are combining the different modes (multimodal) and then the way these modes are displayed through media (multimedia) such as an app, website etc. There are five different modes which are; visual, linguistic, spatial, gestural and aural (Twiner et al, 2010).

Compulsory education these days involves using many apps on the Ipads, most apps have multimodal learning included, and they enable children to engage with all different modes and to feel more motivated. Children can create their own stories by using ‘book creator’ and ‘story dice’, this allows children’s imagination to expand. Classrooms are now bringing ‘skype’ into learning, a way of communicating, in my earlier post I mentioned technology is becoming an issue for teachers as technology could possibly take over. Skype has a stable audio quality and allows group video chats, I think multimedia will become more popular in the future years (British Council, 2016).

However, multimodal and multimedia do have their challenges, such as the internet isn’t strong enough to work properly, and the cost of the technology, some schools may struggle to pay for Ipads, laptops etc. A big issue with this way of learning is the teachers not being trained to teach the children. Teachers tend to stick to the way they usually teach because they are unaware on how to use the technology.

British Council, (2016) Teaching English online: opportunities and pitfalls. (Online) Available at: https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/teaching-english-online-opportunities-pitfalls Accessed on 15/12/16

Kennewell, S & Beauchamp, G (2007) 'The features of interactive whiteboards and their influence on learning', Learning, Media and Technology’. Swansea School of Education, UK. Pp.231

Twiner, A, Coffin, C, Littleton, K. and Whitelock, D. (2010) 'Multimodality, orchestration and participation in the context of classroom use of the interactive whiteboard: a discussion', Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 19: 2, pp.211 — 223

Multimedia And Multimodal Technology

Multimedia and Multimodal Technology is known to play a fundamental component in the learning and development of a child within the classroom setting. I have created a multimodal presentation through a piece of multimedia known as EMAZE.. https://app.emaze.com/editor/@AWQIQFRZ. 

Mobile Technology: Teachers v Technology

Mobile Technology has become a frequent way of learning in educational settings and has become more of a way of teaching multiple subjects rather than only be an object for learning in ICT classrooms. Boticki, et al (2015) stated, "Mobile Technology provides a range of new ways to learn, such as promoting authentic learning environments in the classroom thanks to mobile technology, allowing students to make connections to their classroom lessons on learning."
   But the main question is, is this new profound way of learning more important than teachers?
Keengwe et al, (2008) said, "Technology is not a substitute for good instruction; effective teachers should strive to integrate technology into their lessons to engage multiple learning styles of diverse learners and abilities in the classroom." Therefore it could be said that teachers will always be a part of teaching but may become the 'facilitators' rather than the prominent individual in the learning process.
Although technology introduces upgraded ways of learning, it is the influential role  and abilities of teachers that allow technology to be a part of the curriculum, therefore a balance between the teachers instructions and technological advances could be the improvement that education settings need for the future.


Domingo,M. and Gargante, A. (2016)Exploring the use of educational technology in primary education: Teachers' perception of mobile technology learning impacts and applications' use in the classroom. Computers in Human Behaviour, 56, pp.21-28.

Leonard, J. (2013) How Early Childhood Educators are initially integrating tablet technology in the curriculum. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. pp.5-6.

Mobile Technology

Mobile technology is described as ‘all those technological devices, which are portable and lightweight and either through data cables or through wireless connections and have internet capability.’ Keengwe & Bhargava (2014, cited in Beauchamp, G pg.89). Devices such as iPads, tablets and laptops seem to be more commonly used to support and enhance learning and development within the classroom as they provide apps such as Puppet Pals and Padlet for both practitioners and children to use. As technology is continuously developing and becoming more affordable for schools to purchase, can we assume that technology could potentially take over the role of teacher.

Keengwe & Bhargava (2014) Mobile Technologies in the Classroom. In Beauchamp, G. (2017) Computing and ICT in the Primary School: From Pedagogy to Practice. Second Edition, Routledge. Pg. 89