K-12 Greatest Hits... A Great Podcast for educators!

Podcasts Galore!
Wow! I have to say I am shocked at the endless amount of educational podcasts that are available and free for teachers to listen to! I am so excited about discovering this new way to learn and grow as a future educator. I like to read, but as a University student I certainly get my fill of books and articles etc., so listening to educational information and ideas is very refreshing! I love how you can choose topics that interest you and within a span of 5 to 10 minutes you gain a great deal of new knowledge about that topic. Educational podcasts provide a quick and easy way for teachers to stay informed about current issues in their field. I came across the K-12 Greatest hits podcast and listened to the segments, "Is homework dead?" and "Keeping up with the pace of education technology."

Is homework dead?
The first podcast, "Is homework dead," interested me because teachers have ALWAYS handed out homework. That's just the way it has always been, so it interested me that this podcast would address this topic. I was surprised to find out that research and studies have proven that homework does not contribute to student learning. A point that was brought up about math homework comes to mind. Personally, I have found that repetition of questions helped me understand math when I was a student. So, when I was out student teaching for the first time I had a tendency to give my students extra math questions that they could take home to work on after teaching a new lesson. However, the point that was made addressed the issue that when students are at home doing homework they do not always have someone to correct them when they are answering questions incorrectly. Students end up practicing their math problems the wrong way and it can be difficult for teachers to get them back on track. I hadn't thought of it this way before. In the future I will adjust this by still offering students practice sheets, but I will not make them mandatory. Another problem with homework is students copying from one another. When homework is made mandatory this can happen quite often and is very counterproductive. When this is happening what are we ultimately teaching students? As a current student and future teacher I am quite aware of the time constraints on students and so I am conscious about  not giving out a ton of homework. I will continue to be conscious of this and only give it out when it is absolutely necessary and after I have given students time to complete their work in class. By cutting out homework, students will have time at home to learn about things that they are interested in and have some much needed downtime. It is important for schools to talk about their homework policies. Just because teachers have always given homework in the past does not mean that we should continue to do so...especially if research does not support it.

Keeping up with the pace of education technology
The second podcast, "Keeping up with the pace of education technology," was also very informative and related well with our I4Ed class. This podcast started off stating that many teachers feel scared and overwhelmed by the fast pace of technology. I sometimes feel this way and am grateful to be a part of a course (I4Ed) that pushes me to use and explore technology in a variety of ways that I'm not sure I would have otherwise (like using podcasts for example). I realize the importance of staying current with technology as it can provide so many benefits to teaching and learning. This podcast offered some tips for teachers with regards to using technology. The first tip which I really like and agree with is to ask yourself, "Is it necessary to keep up with and use everything?" There are so many options for teachers through social networking, bookmarking, blogs and podcasts to follow, etc. Teachers already have many time constraints so it is important for us to determine what works best for us and our students. We don't have to be a part of EVERY bookmarking and social networking site. Another tip offered  was to find a partner that you can explore technology with and work together. It's important for teachers to support each other to keep up with technology. Other tips included setting up a blog (check), joining twitter and following other educators (check) and utilizing this information packed website: www.edutopia.org.

It is obvious by the length of this post that I have already learned a great deal from listening to only two podcasts. I look forward to continue my learning in this way and encourage you to check out the K-12 Greatest Hits podcast! ~T