Recently when I have made the trip, I have found some great ways to make the drive go by quickly. I usually pick up a few books on tape, and I have my NPR app ready to go on the phone. And so on the way down to Georgia my wife and I listened to Think Like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, the third book in the popular Freakonomics series, (we listened to the first two books on previous trips). Today when we drove back to St. Louis, it was all NPR. The nifty app allowed us to listen to several episodes of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me", "Planet Money", and "The Ted Radio Hour." Both drives went very quickly, and I often got very absorbed in what I was listening to. I am always amazed at how consistently excellent and fascinating these NPR programs are.
Now, I must admit that I had not looked at this week's readings until today when I arrived back in St. Louis. I was excited to see that much this week's readings discussed "audio experiences." After spending 8 hours listening to NPR, I was suddenly reading about it as an educational tool. The timing of this reading assignment could not have been more perfect for me.
As I started reading Hicks (2013), I was immediately pulled in when I read, "Regardless of your political stripe, NPR appeals to a variety of listeners and offers many great models for audio mentor texts" (p. 87). These words resonated with me, and something suddenly clicked. I had never thought of assigning an audio project, but why? These stories that I had listened to all day were perfect mentor texts, and some were compact and simple enough that a student would not be daunted by the idea of creating one. The technology required for such a story is nearly ubiquitous, and I believe that students would be excited to take on a different kind of challenge.
My excitement for this type of assignment continued to grow as I read Hicks, especially when he mentioned Kelly Gallagher's article-of-the-week assignment and how it could be incorporated into this type of assignment. I consider myself a Gallagher-fan, and I actually chose his blog as a mentor text earlier in the semester. When thinking about his article-of-the-week assignment, I agreed that NPR stories are great way to bring current events into the classroom in a dynamic way.
The final push I received came when Hicks mentioned "This I Believe" as a model for crafting audio texts. I just spent last week reviewing "This I Believe", and I concur that it is a great resource for model or mentor texts.
What if it doesn't work?
My greatest fear is that these types of audio stories may fall flat in the classroom. Yes, they are great in the car. But there are limited options in the car, and the audience is fairly captive. Would students sit and listen to a podcast or story and appreciate the digital writing craft? It may seem a bit awkward. Where does one look when listening to a story in the classroom?
The Game Plan
Right now I am doing a unit on Poetry with my sophomores. We spend a lot of time reading, writing, and appreciating poetry. At the end of the unit, they turn in a poetry portfolio. This final portfolio hasn't ever quite felt like enough of a conclusion to the unit. The students turn them in, and they don't really get to share their work with an audience beyond me. This year, I think that I am going to have them record themselves reading their favorite poem from the portfolio, and then spend 1-2 minutes explaining the meaning of or inspiration for the poem. Then I plan on putting all of the readings on a CD. I think that project might be a meaningful way to close out the poetry unit.
Another thought on audio
I also really enjoyed reading Gura's (2014) comments on audio feedback (p.194). It reminded me of a course that I took with Jim Marshall in the summer of 2010. It was an online course on Young Adolescent Literature. Rather than give us written feedback, Jim would send an audio file of his reaction to our work. I looked forward to receiving this feedback each week. Hearing Jim's voice made the online class feel more personal, and his reactions seemed genuine. Jim really mastered that type of feedback, and his students appreciated it.
When I grade papers, it never feels like I can write enough on the paper in order to fully explain my reaction. I usually end up having 1-on-1 conferences with students who need to revise their papers. I think that audio feedback is a nice way to achieve the same connection that a 1-on-1 conference provides. I'd be interested in trying it in my own classroom, although I don't know if I have the same skills as Jim.
Your comments about listening to the audio tapes as you traveled really hit home with me. This semester, I have had to travel from Buford to UGA Athens after teaching a full day and then driving home at 8 PM. My family was worried about me and so for my college present, they gave me 5 books that I've been wanting to read - they do the job excellently! Just like you - I get so involved in them that I arrive home way before I get tired. I've never heard of NPR so I'll have to google it to find out more.
ReplyDeleteI've always taught students who have had reading difficulties - either in regular, special ed. or ESOL and so I have always encouraged them to listen to an audio tape, instead of struggling to "read" the actual book. I have trouble convincing them that anything that easy is still reading.
Thanks for sharing. (I've got to get the 2nd and 3rd book in the Freakonomics series, to.)
Pat
I had a similar revelation with the article of the week. My school does AOWs (article of the week) but they are primarily focused on coding the text and a written response at the end. Why not include an audio with the article? It is such a simple idea, but there is so much value behind it. I really want to focus on trying to find appropriate articles that come with audio. I doubt any of my students have listened to talk shows, audio books, or NPR so this would be an excellent opportunity for them.
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