US History Podcast at Bend High

Jeff Anderson, a US History teacher at Bend High, noticed that some of his students struggled to comprehend critical concepts when reading longer passages from their textbook. So, when they began the next unit on immigration, he wanted to try something different. Jeff decided to read longer sections of the text using his iPad and the app “Voice Memos”. Each audio section was then named and presented to students using Google Classroom.

After some trial and error, Jeff figured out several ways to become more efficient with recording in “Voice Memos”. He found ways to easily edit out mistakes and break recordings into smaller sections. He also makes a strong effort to keep the recordings fun and interesting for student listeners by adding accents and character roles played by other students and teachers.

As Jeff accumulated material, he shared his recordings with the other US History teachers at Bend High. Because the recordings are in Google Classroom, other staff could be added as co-teachers and have full access to the recordings.

It has been about a year since Jeff first started the audio lessons. This year, he is trying out a Blue Snowball Microphone to enhance the quality of his recordings. It allows you to isolate on one speaker and make classroom recording a bit more dynamic.

If you want some tips for creating a classroom podcast, reach out to your building instructional coach. We would love to help.

About Scott McDonald

Instructional Technology Coach for the Bend-La Pine School District.