PODCASTS MADE IN CLASS

Engaging students in tutorials and finding ways to get them to prepare for them is often a problem. One way is to have students prepare introductions to the topic. However, in my experience this often means that other students are bored by the presentations. So, as an experiment this year in my Latin American history course, I have two or three students each week prepare as if they were the interviewer in a podcast and interview me for the first 15 minutes of the class. I set up two microphones and a recorder. Later I add music etc and put it on the Wattle page. (A local Latin American band has volunteered their music.) So far, the response has been excellent in several ways. Firstly, the students conducting the interview have to take it very seriously and prepare well. They have done so. Possibly the presence of the recording equipment and the knowledge that it will be on the Wattle page makes it more serious. Secondly, the ice is broken in the tutorial by the interviewers and the other students participate more fully as a result for the rest of the class. Some examples of these podcasts recorded in the tutorial can be found below.