We were tasked with finding an engaging digital activity for young adolescents three female and two males who needed motivation to engage in the learning process. Having received delivery of a podcasting system in the centre, we thought that this would be a good project to work on. It would involve young people working collaboratively and storyboarding their recording and speaking into a microphone. We decided to see what would happen. We set up the workshop and began to show the young people what was required. When asking for a volunteer to speak into the microphone there were no takers. I explained that their recording would be uploaded to our server and be available for anyone with an internet connection.
Still no volunteers. I said, “well if that is the case, we will just have to upload silence and list their names to the recording and upload it”. There was one of the lads sitting in the chair whose body language was very negative, it was plain that he was not going to get involved in the initiative, arms folded, slumped in the chair. No one wanted to engage, I asked what they might want to record and there was silence. I asked what music they liked and one of the girls said that they liked Rap music and that the lad who was negative was great at rapping.
They encouraged him to take the microphone and give it a shot. After some cajoling peer pressure, he reluctantly took the microphone and began delivering a rap song which the whole group encouraged. I recorded it and after it had finished the group celebrated by cheering and congratulating him. He asked me to play it back and we all listened. He then began to evaluate his performance and said he thought it would sound better if he did it again. The second time was much better he was more relaxed. I then suggested they could create a story about some element of their lives. They all became enthusiastic. The two of girls decided to write a report about life in their neighbourhood with one of the lads. The rapper and one of the girls began writing a rap about their lives in the neighbourhood.
The young people worked together to create a report in writing. They then developed a story that they told and included the rap music around the piece. We recorded it and uploaded it to the server for all to hear. They were engaged in the learning and talked about doing other podcasts. We believe that using the medium of podcasting engaged these reluctant learners into being able to write from their own experiences and give a voice to their issues in the community.
Mike Carter - IT Consultant in Education, Nice Co, Gateshead, UK
Educator, working hard to put technology into the hands of young people.