Using Pod Casting and MP3s for Public Speaking Classes

Brother Bean was introduced to MP3 sound by a friend named Troy Hinckley. Using software called Audacity, he was able to record his mother's funeral. This inexpensive software has the sound quality of a 1985 professional recording studio. It didn't take very long for Brother Bean to begin to wonder how he could incorporate this new technology into his classes.

By using the MP3 and pod casting technology, Brother Bean has been able to make his usual public speaking classes almost double in size. He stated, "I've been teaching 40-50 students instead of the typical 20 students. Now I can have each student give two speeches in class, a speech outside of class, and now they post three MP3 speeches online."

Not only has this new technology helped him create larger classrooms, but it's an instant time saver. Instead of tediously taking up time by typing endless outlines, emails, and vocabulary words, he simply speaks into the microphone and posts the sound bite on the internet. He says, "It helps me keep connected to my students; it also helps them get to know me a little bit better." Brother Bean creates reviewing material, online tests as pod casts, and the students can upload their speeches on the internet for their classmates to review and critique. 

As far as technology goes, Brother Bean believes there are endless opportunities in the academic world for technology to play a part. "The sky is the limit with the technology," he says. "It's so easy, and it's fun." He has been able to convert cassette tapes and fifty year old records to MP3 files. By transferring these old forms of sound to the new MP3 files, he was able to transmit them across country through the internet.  It's amazing to imagine the possibilities of technology in the classroom, especially when these technologies have been put to such resourceful uses already.