The Power of Podcasts
By Newt Likier, NIU STEAM Educator
Humans have always enjoyed pairing boring tasks with interesting stimulation – telling stories while weaving or singing while laboring. As technology progresses, the way we keep ourselves entertained modernizes. These days, we don’t have to rely on sea shanties or the oral tradition; we have smart phones in our pockets with access to any- and everything imaginable – including podcasts – to keep us focused while we do the boring stuff in life that just has to get done.
In 2021, approximately 87.2 million people in the United States reported listening to podcasts. For those not in the know, a podcast is short- or long-form audio delivered from creator to listener solely through an Internet connection. There are podcasts on true crime, politics, economics, literature – pretty much anything someone wants to hear can be found on one of the many podcatchers out there like Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
For those interested in learning something new, NIU STEAM produces its own set of podcasts to inspire curiosity, generate interested and excitement about STEAM fields and content, share knowledge, and connect with new audiences. On Friday afternoons, you can catch “The Sound of Science on WNIJ” to learn something new about the world around us, or you gain wisdom from someone else’s mistakes with Failure Bites. And if you’re interested in the union of science and fiction, take a listen to The STEM Read Podcast, which connects literature with STEAM experts. All of these podcasts can be found on our podcast website.
The best part of podcasts is that it’s pretty easy for anyone to get started producing their own. If you have a special interest and a heaping helping of dedication, snag a microphone (it doesn’t have to be fancy), record your thoughts (we recommend thinking them first), and start your journey!
Podcasts are great in the classroom too! Here are a few of our favorite no-tech and low-tech podcast lessons for learners of various ages.
Podcast Fun
Idea Sparks
Writing Prompts
- What are you really interested in?
- What would you most like to research?
- Write a script explaining a topic of your choice to an audience that is unfamiliar with your topic.
Discussion Prompts
- Have you ever listened to a podcast? If so, which one(s)?
- What makes a podcast fun to listen to?
- What kinds of jobs are involved in making a podcast?
Mini Lessons
- No-Tech Podcast – Young Friends
- Materials: Paper, Pencil, A Friend
- Procedure:
- Talk to learners about how important communication is. It’s really cool to know things, but it’s more important to be able to tell someone else about the things you know.
- Ask learners if they’ve heard a podcast before. Explain that a podcast is a story or explanation that’s just heard. It’s like a Youtube video, except you don’t see anything.
- Have learners choose something they really like as a topic for their no-tech podcast. Encourage them to choose something special to them, and tell them their topic can be silly or serious.
- Once they have a topic, distribute paper and pencils, one per learner.
- Guide learners through the basics of a script.
- Scripts are a written version of the things we want to say. We write them down so we don’t forget later. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember what we want to say when we’re under more pressure than normal or when people are looking at us, so a script is really helpful.
- Scripts can either be exactly what you want to say or an outline of the big ideas.
- You can ask learners for the pros and cons of both ways.
- Exactly written means you know exactly what to say, but you tend to read and look down the whole time instead of just talking to deliver your message.
- The outline gives you a broader idea of what to say, but if you aren’t prepared, you might get nervous and fumble with what to say.
- Give learners time to write. Younger writers may need a little more assistance with this process, but let them guide what they want it to say.
- Pair learners up and have them deliver their scripts to their partner as practice.
- Once both partners have practiced with each other, allow eager learners to present to the group.
- At the end, ask learners what they would do differently next time. Give learners plenty of positive feedback for trying something new!
2. Low-Tech Podcast – Young-Mid Friends
- Materials: Pencil, Paper, Smart Phone/Tablet
- Procedure:
- Ask learners if they’ve heard a podcast before. Explain that a podcast is a story or explanation that’s just heard. It’s like a Youtube video, except you don’t see anything. Feel free to use an example of a family-friendly podcast to illustrate.
- Tell learners there are many kinds of podcasts. There are podcasts that read stories out loud; there are podcasts that talk about science; there are podcasts that are just a few friends talking to each other; and there are so many more, it would be impossible to cover them all.
- Based on this, have learners choose a kind of podcast to try. Once they have a genre, have learners choose something they really like as a topic. Encourage them to choose something special to them, and tell them their topic can be silly or serious.
- Once they have a topic, distribute paper and pencils, one per learner.
- Guide learners through the basics of a script.
- Scripts are a formalized version of what we want to say. Usually, a script is word-for-word what someone intends to say, but some people prefer an outline. In either case, you do not have to say exactly what’s on your sheet of paper.
- Have learners begin by making an outline of their main ideas.
- Review the outlines and discuss how they could make their ideas stronger or how some reorganization could add clarity.
- Using their outlines, have learners write a fuller script.
- Pair learners up and have them deliver their scripts to their partner as practice.
- Once both partners have practiced with each other, send learners in small groups or pairs to a quiet corner to use their phone or tablet to record.
- Most phones and tablets should have an app for voice recording already installed. If not, they usually have a free app to download/install.
- Ask learners to share their podcasts after the recordings are finished.
- At the end, ask learners what they would do differently next time. Give learners plenty of positive feedback for trying something new!
