EDTECH 513: "Presently in the Past" Podcast, Episode 1: Emergency Drills

My podcast series is called “Presently in the Past”.  The goal of my podcast is to make a historical connection between the past and the present.  Since I am a secondary education social studies teacher my purpose is to bring meaning to my student and what they are learning in my class.  Many students tend to think of history as dead people and events of the past, but by making the connection to their lives you can spark interest in learning history.  My podcast can work for middle and high school students or anyone interested in a short historical comparison.

In my first podcast I decided to discuss the topic of emergency drills practiced in schools.  I am currently working on a Cold War PBL in my EDTECH 542 course, so I thought this would be a good connection between the two.  During the Cold War, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a high threat of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union.  To prepare people for atomic air raids the government made films about what to do when a bomb was dropped.  Students were shown a film at school instructing them to “duck and cover” to protect themselves from fallout.  As the Cold War came to an end we no longer see the purpose of such drills. 

Schools continued to practice fire and tornado drills in Michigan where I live.  Other states prepare their students based on what nature disasters are in that area.  After the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, schools started develop a new emergency plan.  This plan as changed as we become more educated on what to do due to the number of mass shooting we have had in the last decade.  Teachers are educated on what to do and the school practices three “lock down” drills with the help of local law enforcement.  This episode looks at the past and then compares it to what threats our students face today.  I inserted a audio clip from the original Bert the Turtle “Duck and Cover” film from 1951.

I feel that this podcast could continue with various topics and could be connected to what is currently in the news.  I am still working on my editing skills and being comfortable talking into a microphone.

The AECT Standards for technology use that are addressed in my podcast revolve around design and integrated technologies.  The design aspect of this podcast is to provide information to the listener.  Using this audio approach to learning can be effective.  To create this podcast I used Audacity, Dropbox, and various plugins to edit and convert my files.
 

Episode 1: Emergency Drills:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k98rksvdx6hmlxv/Past%20Podcast_LHoyt.wav?dl=0