PrOduCING uNIQue tECH!

“By January, they knew how to record and edit and they had the option to create a podcast,” said Barmore.

A fellow educator and friend of Barmore’s has a program called Speak Up Whitfield that features podcasts created in local classrooms. A group of Barmore’s fourth graders entered the program’s podcast competition in 2022, competing against middle and high school students.

Barmore’s goal is to eventually get enough students involved to create an elementary school category.

“We’re trying to create a movement,” said Barmore. “This is a great way to open the door for writing for my kids. It has made such a difference in their confidence and how they feel about writing.”

Each year, all of Barmore’s students work together on the State of the Ecosystem class podcast about the wetlands. Students visit the park weekly to observe the turtles, as well as water quality, changes in the ecosystem, macroinvertebrates, and more.

Those students working on their own individual podcasts are part of Mrs. Barmore’s Podcast Crew and wear lanyards when they are around campus interviewing subjects. Barmore created editing bays out of boxes in her room so students can have a quiet place to focus. Several teachers around campus have also offered their rooms during planning periods for podcasters to use their space to record.

Once the podcasts are complete, QR codes are posted around campus that allow others to listen.

“What we do has completely changed them,” said Barmore. “My students now spend their recess time looking for insects and worms. Once you light that fire, they take it and they go.”