Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.
A. Reasons for the use of Podcasting
B. Definition and origin of Podcast
C. Importance of Podcasting at school
D. Advantage of Podcasts over other audio media
E. Podcasts—a further step from voice recordings
F. Devices needed for Podcasting
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Recently a group of second-graders visited our school library to work on a “holidays around the world” project. The children created pictures showing holiday customs and then created voice recordings explaining what they drew. The incident showed very clearly the effectiveness of student-created voice recordings. Now imagine taking things one step further and creating Podcasts in a classroom setting.
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The term Podcast refers to an audio recording, linked to the Web, that can be downloaded to a personal MP3 player. The word is created from broadcast and from iPod ---the wildly popular MP3 player from Apple.
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Using audio with students isn’t new, of course. Teachers have used audiobooks at listening centers and recorded student voice on tape or CD for many years. Voice and music are the original media for teaching. Podcasts, however, can reach a much wider audience in a time frame outside the school days. Booktalking, an old way of getting kids excited about books, gets a tech assistance with Podcasting. Students can do some booktalking themselves; book review Podcasts seem to be another natural way for students to share what they know, providing an alternative to the book report.
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There are a number of excellent reasons for using Podcasting. Teachers made audio Podcasts, including visuals or video clips for any content area instruction and review. Some teachers have begun to record themselves teaching important concepts; this creates an account of information online for kids to access when they’re stuck on a homework assignment. Audio and video files can also function as assessment tools. Imagine being a classroom teacher in September who can actually hear how his or her students were reading in June the school year before.
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You don’t need an iPod to make a Podcast. If you have a computer, a microphone, and some free software, you can make a Podcast. While an MP3 player is a popular and useful gadget, your audience doesn’t need MP3 players to listen, either: your students and their families can use the computer to play back what you’ve recorded.