One of our favorite holiday movies when my children were younger was A Christmas Story. In one particular scene, Ralphie listens to the Little Orphan Annie radio show and becomes a member of the Little Orphan Annie Secret Circle and receives his decoder ring! He listens intently for the secret message in the sponsorship segment at the end - only to realize it was an advertisement for Ovaltine.
So what does this have to do with Digital Learning? Well a few years back, I stumbled across a podcast by GenZ Media called The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel. As I listened, it reminded me of that scene - the sitting around the radio, hanging onto the dialogue and sound effects, listening to the advertisements that were actually part of the podcast at times promoting Pruitt Prep. As a middle school ELA and social studies teacher, I thought about all of the wonderful ways this podcast could complement my classroom and support the standards. And then, I had to redirect my efforts so this idea to incorporate serial podcasts gradually slipped to a lower priority. Every now and then, I’d pop back over to the Gen Z Media site and check out new releases. Last summer, I fell in love with Young Ben Franklin. I listened. I took notes. In my mind, an activity began to take shape that combined listening skills and primary source content. This hyperdoc of sorts was born! I thought it would be a perfect fit for and ELA/Social Studies crossover in grade 8 since we cover American History combined with the NC events that coincide - there are actually more than one might think! It sat. I shared. No one seemed as excited as I did. I moved on. If you'd like to make a copy of it, HERE is the link. I would ♥ for someone to use it! Then I saw the Benjamin Franklin Ken Burns film on PBS. SWOON! I made connections to the podcast. Even though it is fiction, the facts woven throughout were reinforced with this film! My energy was renewed once again. I’m sharing this resource on Twitter also in hopes that someone might use it and let me know how it goes! Than, I went to ISTE in June. I saw this post on Twitter by Lisa Highfill while I was catching up on all the things I missed - you just can't make it to everything at ISTE!.
It was then that I noticed it looks like Gen Z Media has added several new titles I really want to check out, I see that there is a second season of the adventures of Young Ben Franklin - I can’t wait to get started!
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AuthorJeannie Timken Archives
March 2023
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