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Three 5th Grade Classes Travel to Omaha for Apple Store Field Trip

Students Learn Podcasting from the Pros!

April 01, 2011

The 5th graders of Wahoo Elementary are discovering that podcasting isn’t just for techno-geeks! It really is a lot easier than it looks!

Last week, each of the three fifth grade classes boarded a bus and headed to Village Pointe in Omaha for a technology field trip to the Apple Store.

While there, students had the opportunity to play with every gadget Apple has to offer,including a variety of state-of-the-art desktop and laptop computers, iPods loaded with games, and the very popular iPhones.

After “play time,” students were given a free t-shirt, and the Apple store staff provided instruction on how to use GarageBand to create podcasts. After the tutorial, students were split into groups of four and given the opportunity to create their own podcasts using large screen iMacs with really cool Snowball professional microphones attached to record their voices, and photos taken with the Photo Booth program. Students were also shown how to import photos from the Internet and how to add background music to their podcasts.

The field trip ended with the classes coming together to view all of the podcasts created. After a little more “play time” students boarded the bus and headed home.

The Apple Store offers these field trips at no cost to all schools, for students grades 3-12.

“I found out about this opportunity, and it was hard to resist. It was a really effective way for students to learn about technology,” said WPS Media Specialist Dave Privett. “In this case, there’s no one more qualified to teach this program than the people who sell it. The Apple Store staff did a fantastic job, and the kids had a really good time.”

This field trip served as an introduction to an assignment that all 5th grade students will be completing in computer class. Students will be using GarageBand to create tourism podcasts for their assigned states, highlighting all of the cool things their state has to offer.

This is the perfect opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learned. Once completed, these podcasts will be posted on the school web site, hopefully offering some ideas to others on where to go for a good summer vacation!