Podcasts From The Heart

Implementation of this Project in the Classroom

Rubric and Standards

"Podcasts From The Heart"

Background: In the first trimester of the Cary Academy Advances in Medical Technology Program, 16 seventh grade students learned about the structure and function of the cardiovascular system through dissections; participated in dynamic presentations from guest speakers such as veterinarians, cardiovascular surgeons, and other health care providers; and carried out experiments using Vernier probes. Additionally, we visited the Duke Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. During this trip students were able to interact with human patient simulators and conduct hands-on experiments using endoscopes such as participating in a virtual bronchoscopy. Our final two weeks of the course were spent conducting experiments with Lego Mindstorms such that we created robots and programmed them to do tasks mimicking on a much smaller scale the types of technologies that are being used in robotic assisted medical technology.

Purpose: The purpose of the final product of the trimester was "Podcasts From the Heart" as seen/heard here. The intention was to help students gain an understanding of what it was like to have heart disease through an interview with a loved one (family member or close friend). Students created a podcasts as part of a Podcasts From The Heart project. After listening to an example "Podcast From The Heart" (just click if using Foxfire or I.E. 6.0 or earlier, download and open if using I.E. 7.0) and watching their instructor conduct a mock interview with a cardiovascular disease survivor (their history teacher), students wrote scripts, contacted grandparents and other individuals, and then interviewed their interviewees about their heart disease or heart related malady. After creating audio files of their interviews, students created podcasts using the free audio editing program, Audacity. A rubric was used to evaluate student podcasts. The end result: some enlightening and interesting podcasts conducted by 12-13 year olds with their parents, grandparents, and even siblings- all of whom suffer from some form of CVD or in one case, diabetes. Enjoy!

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Podcast From The Heart Student Interview Video
(Created by the instructor using Premiere Elements while students were creating their podcasts)

Launch in Windows Media Player

Launch in QuickTime Player

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Podcasts From The Heart
(Student created content.)

There are many ways to obtain podcasts (audio) or vodcasts (video) content delivered via the web. One of the newest is using RSS Feed technology. That said, there is sometimes confusion about how to use a RSS Feed. Therefore there are three ways to obtain the Podcast From the Heart project. We encourage you to try to "subscribe" to the RSS feed using the first method described below as a means of learning RSS Feed technology. If you have difficulty retrieving the podcasts or vodcast, you are encouraged to e-mail the webmaster.

Method 1.) The new and improved way. Use the following RSS Feed: http://web1.caryacademy.org/facultywebs/joselyn_todd/AMTP/RSS/pfh.xml (Open iTunes, go to "Advanced", choose "Subscribe to Podcast", copy and paste the URL: http://web1.caryacademy.org/facultywebs/joselyn_todd/AMTP/RSS/pfh.xml .

To see a tutorial on how to do this, go to: http://web1.caryacademy.org/facultywebs/joselyn_todd/AMTP/documents/itunes.htm .

If you do not have iTunes, download and install it before proceeding. You need it! http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Method 2.) There is another unique way to obtain the content within RSS feeds. If you have Internet Explorer 7.0, just go to this link: http://web1.caryacademy.org/facultywebs/joselyn_todd/AMTP/RSS/pfh.xml . I.E. 7.0 has nice RSS Feed functionality and you can "click and play" the audio!

Method 3.) If you use FoxFire 2.0 or Internet Explorer 6.0 or older and do not want to use iTunes or RSS Feed technology, just click the links and play. If one link doesn't work, try the other. If all else fails, copy the URL and paste it into your browser. FoxFire 2.0 is a wonderful open source browser. If you do not have it installed on your PC, we recommend that you give it a try! (FoxFire 2.0 Download)

Podcasts From The Heart Vodcast: A video comprised of student interviews.
http://web1.caryacademy.org/facultywebs/joselyn_todd/AMTP/pfh/Podcasts_From_The_Heart.m4v

Finally, please comment on our above work and offer any suggestions, etc. Just send your comments to joselyn_todd@caryacademy.org .