Empowering Student Voices: Integrating Podcasting in the Classroom with Common Sense Education

Presented by Tali Horowitz, East Coast Education Director, Common Sense Education; Laura Ordoñez, Head of Podcast Ratings and Reviews, Common Sense Media; and Halo Rogers, MS ELA Curriculum & Instruction Academic Technology IST, Northside Independent School District (TX)
Moderated by Jennifer Ehehalt, Sr. Regional Manager, Midwest, Common Sense Education

Sponsored by Common Sense Education

Watch the Recording Listen to the Podcast

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Podcasts are an amazing screen-free valuable educational resource for kids of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Podcasts provide great opportunities to differentiate learning, address students’ social-emotional well-being, and nurture a warm and inclusive classroom. In this edWebinar, we talk about concrete ways to use podcasts for learning in all grade levels AND how to guide middle and high school students in crafting their own podcasts to demonstrate their learning.

View this session to:

• Discover the transformative power of podcasting
• Harness the potential of student voices
• Gain valuable free tools and strategies that will enrich your classroom tomorrow

This recorded edWebinar is of interest to K-12 teachers and librarians.

About the Presenters

Tali Horowitz is the East Coast Education Director at Common Sense, where she works with educators and families to empower kids to meaningfully harness the power of media and technology for learning and life. She partners with state-level organizations, school districts, and community organizations to help integrate Common Sense Education resources. She provides educational leadership through consultation with school districts, professional development (both in person and virtual), and conference presentations. Tali has been an educator for 20 years. Her passions include helping educators and families effectively navigate the digital world and building cultural competency. She has worked in a variety of educational settings, including as an elementary school teacher in the New York City Department of Education and the San Francisco Unified School District. In 2013, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to research culturally responsive pedagogy in New Zealand. In her free time, she loves face-to-face interactions with friends and family.

Laura Ordoñez is Sr. Editor, Head of Digital Content and Curation for Common Sense Media. She manages all digital content ratings and reviews (podcasts, games, apps, YouTube, and websites) and oversees all digital content partnerships, including Common Sense’s curation of Kids & Family content on Apple Podcasts. In 2022, Laura spearheaded the development and launch of the first-of-its-kind comprehensive podcast ratings and reviews channel, grounded in child-development principles and research. She then expanded her role at the nonprofit, leading the efforts to create YouTube ratings and reviews to help families with tweens and teens navigate the popular video platform. Her focus is empowering diversity, developing strong networks, creating effective partnerships, and continuing to increase awareness and education in the growing digital media landscape.

Laura received her BA in journalism from San Francisco State University, where she earned multiple awards and accolades for her investigative reporting and focus on diverse storytelling, including the Oakland A’s Bill King Scholarship and Associated Press Sports Editors Award. She has 10 years of experience in communications and journalism and seven years in the podcast industry. All of her work has a central focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion; her main goal is to make sure underrepresented and underserved audiences are prioritized genuinely in all forms of media.

Halo Rogers has eleven years of experience in education, including teaching middle school English language arts (ELA), as a gifted and talented specialist, and as a district instructional coach and curriculum designer. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in education from the University of Texas at San Antonio and later advanced her education with a Master of Arts in curriculum and instruction from Grand Canyon University. Halo’s work with gifted learners was marked by her innovative use of technology to challenge her students. Podcasting was a favorite activity for her students because it was both relevant to the skills students need in the 21st century and also engaging for them.

About the Moderator

As Sr. Regional Manager, Jennifer Ehehalt designs and delivers high-quality professional development opportunities for educators across the country. She spotlights thought leaders by creating and moderating conversations on timely topics relevant to digital teaching and learning. When attending Jennifer’s edWeb sessions, participants know they’ll leave with concrete strategies from the field, including how to build a positive school culture, how to use straightforward templates to guide challenging conversations, and family engagement implementation ideas.

Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.

Join the Digital Learning & Leadership community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

Common Sense Education develops high-quality digital citizenship programs and digital teaching resources, providing educators and students with the digital learning tools they need to harness the power of technology for life.