Podcasting in your classroom is a creative way to stimulate learning and motivate students to participate in classroom activities and collaborative assignments.  With any technology, it is extremely important to remember to stay safe!  The below are just a few tips to help ensure you are podcasting safely.

1.)  Read your school's Acceptable Use Policy and be sure to abide by the rules and guidelines outlined by your school or district.  

2.)  Require parents to sign a permission form authorizing their child's use of the Internet with teacher supervision.  Often times, this is done at a district level at the beginning of each school year - but check with your school. 

3.)  Never give out a student's personal information such as full name, age, gender, address, phone number, ID number, or email address. 

4.)  Check the Privacy Policy of any site where you will be downloading or accessing podcasts, as it will tell you how the site will protect your personal information.

5.)  Monitor all podcasts you plan to use in class to ensure the content is suitable for students.  Listen to the entire podcast.

6.)  Review Internet safety rules with your students before playing or downloading podcasts for use in class.   If students are permitted to download, they should never download files without first getting permission.

7.)  Create your own classroom rules that can be posted near computer stations to remind students to stay safe.  Be sure your rules do not contradict your school's Acceptable Use Policy.

8.)  Review a website's copyright policy before downloading any podcasts to ensure you are not infringing on copyright laws.

9.)  Follow copyright laws when creating your own podcasts.  If you or your students reference information that was written, performed, or spoken by someone else, then you must give the original author credit (unless it falls under the doctrine of fair use).

PS: The LIVE EdTech UNconference online Session "Podcasting for Beginners" with Steven Katz is this Friday, October 22 at 11:00 Eastern Time.  Don't miss out! If you haven't yet registered for the EdTech UNconference, click here to learn more and join thousands of other educators around the world who are learning to use technology in their classrooms.

PPS:  The content in this blog post came from SimpleK12's online learning lesson "Discuss Safety and Security Issues of Podcasts" - just one of 1,000s of lessons available with membership to the EdTech UNconference.