 So, when we implemented the podcast, students were very excited about not having to buy an expensive textbook that they had to lug around in their backpack and were pleased that instead they could listen to podcasts on their phone, for example, and download them. And actually, lots of students download all the podcasts at the beginning of the quarter and then just listen to them and sometimes get ahead. I've never had students get ahead in reading consistently before. When you tell students that their readings are podcasts, you get all kinds of looks. Like, this is different. Few students have actually listened to very many podcasts and those you can tell because they will readily engage in it. Others seem a bit hesitant but very pleased that they don't have to buy a textbook. And some students don't have any idea what you're talking about when you use the word podcast and need some assistance to make sure they can use the technology. They can download the podcast and put it on their phone and so that's definitely a challenge. And then there's the idea of do you still call it a reading if it's a podcast? And so we have to change the mentality and become comfortable calling it a reading. Students tend to prefer the podcast because they feel like it is authentic. It is an actual dialogue that matters and that your average person would want to listen to because they don't have enough viewer of an audience. It's not going to thrive, right? Whereas with textbooks, they're mandated that you buy them. So while you have enough of a customer base, it's driven by an institution that's making those decisions, right? And so students feel like this is an authentic piece that the average person wants to listen to. So if the average person wants to listen to it, they almost feel privileged to be able to count that as schooling as well. Some connections that I make later on as the course evolves is their ability to find their own podcast, right? It's easy to listen to a podcast when I've assigned it because you have to listen to it. But how do we bridge that practice to continue? And one of the ways that I go about doing this is an assignment called What More. In other words, school has often told you what you have to study, when you have to study it, and how it needs to be studied. But what does it look like to continue this practice after the course is over? So one of the ways that I attempt to do this is, is this What More? So students are asked to find their own reading and to bring the reading to class and to still do the read analysis guide. And because our course is designed around podcasts, their readings are then podcasts that they have found. And what's really interesting when they do that is they come back with their sure that whatever podcast they found, at least half their classmates are going to have the same podcast because it's so great. And then they find out that either the only one or only a handful of people actually brought that one because there's other podcasts that are equally as great out there. And their eyes are really open to how much free content is available and how this practice can continue at no cost to them and in a way that they can create a community of learners wherever they find themselves with their families, with their school communities, with the teachers in their grade level, they can all find this free readily available information and listen to it on their own time. And then just come back and say, what did you notice about it? What did you agree with? What did you disagree with? How do you think this can help me be a better teacher or a better person? And so that's been a really fun part of the course. Now I personally was a little bit scared when I first implemented the podcast because I thought, is this really going to work? I had no idea if it was going to work or not, but I decided it's only one way to find out. And I implemented it with my fingers crossed and one class period in, I thought, was that the best podcast or is this a trend? And then the next class happened and the next night that nope, I think we're on to something and the endless hours spent listening to the not as relevant podcast in order to find the relevant podcast definitely seemed to pay off. It's much easier for me to just grab a textbook and say, we're going to do chapter one week one, chapter two week two, and so on down the line. On the front end of implementing podcast, there was a ton of work and I wasn't sure it was going to work. I knew the tenets of what I wanted to address in the course and some of the podcasts I had already listened to on my own free time. I thought, oh, I can definitely do it if I use this podcast there and that then what about that one? I don't have one for that content area. And so going out and searching for it and listening to less than ideal podcasts and trying to keep searching until I found it took a long time whereas in the past when I've done readings, I can skimmer reading and quickly find out if that's kind of where I want to go with it or not. Actually listening to the entire podcast takes a lot more time. And so that was a real, real challenge. That challenge has obviously diminished because now I have a set of podcasts and through the What More assignment, I've gained some really good podcasts from students. And I've also been in dialogue with students. Actually just last week I had a student call me and say, have you listened to this one yet because I thought it would really apply to this particular lecture. I thought to myself, you actually remember that lecture? And now you're contributing to that lecture? This is fabulous and how do you see it contributing to that lecture? And so I feel like it's gotten easier over time because the very audience that I was creating it for is now also contributing to that and so that's been phenomenal.