A sixth-grade teacher wants his
students to examine character development
and plot in a science fiction
novel. As an extension of traditional
class discussions of the novel, the
teacher has his students write “fan
fiction” that extends the original
novel. Sensing his students’ pride in
their work, the teacher embarks on
a podcast project where students
create their own audio retelling of
their writing, complete with a music
soundtrack and homemade sound
effects. Using the free software program
Audacity, the students create a
high-quality piece of authentic work
that can be shared with the school community. Taking the project one
step further, the students’ podcast
is shared with a class in another
state and the two groups of students
meet via Skype to discuss
and critique the work.