Storytelling Through Podcasts

As a society, we constantly tell stories. One doesn’t need to be a “writer” or a “filmmaker” to be a good storyteller. Sometimes the best stories come from our friends or our family who want to tell us about an experience they had in their lives. Oftentimes, these stories are just as vibrant and exciting as ones that are told by professionals. These non-professionals might not consciously think about the purpose, structure, style, methods, or value of their story when they tell it, but we have all been conditioned and trained throughout our lives to understand what makes a good story.

For many educators, the advent of generative AI has made it very scary to assign a storytelling assignment. As a student, I could simply ask an AI chatbot to write a story for me based on specific criteria. I could ask it to make that story into a comedy or a drama or a romance. And I would get something that…meets those requirements and is original. But what it would lack is the voice of the storyteller - a unique and creative individual who brings true life to that story through their passion and energy. Those characteristics are entirely human and cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence.

Every year, I share about the NPR Student Podcast Challenge, which allows students from grades 4-12 to submit a podcast about anything for a chance to win a trophy and an interview with NPR journalists.

This year, I encourage teachers to have students create a storytelling podcast. This could be in the form of the student telling a story themselves or it could be an interview-style podcast where the student asks questions to guide a guest through telling their story. Here's a few ideas:

• Business: Interview a local business owner about what steps they took to start their own business and what challenges they faced along the way

• Social Studies: Take on the role of a historical figure and talk about their experience during a particular time period

• Science: Students can talk about their experiences before, during, and after a complex experiment/lab - almost like a podcast version of a lab report

• English: Students can tell a story about a book or author that has made an impact on their lives and why

• FACS: Interview an elderly family member about family traditions, customs, or recipes

The key to a storytelling podcast (or any podcast really) is that it should not sound like someone reading a script. In fact, your students shouldn't even write the exact words they want to say. Instead, they should create an outline and then speak as though they were telling a story to a friend. "Um"s and "Uh"s are okay. Mistakes are okay. A laugh here and there is okay. As long as these elements don't become a distraction, they actually humanize the speaker(s) and make the podcast sound more natural.

In terms of technology, podcasts can be created in anything that allows you to record audio. In Londonderry, the easiest tool to use would be WeVideo. Students can login with their Google account and record and edit the audio. They can also add music or sound effects if necessary. The audio file can then be saved to Google Drive or exported and saved to a computer. If you want to get more advanced, we also have 250 licenses for Soundtrap, which is an online collaborative audio editing tool similar to Apple's GarageBand. Reach out if you are interested in learning more about Soundtrap!

Submissions for the NPR Student Podcast Challenge are due by May 2. They must be between 3-8 minutes and be produced entirely by students. There are no guidelines for topics. Teachers upload the finished products and submit online. Make sure to check out all of the official rules if you and your students are interested!