How to Make a Practice Test Podcast for Your Students

Want to know a good way to save yourself some time and add a little fun to your students' practice tests? Create a podcast of your practice test that the kids can listen to in class or at home.

Podcasts are both fun and easy to make in a program called GarageBand, which comes already loaded on most Mac computers. If you are using a PC you can download a program called Audacity, which is the closest thing to GarageBand.

Here is how to create a practice test podcast.

Instructions

1. Record your practice test in GarageBand by hitting the record button and speaking clearly into the microphone. Be sure to treat this podcast as if you have students right in front of you. Make sure they have whatever paper and materials they need.

2. Go through the test nice and slowly and be sure to give the students enough time to answer the questions. This will work especially well for spelling tests.

3. Place some music in the spots when the students should be writing. I use the Jeopardy game show theme for this.

4. Give the students some instruction as to what to do at the end of the test. If you like you could give them the answers and have them self-correct their papers.

5. Export the podcast to iTunes in MP3 format and either play it in class or send it home.