Austin Sawyer

While the rest of his fourth-grade classmates headed to the library Thursday, Thrasher Elementary School’s Austin Sawyer stayed in his classroom to record a podcast.

With the help of his teacher, Wes Wood, Austin, 9, cleared his throat and recited a poem he wrote into a thin, black microphone.

“This is how you pick your nose,” he began, “but beware, some people might think you’re gross.”

Podcasts — digital audio files uploaded onto the Internet — are the newest way of transmitting information to parents and students at Thrasher. Several years ago, students of third-grade teacher Jeff Paulson started recording their poetry to post on the class Web site.

“It’s more fun to write if you know someone’s going to listen,” Mr. Paulson said. “I thought this would be a culturally relevant way to do it.”

About a month ago, Mr. Paulson, Mr. Wood and a handful of Thrasher teachers began recording and posting informative podcasts for parents on the school’s main Web site. Titles include “What Your Incoming Kindergartner Needs to Know,” and “What Do Good Readers Have in Common?”

Listening to the podcasts posted by Mr. Wood, parents are able to learn the teaching methods he uses and implement those strategies at home, which will “help their fluency go through the roof,” he said.

“I think the parents really dig this,” he said.

Podcasts are a good way to communicate with a generation of increasingly tech-savvy parents, said Thrasher principal Jean Trohanis.

“This is a new way to reach parents,” she said. “This is how they want their information these days.”

Mardi Leonard’s daughter, Gigi, was in Mr. Paulson’s third-grade class when he started recording podcasts.

“I was impressed because apparently I’m not as technologically advanced as a third-grader,” she said.

Mr. Wood, who also happens to be a dad to incoming kindergartner Izzy, said he got good advice from the podcast that teaches parents how to prepare their preschoolers.

“It was a huge relief to listen to it because I think she’s ready,” he said.

Mr. Wood and Mr. Paulson plan to record additional podcasts over the summer and hope to increase parent traffic to Thrasher’s Web site. Podcasting isn’t difficult, Mr. Wood said, and could be a good option for other schools as well.

“What’s cool is this is a $9 microphone,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”

In addition to giving students practice in reading, fluency and vocabulary skills, some Thrasher teachers plan to post science podcasts soon, Mr. Paulson said. Some students have recorded and edited their work themselves, giving them a hands-on lesson in technology, he said.

Austin, who created his own Web site, says the podcasts are right up his alley.

“I like that the teachers put the poems online because I’m a big computer geek,” he said.

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