I thought our podcast went really well aside from the technical challenges we had (we overcame them!). It was a learning experience and I felt a great way to monitor your students conversations when you can't be there. That lead me to my other small group topic on "Using Comprehension Strategies." This article discussed taking literature circles one step further by making them more student driven. I really liked the idea of letting your students come up with the questions. Recording conversations was also mentioned in the article. Pod casting is a new way to do that where the students may be more likely to participate. This is also another way to keep them on track. That is always a challenge of mine when I have a class discussion.