 Podcasting
“Podcasting is an Internet technology that educators can use to provide students with course materials they can use anytime, anyplace, even when they are not connected to a computer. You can use podcasting to deliver course content in audio, video, and/or graphic formats.” These audio .mp3 files often sound much like a radio broadcast and can include music, announcements or news. Podcasting got its name from Apple Computer's iPod devices, which can be used to listen to podcasts. However, podcasting is not exclusively for iPods, as most MPs players, personal computers, cell phones, or even handheld computers can be used to listen to podcasts. Confused? See Tech-Ease. One key feature of podcasts is that they can be subscribed to via Really Simple Syndication (RSS), meaning that as new podcasts are created they are automatically downloaded via the Internet and listened to at the discretion of the user. Being able to listen to podcasts when convenient makes podcasting very attractive. In order to subscribe to podcast, special software is needed. iTunes is the most popular for Macs and contains a iTunes Podcasting Directoryof over 6,000 podcasts. Juice (formerly called iPodder) is a very capable Windows application...iPodder.org categorizes podcasts into 75 categories, including K-12 Education Podcasts. Podcasting is just getting its feet wet among technology literate educators. Teachers see podcasting as a way for students to engage in foreign language exercises, listen to content experts, find a new medium for creative projects. Podcasting for Education offers several classroom applications for podcasting as well as many links to other podcasting sources and articles. The Education Podcast Network "is an effort to bring together into one place, the wide range of podcast programming that may be helpful to teachers looking for content to teach with and about, and to explore issues of teaching and learning in the 21st century." Other Podcasting Resources How to Create Your Own Podcast - A Step-by-Step Tutorial Podcasting Tools mgs Podcast is an example of curriculum-based podcasting from the United Kingdom. |
