Podcasting: What's the Big Deal?

So you may have heard of podcasting before, and maybe even listened to a podcast, but what is the big deal about them and why are they so popular?

Well, podcasts really have iTunes to thank for their popularity. If you find a podcast series that you would like to listen to on iTunes, you simply click on "Subscribe" and new episodes will be downloaded automatically every time you open iTunes on your computer. To add to this, you can set up iTunes to upload your podcasts directly to your ipod/iphone/ipad when it is connected. Incredibly easy and free.

If you haven't heard about podcasting, think about it as a combination between radio and blogging. Podcasts come in 3 different forms - audio, audio with pictures, and video. Most podcasts are not just single files, rather they usually are a part of a longer series of episodes, like a television series.

In the classroom, podcasts can be used in a number of ways. Teachers can use podcasts to record lectures or assignments, as well as listen to podcasts for professional development. Students can utilize podcasts to demonstrate their learning, as a presentation tool, documenting a class discussion, conducting interviews, or broadcasting classroom news.

Here are 3 links to different school podcasts:

Elementary - French for kids by kids

Junior High - YDMS

High School - Podcast Bangladesh 

Creating podcasts can be quite simple. All you need is a computer and a microphone (headset preferred). There are a variety of programs that will allow you to create a podcast - Garageband (MAC), Audacity (PC), or web-based recording software (Aviary). Here is a list of over 70 different podcasting tools. 

 

Once you have recorded your podcast, you need to get it published. Our Dreamstalk websites provide the perfect place to do this. Check out this example of Eastbrook's weekly radio podcast.

For some handy tips and instructions on how to plan, record and publish podcasts, take a look at my podcasting presentation below: