Podcasting

Podcasting
Podcasting is, at its most basic form, the sharing of digital audio files. A podcast is usually an audio commentary designed to share information. They are generally stored in an mp3 format online. Listeners download the mp3 and listen to it either on their computer, or on a portable mp3 player. Podcasts can be fun ways to send message out to large audiences, and allow those messages to be forwarded, and carried on to even broader audiences. Podcasts are pretty easy to create. In a nutshell, you need: (1) a reason to create one (2) an actual message to deliver (3) recording equipment and (4) a place like [|Podomatic] or [|Gcast](free, no ads) to host your podcasts. You'll find tons of podcasts at [|Odeo] also. Here's a great blog to check out about [|podcasting in the classroom]. One more great site to explore is the Podcasting 101 post [|here]. You can use very high-quality mp3s as background music, introductions, and so on. Some nice free ones are [|here]. An overview of Audacity can be found here: http://aquaculturepda.wikispaces.com/podcast4

Just as with many other Web 2.0 technologies, podcasts take advantage of RSS capabilities. Once I find a podcast author I like, I can subscribe to her Podcast's RSS feed, and always be kept up to date via an audio commentary. A classroom could have a weekly podcast detailing lessons, activities, and classroom goings-on. Here's a fun clip from [|TeacherTube] where teachers share what they learned about podcasting.

[|Overview of How to Podcast]

The easiest, and cheapest, way to record a podcast is to use the free program [|Audacity]. All you need is a headset with a built in microphone, and you can start creating your own audio immediately. You will still need a place online to store these files, so that other users can get to them; one possibility is to have them uploaded to a free blog on [|November Learning Communities] or [|Wordpress]. You can also use [|VoiceThread] to record and store your audio files online, with the option to add images and text.

For More Information, Check Out:
[|Learning in Hand: Podcasting] - A great resource for finding and creating podcasts in your classroom.

[|Radio WillowWeb] - some great podcasts created by elementary school students