Podcasting

Today I listened and learned about podcasts. I listened to four different educational podcasts. They include:




SmartBoard Lessons Podcast

KidCast

EdTechtalk.com

MacBreak Weekly


The first podcast I listened to was SmartBoard Lessons, episode 11, "Year End Ideas." In this podcast they spoke about using technollogy such as ipod touch in the classroom. Joan Badger is trying to get this in her school district because she feels that there are many useful applications you can download for your students. In addition, Joan Badger brought up the website Math Movies where there are scenes from movies listed that have math in them. They both though that a great project for students would be for them to find movies with math scenes in them over their weekend. I have to agree with their idea, this is a great way to get students interested. Aside from the ideas I learned for the classroom I also learned a little about how podcasting is done. I learned that you can be miles and miles away from one another and still be on the same podcast. I believe they call this "streaming." Also, Joan Badger mentioned that she has links posted to the podcast where viewers can go and download or look at the sites.
After listening to SmartBoard, I then tuned into MacBreak Weekly, episode 155. This podcast talked all about technology and podcasting. I learned that they use skype and mi-fi in their podcast, which I am still not completely sure what those two applications are. In addition, they also spoke about the different people involved in podcasting. I learned that there are a lot more people involved than the one or two people speaking. He mentioned he had to hire a clapper, snapper, and so on. Not only did he have to hire those extra people,he also explained how he has to have different takes for each little bit of clapping. This podcast taught me that a lot of work goes into making a successful podcast. In addition to their talk about podcasting, they also focused on apple products such as the ipod, iphone, and MacIntosh computers. They gave thoughts and ideas on how in the future you should not have to drag pictures from place to place and have all the overlapping sites. I really enjoyed and learned a lot from listening to this podcast.
The third podcast I listened to was Kidcast, episode 62, "Thoughts on Video Podcasting." This one focused solely on video podcasting. I learned that video podcasting can be very useful in the classroom. For example, if you are teaching a subjecgt that has some nonverbal action, it is beneficial for you to use a video podcast versus a audio podcast. Another reason to use video is when you have a visual model you need to explain. Although video podcasting seems to be becoming the medium he states that it is important to choose your type of podcasting based on your audience. Out of all the podcast I enjoyed and learned the most from this one.
The last podcast I listened to was Edtechtalk episode 45. The topic of this podcast was how people can grow as a professional. I personally got nothing from this podcast. I felt that this podcast was very unorganized and off topic. In fact, I had to skip through the entire first part of the podcast to get to something meaningful. Once I found some talk about their topic I learned that they too used skype in their podcasts and that they had a lot of people call in to voice their ideas. One of the major problems they find with teachers is that they are not motivated to continue their education unless there is something in it for them. I agree with their statement, in the society we live in today people are rarely motivated to do anything unless there is a prize waiting for them at the end. In the end, this podcast was the least useful for me.
Overall, I really enjoyed listening to the podcasts. I feel that I have a better idea as to how they work as well as some good ideas for the classroom.